HST blocks
 

Hello group
I need help with half square triangles I know to cut the square the size you need and to draw a line on the material and put the two fabrics together and then sew 1/4 inch on each side but that is where I mess up
how to sew the 1/4 inch on each side of the line I sew crooked some time does any one have a easier method to sewing the 1/4 inch and some times the squares are not the same size and they are crooked I am a new quilter and I don't know if I like HST I have been trying to cut the blocks for the mini carpenter star i really want to do this one but my HST are a mess I cut 3 inch squares and 3 1/2 squares but they are not straight I guess I could cut them down to 2 inch squares and maybe the material was bias cut to
I hope there is a easier way to sew and cut the blocks thanks
I do have a 1/4 inch foot so how do I use that on the lines ?

What I do is cut my squares larger than what I need. I then draw a line down the center of one of the squares and then draw a line 1/4" on each side of the center line and sew on them. After they are sewn and cut apart, I press them open and then I will trim my HST to the size I need.

Try to slow down when sewing. Are you using rotary cutter and rulers or just cutting
with scissors?
I don't use a 1/4 inch foot for sewing HST's. I use my open toe foot so I can see
where I'm going. You draw one line corner to corner and then sew 1/4" away from
that line. It's easier to draw that 1/4" on each side then you know where to sew.
Also, I prefer to cut bigger squares, draw the lines, sew, press then cut the
triangles. Press open then trim to size. Hope this helps.

I too, make my squares larger than the pattern says, draw the line corner to corner, mark a 1/4 inch line on each side of the first line and sew on those lines, then cut on the middle line to make the 2 squares.

lay your ruler 1/4 mark on the point and draw a line turn it around and do the same thing. Then you sew on the line

Or you can use some sort of triangle papers (Triangulations, Triangles on a Roll, Thangles). I found them helpful when I was first piecing and they are very accurate.

I use this method if I just need a few HSTs. Just recently I needed lots of 2.5 inch HSTs so I cut a 2 inch strip of each fabric. Sewed a 1/4 inch seam on both sides making a tube then used my triangle ruler to cut my HSTs. I did need to trim a little to 2.5 inches.

Hi there I am doing HST at the moment on a quilt for my nephew and have read and watched a few videos on them. One video was from Jenny at the Missouri Quilt Company and I though it was a pretty good idea. Make sure your suares are cut the same size and join them together WS facing. Take a 1/4 seam all the way around the outside of the block and then cut diagonally across them and you have two HST. Really easy method I thought. It is on youtube if you are a visual leaner like me. Just wish I had seen this video before I started cutting my out :p Good luck.

I draw a grid on the lighter of the two fabrics I'm using. So, if I needed 8 HST that finish to 2", I would cut a large square of fabric, about 6x6" plus 1/2" all around. Then, I would draw a 6x6 square, then divide that into four squares, each 3x3. I would then draw diagonals on all the squares, making them connect at the midpoints. Then, sew 1/4" on each side of the diagonals. Press the square to set the seams. Then cut out on the original lines and on the diagonals. Then, press open and cut to the correct size. Though there is some fabric waste, there is less than if I had to toss a couple of blocks for being the wrong size.

Laurie

I always use Eleanor Burns methods.
For 2 1/2 in half square triangles use two six inch sqs, add two inchs for each size up.
Draw an x and sew 1/4 in down both sides of lines.
Cut in half both ways then on the lines. This gives you 8 triangles at a time. They will be slightly large so you need to square them up.
The best way is with her triangle square up ruler that you only make one cut to square up.
Also if you have a sewing straight line problem, I use the half inch rulers by Fons and Porter to draw my lines with.

Was your straight of grain on the longest edge? Which is why I would not make HST's that way if I wanted the straight of grain to be on the short sides of the triangles.

traingle paper if you need alot of one set or thangles paper to do just a few at a time.

Ditto this...takes the stress out and allows for better accuracy.

Quick Qtr
 

I use this handy little tool for HST. You can line it up diagonally and then draw a line on each side. Sew on the lines then cut down the center. It's called a Quick Qtr by Quilter's Rule. I also make my squares a little bit larger to start with, then square them up after piecing.

I use my quarter inch foot and place the metal guide on the drawn line, sew and then do the other side. usually i sew just inside that, meaning i place the foot just "inside/off" the drawn line. then press and trim if necessary. if you trim always place your 45 degree line on your ruler on the seam you sewed.
http://trishstuart.com/pdf_files/HSTconstruction.pdf
http://www.generations-quilt-pattern...-triangle.html

I make a lot of HST from scraps and I love the little quarter inch ruler. Makes marking the sewing line go real fast. There are two lengths to choose from. I have both and love them.

They are 1/2" wide with a mark down the center length of the ruler. Just line this mark up on the diagonal corners of any size block and draw a light line on each side of the ruler. Sew on the lines and cut down the center.

