The "cut away the excess" method wastes a whole lot of fabric. I make square in a square blocks that start with a 5 inch center square and I cut two 4 inch squares on the diagonal for the corners. I'd try it with the 5.5 and two 4.5 inch squares and see if it comes out the size you want. I crease the center square in the center and the corners in the center and match the creases.