Two more secrets to hst.

1. Starch the fabric stiff!!! This will help control the bias.

2. Do NOT slide your iron on the fabric. Mash it down. This way you don't distort the fabric along the bias edge.

These are doable. I thought I would lose my mind until I started starching and pressing the iron down.

I too thought I would be bald before I got four Ohio stars done for the cornerstones on a quilt. I bought special rulers I bought perfect shape rulers, I spent a small fortune on things to make the perfect half square triangle and still they were a mess. I finally saw someone on here, probably Candace, who mentioned that she only used Triangulations which is a CD that you can only buy at a quilt store. I hurried to my little local quilt store and asked if she carried them, no, but she did order the CD for me and finally, all is well in the world. You can print off papers on your printer for any finished size you want and you can print two of them or 200, however many you want. It is much more cost effective than buying thangles which will give you the same results, but you have to buy a certain amount of them in a pkg. and you have to know what finished size you need. For each different size you may need, you must buy another pkg. of them and if you wish to sew in the evening sometime and don't have the right size, too bad, your quilt shop is closed for the night. Believe me, I will never again dread half square triangles.

Try "Stitching LInes"--- at http://www.marinandcolusa.com/ I use these all the time for my hst's and they come out great. She's got a tute on the website as well that shows how to use them. Oh yah, it's my sister's company.

I have used these rulers and life was good!!

Thangles, thangles, thangles! Love me some thangles.

I did the half sq. triangle the way the Missouri Quilt Co. showed in the tutorial....sewing the sqs together all the way around....cut down the middle and the middle again......and did not have one problem with them. I do think that pressing is the key word here. I never used one pin...pressed as i went and every block came out perfect...no trimming. I made it of vintage sheets and white...all sheets and am ready to make a million more...so refreshing. I swore I would NEVER do those piece and stitch them back together but this was a breeze for me. j

I also use the corner to corner diagonal method as well. But that said it is still important that you press them well not iron as most want to do but press. Don't just run the iron along the seam but press as sewn then open up while still warm and finger press open then press down with the iron to set the seam open you will find less wonk that way.

This works great for me too. I add an inch then trim down.

Yes,....PRESS not iron ....key words here. J

ME TOO!