I think they are from Fons and Porter and I love them!

peace

Hi I like to speed piece my hsq's. If I need 3.5" I cut my fabric 4.5" so if I need 2 my fabric would be 4.5" by 9". When I mark my pieces I use a half inch ruler. Place the center line corner to corner and only mark the 1/4 inch sewing lines. then cut down the center to separate them. then I will square them to the size I need. Wastes a little bit of fabric but......they're the right size when finished. I put all my tiny scraps in a bag that I'm saving for stuffing so even that fabric is not truly wasted.

First time I did HST I had that same probelm. I cut the squares the size I wanted plus 1/2 inch for 1/4 seam allowance on each side. HOWEVER...in the case of an HST..you have to cut them 1 inch larger than what you want as that line down the middle and 1/4 on each side takes up 1/2. then the other half inch is for the seams that attach the HST to the other blocks. I was only allowing for the 1/2 larger for the outer seams...I was not allowing for the 1/2 needed for the inner seam. I make blocks THREE TIMES before I finally figured this out! I had enough blocks for 3 lap quilts! But nothing matched up because of I didn't allow that extra 1/2 inch.

Then.. I learned squaring up is a must. I use QIAD's square up template.. and it works great. Now...my HST blocks almost always are 100% matching.

Another thing that I learned that helps ALOT is to press the seam after you sew it as that flattens the threads in the seam which stops any "give" and gives you a specific and straight, flat seam. If you dont do this... your seams will be bulky, which means different sizes!

Plus what I learned in these 3 laps I ended up with...anytime you want an HST..you have to cut the squares 1 inch larger than what you want. But.. I was putting HST's together with a half square.. and was not adding the extra 1/2 inch to the square to accommodate the middle seam.

If you need help with a perfect 1/4 seam.. get a seam guide that attaches to the plate of your sewing machine. Or..take a piece of fabric with a straight edge...measure with a pencil 1/4 in inward and draw a line. Place your needle on the line and take couple stitches... then use a 1 in POST-IT note pad and place that at the edge of the fabric (while still under needle) and that is now your seam guide!

I use the quarter foot....draw a line down the middle....then put your quarter foot bar on this line and sew on each side. That way you only need to draw one line - and you can stay in a straight line.

I love my Loc-Bloc, yes, it was pricey, but it works so well and you trim a stack of HST so fast.

see it here http://www.blocloc.com/blocloc.htm

It has a grove in the plastic that goes over the seam so the template doesnt rock or slip, the edge catches the line so it is right down the middle. You cut one side, slide to the other end, cut and you are done.

I use a product called Stitching Lines (www.marinaandcolusa.com). I find them very helpful keeping the stitching lines straight. I also find that the practice of making my squares slightly larger (1/2 inch or so), sewing and then trimming down to 4 1/2" for instance works best for me (some people call it "squaring up"). I always wash my fabric and use spray sizing or starch before I ever cut it. I like to use it after I've cut my square down as well. I am making HST's for an Edyta Sitar quilt and seem to be having good luck with this method.

hst
 

I am making 3,000 2" hst and I am using several techniques. A new one I used, was take a 5" square, iron on the diagonal a nice straight line, sew 1/4" on each side of your ironed line, do on both diagonal lines. Sew both lines. Go back to iron. Now iron in quarters. Cut on the iron lines and the sewn lines diagonally. You end up with 8 2" hst.
You also might like the printed hst. I use triangulations, but there are free programs out there. You simply print out the size you need - I use doodle pads cut down to printer size. Sew on the lines - actually I sew a hair inside of the lines. And voila, perfect hst. There are also rulers for this job. Find one that works for you.
HTH

I have been making a quilt with oodles of HSTs of all different sizes and I found Triangulations to be a life saver. It comes with a CD that enables you to print HSTs and QSTs in increments of 1/16". Basically you place your two fabrics right sides together, print the appropriate size triangles from the CD and lay that on top and pin. The printed paper has cut and sew (continuous line, by the way) lines. Start sewing. When done you just cut them apart. Depending on the size needed you can have anywhere from 4-32 + on a sheet. I have even used it for cutting single triangles of weird sizes (lets say 2 7/16"). I print the triangle sheet on my printer, spray with temporary adhesive and lay it on the wrong side of my fabric and cut on the cutting lines. The fabric doesn't shift and you have perfect triangles. The quilt pattern I was using used templates (ugh) but by measuring the sides of the template, I was able to use Triangulations instead. I also found out that pressing your seams OPEN helped me achieve greater accuracy. On matching triangle points I have resorted to using Elmers SCHOOL glue instead of a pin to match perfect seams. Works like a charm. After sewing I pop open the seam and iron flat. Good luck and hope this suggestion helps.

this indeed is a quick way of making hst, but I think for a more advanced piecer because when you do them this way you are dealing with bias edges when joining them....But the "old fashioned" way of sewing the diagonal-either one on each side of line or one on each side of line...depending on the size of those squares as opposed to what size you want those hst........easier and "safer" for joining.....straight edged hst

I have one of these! I keep forgetting about it when I make my HST; duh!!! I remember that it cost less than $4 at my LQS. I'm gonna have to put it someplace that I will see it!

