bearisgray

Is this the effect you are trying for?

For the first section - is your template/pattern right?

My units have turned out better when I would mark each piece where I have placed a dark circle and then matched the dots.

I do lop (cut) off some of the long tails on the unit - but I usually leave about 1/2 inch seam allowance on them. They are easier for me to handle and usually turn our better when I leave that extra amount on the tails.

The chevron - I would deal with it in whatever manner I usually do flying geese units - some people use squares and trim - some people use the "exact" shape - I would probably do squares and trim.

the difference being that the center ends up being a parallelogram instead of a triangle.