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I LOVE this DIY Wooden Barn Star (aka Barn Quilt) Steps and Video

I LOVE this BEAUTIFUL DIY Wooden Barn Star Quilt Art. It’s an easy woodworking project you can build for less than $20 in lumber. Yay!

DIY Wooden Barn Star – Barn Quilt Wall Art

Guys, this easy DIY Barn Star Art is my latest obsession. I’ve been obsessing over it ever since I saw the Pottery Barn Christmas catalog. Have you seen it?

This Barn Star Quilt is absolutely stunning in those photos. And, I think it turned out pretty stunning in mine too. It is just so so beautiful.

AND, the best part is the price! I spent about $20 on the lumber for this easy build. Pottery Barn sells theirs for $399. Happy Dance!

Image of a DIY Wooden Barn Star with text that says "Beautiful $20 Barn Star or Barn Quilt DIY Wall Art.

If you are comfortable with a Miter Saw, you can do this build. If you are a beginner woodworker, DIY Wooden Wall Art and DIY Barn Quilts are a fun way to be creative.

My DIY Scrap Wood Wall Art is another fun woodworking project that looks beautiful on walls. Be sure to check it out too!

This DIY Barn Star Quilt Art isn’t just for Christmas. I’ll be moving it into the Family Room after Christmas. It’ll fit in perfectly with the fun colors and feel in there.

Especially since I used that exact same red paint on the DIY Kids Desk with Drawers and DIY Kids Play Kitchen.

Let’s get to the build now.

Here’s What You’ll Need

How To Make A Wooden Barn Star – Video

The written build steps are below. But, if any of the steps are confusing, you can see the build steps and how to draw and paint a barn star quilt in this video.

DIY Barn Star Quilt Wall Art - How to Build & Paint this Barn Quilt

How to Make A Barn Star

Step One – Build the Frame

Cut 4 pieces of your 1×3 dimensional Lumber with 45-degree angles on each end. Each side should be 3′ long.

Put 2 pocket holes on each end of 2 of the boards. Then use glue and screws to assemble your 3′ square.

Kreg Jig Pocket Holes make assembling this frame quick and easy.
You can see here that 2 of the boards have 2 pocket holes on each end. Ignore the plywood underneath. It’s for a different project. I’m always working on 4 projects at once. Can any other DIYers relate? 🙂
Clamp boards down to hold them in place when drilling the Kreg Jig screws in.

Step Two – Attach the Back

Start by attaching a 1/4″ thick back to the frame. I happened to have 5 3/4″ wide strips of primed plywood leftover from my DIY Planked Plywood Ceiling.

So, I cut those to 34″, then glued and brad nailed them to the back of the frame.

Attach your 1/4″ thick back to the frame. I kept it about 1″ away from the edges so that you couldn’t see it after hanging.

I think varying the widths of the plywood strips or using a flat plywood panel would look good on this Barn Star Quilt too. So, go for your favorite look or whatever you have on hand.

Step Three – Build the X

Now, we can build the X. I find it’s easiest to cut one side with a perfect end. Then lay that over the frame to pencil mark the other end for cutting.

After that is cut and sitting in the frame. I measured and marked the center of that board. That makes cutting the shorter sides of the X easier to line up.

I then marked the center of the short arms and used that to lay the board on the frame and cut that end.

Do NOT attach the X to the backing of the Barn Star Quilt yet.

You can see the lines I marked to line up the X here. The X I marked on the short arms marks where I’ll put pocket holes. I used glue and screws to assemble this X.

Step Four – Caulk the Backing

I used paintable caulk on the front of the Wooden DIY Barn Star Art between each plywood strip for a seamless look.

Let that caulk dry, then paint the whole back with 2 coats of the white chalk paint. Letting it dry between coats.

Step Five – Use Wood Filler on Frame and “X” Pieces

Use wood filler as needed and sand the wood frame X pieces with 150-grit (or similar) to smooth any rough spots and the corners of the frame.

Step Six – Draw the Barn Star

Use a straight edge to draw the barn star with a pencil. Then use painters tape to tape off the star shape.

After the taping is finished, seal the tape edges with 1 coat of the white paint. Keep it nice and smooth so that your paint job doesn’t look lumpy or rough.

Watch the DIY Video Above to see exactly how to draw the Barn Star. It’s much easier to explain on video than in writing. But, it’s easy to do. No worries.

