I have been making a lot of HST (Half Square Triangle) projects lately so I thought what better than to show a quick tutorial from the thing I have learned. The biggest thing that I have learned over the years is it is the small things that matter, and this is one of the small things that really does mater. If you want things to line up in the end then it is small tips and tricks like this that will make it stand out (or not stand out) in the end.
First get your squares that you are planning on using. We have used all sized from 10″ to 5″ to our current size 2 1/2″ squares. Turn the suares so the prints are facing each other and use your ruler to match corner to corner. Draw a line from corner to corner with what ever tool you like the best. You will never see this again so you can use anything from a dandy quilting pen to a regular around the house pen. Sew a 1/4″ on both sides of the line that you drew.
Get you handy dandy ruler and rotary cutter and cut on the line that you drew down the center.
It should look like this.
Now get your ruler and line it up to cut off anything that might not be of the right size. Even it if is only by a 10th of a inch this will make a difference in the end. Cut it off to make you square as square as possible.
As you can see this did not cut off much but it cut off just enough to make my new square perfect.
Using your rotary cutter trim the two out edges so you won’t have any tags hanging out when you open your finished block. That is it and believe me when I say this little thing will make all the difference in the end.
Projects that use the Half Square Triangle:
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January 27, 2015 at 1:29 am
I just lined it up once it was even and then chop, chop. I hope that helps.
January 27, 2015 at 1:29 am
I just lined it up once it was even and then chop, chop. I hope that helps.
January 23, 2015 at 11:37 am
I want to learn this.
January 22, 2015 at 2:40 pm
I have a question about trimming, where do you line up your template to make sure you trim the right about off so it comes out square? Thanks
January 26, 2015 at 3:15 pm
I have wondered the same thing as Tracy. I’ve not seen the dog ears trimmed like this before, I’ll have to try that for sure. Thanks for the tips. :o)
January 26, 2015 at 4:18 pm
My question too. It’s a great idea if I knew where to line things up. Knowing me, I would cut them all down too small.
January 22, 2015 at 6:20 am
I learned another trick from a friend to help prevent stretching iron before you cut apart. Iron one one direction, the other the other way, then cut apart. Changes your cutting but it will stop the stretch as well.
January 21, 2015 at 7:02 pm
Thank you, it all helps. x