There are quilt designers who do a great job writing patterns, and there are some who don't. A quilt I'm working on has 504 2" HST's in it. I wasn't thinking when I started cutting, I just followed the directions as given - a scad of squares that then needed to be marked and sewed on either side of the line. There are other methods that would have been SO much easier and faster. No mention of any other methods was made. It's my fault for not thinking, just getting at it without considering where I was going.