I don't know what size strip you are starting out with - it really doesn't matter.

Cut the angle you want - 45 degree if you want an 8-pointed star -
60 degree if you want a 6-pointed star.

Maybe the attached scans will help ?

The angled line/cut is LONGER than the width of the fabric -

In the 45 degree one - the drawing is for a 2 inch strip -
To get all four sides to be the same length, the second cut is approximately 2-3/4 inches away from the first cut.

In the 60 degree one - the drawing is for a 2 inch strip
To get all four sides to be the same length, the second cut is approximately 2-1/4 inches away from the first cut.

Luckily this stuff doesn't stretch so I don't think I really need the starch. When I washed it it didn't even unravel at the cut edges. If it wasn't so heavy I wouldn't mind working with it all the time. Its canvas and heavier weight than denim.

Thank you so much for the drawing. This really helps a lot.

Also, expect to "retrue" up your angle every 3rd or 4th cut. It is surprising how quickly you can go off. One thing that helped was making a paper template to periodically test my cuts against.

I have also noticed that when cutting strips. :shock:

Sometimes it is worth the effort to make an accurate template and then I don't need to "think" as much while I am cutting.

I think this info was interesting.

http://www.mathsisfun.com/quadrilaterals.html


A lot of it is in the "A cat is a mammal, but a mammal may or may not be a cat" category.

First off, those are not equilateral triangles, which by definition are 60 degrees for each corner. Like above, you need to use 45 degree angles.

Remember to starch or Best Press before you cut so that the sides don't get stretched.

I do use a diamond template by Fast2Cut Rulers and check the angle each time. I guess I do have some OCD.

Try using template plastic and tracing your patches if the ruler method isn't working out for you. Regardless of which method you use to cut your star patches, one way to tell if they are cut accurately is to fold the patch in half, point to point. The sides of the long points should be the same length.

I got the 12 1/2 square ruler to help with this but now I'm wondering if I cut a triangle of the correct size on the fold if it wouldn't come out easier and the same?

Woo Hoo I've finally got the idea of what I'm doing. I've got 9 of 48 diamonds cut and things are rolling along smoothly. Thank you ALL for your tremendous help. I'm sure I'll be back shortly with other questions.