Hst
 

I thought I had these things figured out!

I am making my squares 3 inches and drawing the line down the middle, etc. It seems as though some of them have plenty of room to trim while the other half is almost too small. I must be shifting my fabric or something. They are still all fine to use but I sure do find them to be tricky.

I am making a small table topper from the Kim Diehl Simple Whatnots Club. It is going together fast.

I don't draw the corner to corner diagonal. I draw the 2 sewing lines. Line up the 1/4" marking on your ruler corner to corner, then draw the line. Turn your square 180 and draw the other one. I found that even though you have to draw twice as many lines, the result is worth it to me! There are several rulers on the market that are made for this, just a half inch wide.
http://generationqmagazine.com/2011/...iangle-part-2/

I use the little skinny Fons & Porter ruler to draw those 2 lines. It works better for me to draw the 2 lines too. It's quick and easy with that little ruler. That's what I am working on today. I picked it up at Hobby Lobby with a 40% off coupon. There was a short one and long one in the set. I use them all the time.

you can also put a pin in each side near those corners to help keep the fabric from shifting. I sew just a tad inside the drawn line. then press and trim. always place the 45 degree line on your ruler on the seam line, trim two sides, turn and trim the last two sides if necessary. That should work.

My favorite way to make hst. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L43Uc9H_RUA
So easy.

I too use the F&P little ruler. It comes in two sizes.

These are tricky for me, too! I don't have any good solutions for you, but you're definitely not alone in this. I'm awful with these.

I tend to not end up with the straightest seam (even if I draw lines to sew directly on) and so I end up with weird puckers and curved-up pieces when I try to press them flat. Argh! I think for ME, I'm better off cutting the triangles first and then sewing, so I can use my quarter-inch foot to keep me in line. Which is disappointing, so I keep trying to do it the more efficient way, telling myself I just need to keep practicing...but I keep getting aggravating results.

This is why most of my quilts are made with squares and rectangles! LOL

If you prefer cutting first and then sewing, I'd suggest the Easy Angle Ruler: http://www.amazon.com/Quilting-Angle.../dp/B005KC3L4U

You can find it just about anywhere and it's really helpful. Using the ruler, you won't need to add 7/8" to get the proper finished size. It's designed to cut triangles from strips. If you have 2 1/2" strips, you'll be able to get 2 inch finished triangles. One end of the triangle is blunt when you cut them, and you'll be able to feed that end into your sewing machine using your 1/4" foot. It avoids having to start sewing on a point.

Here's a video on this method: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKrTj-d5ryI

Oh cool, Lynda! I will definitely check that out, thanks!

Usually I start oversize and trim down, but it'd be nice if I could just get it right from the start.

This is the way I make mine. As a matter of fact, I'm making this quilt as we speak. This HST is sooooo very easy to make. :thumbup: