Five Point Star Part 1

Have you ever wondered about how to make the perfect

5 Point Star? 

I see templates for six and eight point stars in quilting books and I understand how to make those using triangles. And yes, you can always download a template; that's quick and simple. But I wanted to know how to make one myself. And I wanted to know how to make it the size I wanted it to be.

In the process, I moved a little fast than the photographs. However, I begin by:

1. drawing a horizontal line and marking a dot roughly at centre.

2. using a compass, I draw a circle the determined size of the star. I want a 5 in. star, so the radius is 2.5in.

3. draw a vertical line that bi-sects this circle by arbitrarily increasing the radius size of the compass. Place the point of the compass on the horizontal line where the circle bi-sects it.Draw a small arc above and below the circle. Then place the point of the compass on the other side of the horizontal line where the circle bi-sects it and draw a small arc above and below the circle. The points where the arcs intersect each other can now be joined to create a vertical line through the circle. 

4. with the radius re-adjusted to 2.5in., the point of the compass is placed where the circle intersects the horizontal line. An arc is drawn. The arc bi-sects the circle at two points. These two points are connected with a vertical line.

 This is what it should look like at this point.

I'll continue tomorrow.