cutting triangles so there is no bias
 

Last night as I was falling asleep, I was watching Fons & Porter - the one with Joseph's Pinwheels.

They said something about cutting quarter triangles and half triangles, so that the bias is not where............. getting really drowsy. LOL

Anyway, they said cut them so they don't have the bias on one side, so you don't stretch it out. And they told how big a square to cut out, based on the block it is being attached to. It all made sense as I was falling asleep, but now I can't remember exactly what was said. And it seemed so much more clear than I had ever heard it before.

Do you know what they said?

Maybe it is where you put 2 squares right sides together, sew a 1/4 inch seam around the outside of the sq,
and then cut them through the middle from bottom left corner to right top corner then again from bottom right corner to top left corner??

Wasn't watching, but here's what I know. You should not ever have the bias edge on what will be the outside of the block, unless you enjoy self-punishment. The outer edges should be on the straight grain. My solution is to buy triangles on a roll, because accurate measurements are right up with an accurate seam allowance of my list of challenges.

What about drawing a line down two squares which have been put right sides together. I think you are supposed to make them 7/8 of an inch bigger than your finished size, but I always round up to an inch. Then you sew 1/4 inch away from line line on each side and cut them apart on the line. Also, Rhonda has a method on tutorials on the way she does them.

I don't know if it was for the Joseph's pinwheel but the quarter square trianles she said to cut the square 1 and 1/4 larger than needed? (gets cut in 4, corner to corner) The half square it was 7/8 larger and it was cut in half, corner to corner? Does that sound right to all you math wizzards?

I read lot of ways to cut triangles, not really sure which way is best.

Having been faced with making over 200 HST, I tried all methods. The one where I get best results, and is the fastes overall, is by printing off the triangle paper from on line and following the directions for sewing and cutting. The bias edge is controlled by the paper (I am leaving on until I sew together) and they turn out very accurate this way. I also starched the fabric before cutting.

There is no way to create a triangle without one edge being on the bias.

I saw that also and don't remember what they did, but it was a way for not using the bias, also sleeping I guess.

I use the printouts available from block central...love the way they turn out and I don't have to worry about the stretch.

Triangle bias edges
 

In general, when triangles are cut, at least one side will have a bias edge, sometimes two sides will have a bias edge. There may be instances when all three sides will have somewhat of a bias edge.