How to handle small diagonal triangles?
 

I have a beautiful quilt pattern called My Corner Garden by The Gingham Girls. I am checking the instructions and find that the blocks are constructed with individual small squares and small single diagonal triangles. I am used to doing nine patch in strips so I am not used to working with the small pieces. I guess it has to be this way because the blocks are on point. Before I buy my fabric and begin, I want to know if it is doable for me. How do you handle small squares and especially small diagonal triangles without distortion from stretching? If anyone has finished this quilt, any advice you could give me would be appreciated.

I just looked up the pattern and don't see why you can't do nine patches for most of it. You just need to count how many of each set that you need. Then just set the nine patches on point.

It looks like you only need triangles as settings on the edge. Just spray them with starch or Best Press and press carefully.

You could use a very light stabilizer so your not stretching your bias edges. I just heard recently that many of the professional quilters do this for their show quilts.

Looks like all squares except the setting triangles....( those around the edges). The 4 corners are HST ( half square triangles) ...this are created by cutting a square once on the diagonal, thus creating 2 triangles...the only bias there is is the cut from corner to corner, and that will be locked in as you create your rows. The rest of the setting triangles are quarter square triangles...that is a large square cut diagonally twice, thus getting 4 triangles with 2 bias sidesaddle one straight base...those bias sides are again locked into the body of the quilt as you create the rows and that straight edge is the straight edge of your quilt. There should be no reason to use any fusibles.....the dimensions of your pieces should be in your pattern... Just read it a few times and you will be ok.....

You are all making me believe I can do this. Is it better to use Best Press before I cut the squares on the diagonal? It seems that this would be be more effective in preventing stretching than after cutting. It would minimize stretching in cutting and sewing. I know I will have to handle the triangles carefully while sewing to make sure there is no pull to cause stretching. You are all so helpful. Geri B, you were very helpful in helping me visualize the process. Thanks everyone. If anyone has completed this pattern or one like it, I'd like to hear how it turned out. I am expecting it to be time consuming. I have a thing about points. I am OCD about everything matching.

yes, spray and press dry before you cut.

I've not looked at the quilt or pattern but it seems you could achieve the 9 patches and HST's in a traditional fashion...i.e., strip piecing or the 2 squares method of HST without cutting itty bitty pieces and trying to sew them. read your directions carefully about 10x over. You can probably simplify the cutting/sewing process by changing the way the fabric is cut initially. This is something I learned the hard way after doing a quilt with similar sounding directions. Could have made my life far, far easier if I had read the directions a few times beforehand instead of jumping right in.

Why don't you just make a test block out of scrap fabric and see how it goes??

The only triangles are the setting triangles, and they are not small, IMHO. Geri did a very nice job of explaining how to cut the triangles. The concept is that you should have the straight grain of the fabric along the outside edges of the quilt, with the bias edges all sewn safely into place so they don't stretch. Look on the board under Articles or on the net for how to set a quilt on point to get an explanation of the process. You are correct; the Best Press or starch is aplied to the fabric before cutting.

LOL, can you tell that I am the kind if person who has to know not just HOW to do something, but WHY it works as it does? If my math book didn't have the proof for a theorem, I would not believe it until I did the proof myself.

Here's a pic of the pattern:

http://ginghamgirls.biz/blog/wp-cont...r-663x1024.jpg

It's very pretty. You absolutely can do your 9 patch units using strip method piecing. It's much quicker too! Once you have your blocks sewn, sew your rows together on the diagonal including your corners. By that I mean cut the size you need for the corner as a square then trim after the top is all assembled, avoiding the whole bias/stretch issue. Hope that makes sense!

Thanks for posting a picture of the quilt. It appears to me that I will have fewer seams using the strip piecing method. I am always hesitant deviating from the instructions, but it seemed to me that the strip piecing method would be better. Before I deviate, I have to have the whole process in my mind/on paper so that I don't encounter surprises. Many of you have helped me do this. When I lived in England for a short while, there was a traffic sign that read, Don't enter the intersection unless your exit is clear. I have applied this mantra to a lot of life situations.

What am I missing?? I don't see anything but 9 patches that are set on point. You will have what are called setting triangles around the edges of the quilt. Have you done applique before??

Actually that is not the instructions. The dark nine patches are enlarged by sewing to each side of the nine patch a unit consisting of square piece in the center with a triangle cut from a square (diagonally in half) on each side with a another triangle (this triangle is from a square cut diagonally twice.) sewed to the bottom of the square. This makes a square block when these units are sewed on all four sides of the dark nine patch. Then you make criss cross blocks, side blocks and corner blocks. This requires sewing small pieces, lots of them that are 2 3/8" squares and triangles, some cut two from the 2 3/8" squares and some 4 cut from the 2 3/8" squares. Then these blocks are sewn in horizontal (not diagonal) strips. To me they have made it more complicated than it needs to be and too many little pieces to cut, handle and sew. That's why I am exploring an easier way and hoped someone had made this quilt.

