Friendship Star barn quilt pattern

The Friendship Star barn quilt is painted on a 3 × 3 grid. On a 4 × 4 ft board each grid square is 16", and on an 8 × 8 ft board 32". It has 13 shapes in 2 colors.

A pinwheel of four triangles around a center square on a three-by-three grid. With only 13 shapes it is one of the quickest stars to paint.

By Editorial Staff

Friendship Star barn quilt painted in cream, barn red — Painted in cream and barn red.

Friendship Star barn quilt layout on a 4 by 4 foot board with measurements — The layout on a 4 × 4 ft board, with the grid marks in inches from the top left corner. Numbers are the paint colors below.

Measurements for 2, 4 and 8 ft boards

Marks along the edges
Board	Grid square	Marks across the top and bottom	Marks down the sides
2 × 2 ft	8"	8", 16"	8", 16"
4 × 4 ft	16"	16", 32"	16", 32"
8 × 8 ft	32"	32", 64"	32", 64"

Each mark is measured from the top left corner, rounded to the nearest ⅛". Mark both opposite edges, then join the marks with a straightedge and a sharp pencil.

Paint for the Friendship Star barn quilt

Two coats of exterior latex on the front, at 100 square feet a quart for each coat (labels say 300 to 400 square feet a gallon). Reds and yellows often need a third coat to cover evenly, so buy the next size up for those. Exterior paint starts at a quart, so on a 2 × 2 ft board 8 oz bottles of outdoor acrylic craft paint go further; what is left is for touch-ups.

Paint by board size
Color	Share	2 × 2 ft	4 × 4 ft	8 × 8 ft
1. Cream	67%	1 quart (2 oz)	1 quart (7 oz)	1 quart (28 oz)
2. Barn red	33%	1 quart (1 oz)	1 quart (4 oz)	1 quart (14 oz)
Exterior primer	Front, back, edges	1 quart (3 oz)	1 quart (11 oz)	2 quarts (42 oz)

Ounces are what the paint takes; the size is what to buy.

Paint the lightest color first: cream, then barn red. A darker color covers a lighter one that creeps under the tape, but not the other way round. The full method, from priming the board to hanging it, is in how to make a barn quilt.