Krystyna

I just looked at three different patterns I'm considering and they all require 3 7/8" squares. What's up with that? Why not 4"? Why do I have to go squinting around for that 1/8" mark? Would it make a difference if I said, "The heck with it! I'm cutting them 4"?"

JenniePenny

Will you be cutting them in half diagonally? Then I would cut them at 4" initially.

PaperPrincess

I'll bet that those squares are used to make HSTs. The official way to do these is to add 7/8" to the finished size and cut 2 squares. You draw a diagonal line corner to corner, sew on either side, cut on the line and you have perfectly sized HST. If you sewed the seam perfectly. And you pressed perfectly. And you cut perfectly.
Read the entire pattern and if they are for HST, just round up to the even inch, make your patches then trim down.

EasyPeezy

Depends on the pattern. Can you post a link or describe the pattern?
Some do require that extra precision. You could always make a test
block first.

NJ Quilter

I agree these are probably for HST's ultimately. I always round up to the inch and then trim down after the HST's are sewn. I find my HST's are more accurate that way. A bit of extra work but worth it for me.

tesspug

It's less work that having to resew them because they are not big enough or accurate enough.

QuiltE

Plus by trimming them to size, you get nice squared up HSTs ... which go together ever-so-nicely!

Krystyna

Oh, heck! I had the pattern (which was free) in my downloads folder and moved it to my "Quilt Pattern" folder -- which is chock full of PDF's for who knows what. Do I need to tell you that I've been hoarding quilt patterns? No. I do not. So, until I find it, the 7/8" is a moot point. I suppose I can put some fluorescent tape on my ruler and be done with it. *sigh*

Rose Marie

I make 8 at a time using large squares then use El Burns triangle square up ruler. It is a great time saver since it is used on the triangle before you open it. It is worth the cost of the ruler.

Peckish

If they are HSTs, google "magic 8 triangle method" for a helpful tutorial that shows how to make 8 HSTs at once.

So-called "pro" tip (ha!): using the formula will give you *exactly* the size you want, which is great unless you need to square a wonky, misbehaving hst. I learned to make them a tad bit larger by either sewing a scant 1/4" seam, or starting with a larger square and then trimming my HSTs down to size.