Best press or starch will hold diagonal firm while you cut and sew. Don't make it too stiff as it spoils the quilting afterwards in my opinion..

I have written two emails to The Gingham Girls asking if it is possible to strip piece and sew in diagonal strips instead of their instructions, but I haven't gotten a reply yet. In fairness, they probably need more time to reply. I expect a prompt response, but they probably have more pressing business issues and will get back to me soon. I will give that plan a little time, then my plan B is to create a grid and map it out and physically manipulate pieces on the grid, so I can see how it works. Last summer I finished a quilt that was a nine patch and Irish chain. I did strip piecing and loved the process, so when I saw this pattern, I thought the construction would be about the same, but set on point. There are hundreds of tiny bias cut triangles with this method, each cut and sewn separately. There has to be a better way.

I would strip sew as many of the blocks that you can.

It seems the "designers" of this pattern have made a mountain out of a molehill, so to speak. So many times, when I decide to do a pattern, I read it, and then see if I can simplify it, or adjust the sizes, or the process.....this is supposed to be my therapy, not add to my daily frustrations! Just me!

Huh???
OK, I enlarged the picture, and I see what you are talking about.
There's no reason why you can't strip piece it. Do you need help figuring it out?
I don't think writing to the designers is going to help. You don't need their permission to use a different construction method & they probably are not going to rewrite the pattern just for you...
Curious to see if you get a reply.
I will say that this is a darned cute pattern!!

The reason I wrote to the designer is because this pattern has been out for sometime now and I thought that my questions might have been raised with them before, if not by email, at least in person when they make appearances at quilting events or doing workshops. Maybe I am naive, but I think they should respond to me to explain why they constructed it the way they did and what problems I might encounter by strip piecing. I do not expect them to rewrite the pattern for me. I have not heard from them yet. I have worked out a method to do it strip piecing. The hard part for me will be the Y seams for the small setting triangles around the edge. Y seams are not my favorite, but I have decided if need be, I can hand sew them. I am just stubborn enough to work it out. It is a beautiful pattern. I love the piecing and applique combination. I have been making large bed size quilts and think it is time for a lap quilt.

The owner of my local quilt shop took some time with me yesterday concerning this pattern (My corner Garden). She confirmed my plan to strip piece the blocks and sew them in strips diagonally. We also discussed a plan to handle the edges and corners. I asked her why the designer would create a pattern that has so many tiny half triangles and squares. She said some quilter's are intimidated by blocks on point and rather do the work of expanding a center nine patch to make it a large block that could be combined with the other like blocks for vertical or horizontal strips. For me, I will strip piece in order to avoid handling hundreds of small pieces separately. She also helped me select fabric, so I am ready to go. The only part of quilting I dread is cutting, so I get over that hump first, By the way, the quilt designer has never answered my emails about the pattern. Oh well, I will avoid patterns from that designer in the future.

I think you are on the right track. I often "rewrite" patterns to use techniques that make more sense to me. Good luck on your quilt. I really like it!

I figured out how to make this quilt top in diagonal strips rather than working with hundreds of small pieces. I had to figure out the right size setting triangles, but there is a good formula for this on the Internet. I am pleased with the way it turned out and pleased that I had the confidence to experiment and do it in an easier way than the original complex pattern. This is my first time to post a picture--fingers crossed.[ATTACH=CONFIG]541879[/ATTACH]

Wow you did a great job, I just love the pattern. Good Job!

Before I start any quilt project I starch my fabrics. That seems to help with stretching and distortion during the sewing process for me. I make my own starch mixture using the basic Vodka Recipe and add additional liquid starch to make it even stiffer. Keeps the fraying at bay too.

My problem with this pattern was not stretching and distortion. The problem was cutting out, handling, and sewing so many small pieces as the pattern called for. I couldn't figure out why the pattern wouldn't work by strip piecing, which is so much easier and faster and I found a way to do it. I had to make my blocks slightly larger than the pattern, so the quilt is also slightly larger, but that is okay. Strip piecing made this quilt so much easier than the way the pattern was written. I appreciate your information about starching. There are some patterns where it is necessary to work with bias edges and starching helps. I really liked this pattern and was almost ready to give up and not do it when I contemplated handling so many pieces, but with encouragement from many of you, decided to work out the strip piecing and I wanted to report that it worked. Thanks to everyone.