Make sure you read the instructions on how to do this as you have to cut the squares larger than your completed HST's.

Look on youtube for a tutorial from Missouri Quilt Company. Jenny did one last week and I can hardly wait to try it. froggyintexas

I also cut the squares a little larger. After they are sewn together, cut apart and pressed, then I use one of the square rulers and trim to size. It does take a little more time but I get good squares and points.

I just made a sailboat quilt top with pinwheels (lots of HSTs). I decided to do the math and cut my squares the correct size, since my machine is pretty good about straight lines and has a helpful 1/4" seam line guide (I use a clear foot). I prefer not to mark the fabric, so I cut the squares in half first, then sew a 1/4" seam on the two triangles right sides together.

To make your HST squares come out to the right size as your whole squares, you need to add 1/(2*sqrt(2))" to the sides, or 0.354" (slightly less than 3/8"). You have to add less than the 2 x 1/4" (1/2") seam allowance because in the square dimensions your seam is actually applying on a diagonal, and the horizontal distance eaten up by the diagonal is less. So for me, I wanted 3" squares. That meant cutting 3.35" squares (I cut at 3 3/8"). Technically, they end up being 3.021" square, but that's within my sewing margin of error I think. I could have squared them up to 3" exactly, but the difference was so small it didn't really matter to me (it's only a crib-sized quilt), as I just squared up the terminating edges of the quilt once everything was pieced and that worked fine with my pattern. If you have a large quilt, or all your blocks are HST, then you're better off squaring them up to exactly the size you want or it'll be really noticeable once you start to match seams at opposite ends. For instance, joining two blocks together puts you off by 0.042", but 10 blocks puts you off 0.21" (nearly a quarter of an inch), 50 puts you off by 1.05", and 100 puts you off by 2.1"!

When I am making a lot of HST this is my favorite method. Very easy to make them acurate.

Cut a square from two colors of fabric, place right side face up on the bottom and 1 face down; the two right sides should be facing each other, with the wrong side showing, sew around the entire square with 1/4 inch seam. Then cut from corner to corner one way then corner to corner the other way without moving the square. This will give you half square triangles and you only sew one seam.

Check out Missouri Star Quilts on youtube for better instructions.

Hope this helps.

delma

A quarter inch foot is probably the answer to your problems. Remember to watch the fabric and the foot....not the needle.

I use hst pre printed paper, I can make a whole bunch of them at once, easy directions.

I would be careful using Rose Marie and Quiltaddition's ideas. When cut, they will be on the bias and that creates a whole other set of problems. Also remember just like driving a car you are not watching the hood of the car but looking down the road a bit. So do not watch the needle going in and out of the fabric. You need to watch the line a little bit in front. This will help sew the line straighter. You got several good ideas in responses. Try them and see what works best for you.

I use the method several people have mentioned here, using the rule that the squares should be at least 1" larger than the finished HST unit should be. It does not really matter if the seam is exactly 1/4", as long as it is straight and not LARGER than the standard 1/4". I cut the 2 units on the line, then I press. (Iron up and down, no 'scrubbing' motion.) When I trim, I put the ruler's diagonal line exactly on the seam. I've tried the 4 at a time and triangle papers methods and don't much like them. That's just me. Alternately, www.fons&porter.com has a special tool for the job that looks nice. I use a June Taylor 1/2" ShapeCut as my main ruler.

Jannie you are wrong.
No bias edges doing it the Eleanor Burns way.
It is the method where you sew around the outer edges that has bias problems.

I use my 1/4 inch foot and it works fine for me. draw the center line then line the edge of foot on the line and sew. reverse for other side.

love this idea! thanks for sharing

Has anyone tried Sharon Schambers way? She starts with 2 fat quarters, both right sides up, and then cuts them on the bias and then sews them back together to make a piece of fabric with alternate colors. You need to see her video to see exactly how she does it. It looks very involved, but does make perfect hst.

I think they are a pain to do, but look neat. I'm doing some right now. I need finished 2.5" HST. I cut two pieces that are 3", then eyeball a sewing line 1/4" from the diagonal, right sides together. Then, I cut down the middle, THEN I take them and trim them down.

This is the slow part and the pain part, but it makes everything look so nice, and it works.

I've thought about trying those thangles, etc., though.