Step Seven – Paint the Red Sections

Once that dries, paint the frame and all of the back outside of the barn star with the red chalk paint. Red always takes 3 or 4 coats to get a nice, even color. Let that dry completely between coats.

When the red chalk paint is even and dries, you can slowly and carefully peel the tape off.

Then carefully paint over the pencil marks with white chalk paint. Touch up any imperfections with a foam brush. They’re perfect for painting straight lines.

Step Eight – Attach the “X” Pieces

Now, it’s time to add that X across the front.

Normally, I would have added this before doing any painting. But this Barn Star Quilt shape is a little complicated. So, I decided it would be easier to draw the barn star without the X pieces attached.

Glue the X into place, then flip over the Wooden DIY Barn Star Quilt to brad nail the X onto the frame.

How to build this Wooden DIY Barn Star Art (Wood Barn Quilt) for less than $20 in lumber. Pottery Barn sells it for $400. Winning! DIY Wood Sign - Barn Quilt - Pottery Barn Knock Off #ChristmasProjects #ChristmasDecor #ChristmasSign #PotteryBarn #BarnQuilt #AbbottsAtHome
Glue and brad nail the primed X on the painted star to tape off the lines for the X.

Step Nine – Paint the X Red

Use painter’s tape to make straight lines on the “X” pieces where they need to be painted red. Then paint those parts of the X with red paint.

Step Ten – Seal the Art

Finish your new Wooden DIY Barn Star Art with a good coat of a non-yellowing sealer. I used Minwax’s Natural Wax, but I also recommend this Minwax Polycrylic in a Matte Finish.

How to build this Wooden DIY Barn Star Art (Wood Barn Quilt) for less than $20 in lumber. Pottery Barn sells it for $400. Winning! DIY Wood Sign - Barn Quilt - Pottery Barn Knock Off #ChristmasProjects #ChristmasDecor #ChristmasSign #PotteryBarn #BarnQuilt #AbbottsAtHome

That’s it for the build. Here’s more photos of the finished Barn Quilt.

More Pictures of this DIY Wooden Barn Quilt

Red and White Barn Star Style wood Barn Quilt.
How to steps and video to build this Wooden DIY Barn Door Star Art. Pottery Barn Inspired knock off you can build for $20. #woodworking #diyprojects #diyhomedecor #potterybarn #AbbottsAtHome
You can see the tutorial for this fun DIY Christmas Table Centerpiece here.
How to steps and video to build this Wooden DIY Barn Door Star Art. Pottery Barn Inspired knock off you can build for $20. #woodworking #diyprojects #diyhomedecor #potterybarn #AbbottsAtHome
It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas in here. 🙂

Have fun making your DIY Barn Star and Merry Christmas!


Looking for more homemade Christmas Inspiration? I have 40+ DIY Christmas Projects, Crafts, and Home Decor Ideas in one big Christmas-y post.

40+ fun DIY Christmas Projects, Crafts, Ornaments, Wreaths, Builds and Gift Ideas from my site. Plus, some of my favorite Christmas projects from talented blogger friends! #Christmas #ChristmasIdeas #ChristmasDecor #ChristmasGifts #ChristmasInspo #Christmas


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Feeling inspired? Now that you’ve seen this DIY Wooden Barn Star Quilt Art tutorial, you can do it too. Let me know if you have questions.

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Sarah @ The DIY Mommy

Monday 9th of December 2019

This is a fantastic project! Affordable and turned out great. Thanks for sharing!

Stephanie

Tuesday 10th of December 2019

Thanks so much, Sarah. I love this one. :)

Rhonda Gales

Friday 29th of November 2019

Beautiful. I always love the Barn Star in quilts. Thanks for sharing on Sunday's Best. I'll be featuring your post.

Stephanie

Saturday 30th of November 2019

Yay! Thanks so much, Rhonda. :)

Michelle | Thistle Key Lane

Monday 25th of November 2019

Stephanie, your sign is so good looking. What a brilliant money saver too. I'm excited to share your project this week on Tuesday Turn About. Hope you will stop by again and link up with us!

Stephanie

Monday 25th of November 2019

Yay! Thanks so much, Michelle. I really appreciate the share!

Pamela

Friday 22nd of November 2019

This is a GREAT tutorial. I've been wanting to learn how to make a frame properly. Looks amazing!

Stephanie

Saturday 23rd of November 2019

Yay. So glad I could help. Thanks, Pamela!

amy

Thursday 21st of November 2019

Beautiful! Great project!

Stephanie

Thursday 21st of November 2019

Thanks so much, Amy!