Ursa Quilt

By American Quilter's Society
Oct 3, 2022

Make the Ursa quilt using three colors or values. This stunning quilt is perfect for showing off your favorite fabrics.

Ursa

65" x 65"

Fabric Requirements

Background & Sashing (Light) — 3 1/4 yards
Star Points (Dark) — 1 1/2 yards
Paw Squares (Medium) — 1 1/3 yards
Binding — 1/2 yard
Backing — 4 1/4 yards

Cutting Instructions

From the background fabric cut:
(4) 4 1/2" x Width of Fabric (WOF) strips, and subcut into
(32) 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" squares

(7) 3 1/2" x WOF strips, and subcut into
(64) 3 1/2" x 2 1/2"
(64) 3 1/2" x 1 1/2"

(10) 3" x WOF strips, and subcut into
(128) 3" x 3"

(4) 2 1/2" x WOF strips, and subcut into
(64) 2 1/2" x 2 1/2"

(18) 1 1/2" x WOF strips, and subcut into
(12) 1 1/2" x 15 1/2"
Sew remaining 12 strips together and subcut into
(5) 1 1/2" x 63 1/2"
(2) 1 1/2" x 65 1/2"

From the star points fabric, cut:
(4) 4 1/2" x Width of Fabric (WOF) strips, and subcut into
(32) 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" squares

(10) 3" x WOF strips, and subcut into
(128) 3" x 3"

From the paw squares fabric, cut:
(8) 4 1/2" x WOF strips, and subcut into
(64) 4 1/2" x 4 1/2"

(2) 3 1/2" x WOF strips, and subcut into
(16) 3 1/2" x 3 1/2"

Block Assembly

Bear Paw Unit Assembly

Mark the wrong side of the background 3” squares in half diagonally once. Lay a marked cream square over a dark 3” square, right sides together. Sew a quarter inch from each side of the marked line. Cut apart on the marked line.

Trim unit to 2 ½” square. Repeat to make 256 HST.

Sew the HST into pairs. Make 64 HST pairs oriented as shown below.

Make 64 HST pairs oriented as shown above.

Lay out one of each of the HST pairs with a background 2 1/2" square, and a medium 4 1/2" square as shown below.

Sew the background square to the HST pair and press towards the square. Then sew the other HST pair to the medium square and press towards the square. Sew the two together to complete a Bear Paw unit.

Repeat to make 64 Bear Paw units.

QST Unit Assembly

Use the background and dark 4 1/2" squares to make HST as above. Mark the wrong side of one of the HST in half diagonally once, crossing the seam.

Lay the marked HST over the other HST with opposite colors facing each other. Sew a quarter inch from each side of the marked line. Cut apart on the marked line to make 2 teal/cream QST.

Trim QST units to 3 ½” square. Repeat the process to make 64 QST.

Sew a background 3 1/2" x 2 1/2" rectangle to the background side of a QST. Repeat on the other background side with a background 3 1/2" x 1 1/2" rectangle. Press towards the background rectangles. Repeat on all QST to make a QST unit.

Sew a QST unit to the sides of a medium 3 1/2" square, oriented as shown below.

Repeat to make 16 block center rows.

Sew a Bear Paw unit to the sides of a QST unit, oriented as shown below.

Repeat to make 32 block top & bottom rows.

Sew a block top, center, and bottom row together to complete an Ursa block. Block measures 15 1/2" square unfinished. Make 16 blocks.

Ursa Quilt Assembly

Sew the 12 leftover sashing 1 1/2" x WOF strips with a diagonal seam as follows.

On a hard workspace, place a strip right side up horizontally with the tail (long ends) pointing towards your left. Lay another strip over the first strip at a 90-degree angle, right sides together, with the tail pointing towards you.

Place a ruler over the strips intersecting at a 45-degree angle as shown below and mark.

Pin the selvage ends and carefully fold the strip open following the marked line to check that the seam will create a long, continuous strip.

Once you have confirmed, replace the top strip over and secure with another pin. Sew on the marked line and trim a 1/4″ seam allowance. Repeat to sew all the strips together into a continuous strip.

From the continuous strip, cut the following:
(5) 1 1/2" x 63 1/2"
(2) 1 1/2" x 65 1/2"

Lay out the quilt as shown below. Sew sashing 1 1/2" x 15 1/2" strips in between Ursa blocks to create rows.

Sew a sashing 1 1/2" x 63 1/2" strip to the bottom of the first row. Line up the second row and sew it to the sashing. Repeat until the quilt center is complete.

Sew a sashing 1 1/2" x 63 1/2" strip to the sides of the quilt center and press. Then sew the sashing 1 1/2" x 65 1/2" strips to the top and bottom of the quilt to complete the quilt top.

Layer the Ursa quilt top with batting and backing. Quilt as desired and bind using your preferred method.