? about HST's
 

Hi everyone,

I am in the process of cleaning and organizing my sewing room. I have a lot of squares that I have put in different ziploc bags based on size i.e. 4" squares, 4 1/2" squares, etc. I also have a lot of HST's that I have cut for different projects, but need to know how to tell what sizes they are. If anyone can tell me, that would be great. I probably have enough different blocks to make a scrappy quilt.

Thanks

take your hst's and lay them on the corner of your ruler one by one, fitting the corner of the hst into the corner of the ruler. that should help you determine the size they would be easier.

I guess I don't understand your question -- nor nativetexan's answer. If you're asking what size the HSTs are --- you can just use the ruler --- if they measure 3" square, then it's a 3" HST. If you're asking what size quilt all those will make, then add up how many you have. If you have 30 --- you can lay 5 across and 6 down....that takes 30 HST.....multiply 5 x 3" -- you get 15". Now subtract the 1/2" per block for the seam allowances. That adds up to 2" --- so your finished top would be 13" across. Do the same for the length.

Is this as clear as mud????

If you lay the HSTs on the corner of a ruler, you will get the unfinished size of the block that the HSTs can work with. If you want to find out what size the original square would have been, add 3/8".

Here is an example: If the measurement of the side of the HST is 3 1/2", then the square that it was cut from would have been 3 7/8" (this would be the number referenced in a pattern book). The finished size of any block that is made from them would be 6".

Hope this helps.

I think the OP is asking about HST patches (just the triangles), not HST blocks.
Big difference.

So if you take the measurement of one side of the triangle patch (as nativetexan described), you would need to subtract 7/8" to calculate the size of the FINISHED HST BLOCK you'd get if you sewed two of the same sized triangles together.

Huh?

The OP has HST patches (already cut).

If one side measures 3-7/8, then the FINISHED size of a HST BLOCK will be 3" when two are sewn together.

Work it backwards:

If you wanted 3" FINISHED HST Blocks, you'd cut the squares 3-7/8". Regardless of your method, when you cut (or sew) those squares in half, the unfinished side will still measure 3-7/8".

Oh My Goodness I think you opened a can of worms. LOL