I still think HST is an inaccurate descrption.
I heard someone refering to HST as being just half of what we think of as a HST. And that is much more accurate. So the square is made up of two HSTs.
The squares were cut in half on the diagonal, making a right angle triangle that is half of the square. Makes a lot more sense, but I'll bet it won't catch on. That would be almost like changing the qwerty keyboard. Ain't gonna happen!

I agree with sleepiness.....refers to finished size.

Darn! Typed in paper princess and the auto thingee printed "sleepiness". Is there anyway to shut that auto spell thing off on a Kindle Fire?????

I love that you posted this ;-)

Never be afraid to ask questions!There is no such thing as a dumb question, and people here are SO helpful!

No question is 'too embarrassing' to ask if you don't know the answer. We have all been in that situation. Even after many years as a quilter there are lots of questions I have. When one becomes relevant I ask. Triangles are perplexing. Recently, I struggled with directions for using the ruler for Hunter's Star. I just was struggling with it. I took it to a local quilt store and asked for help. It was freely given. My problem was putting triangles together with a trapezoid. Once shown it made perfect sense and now I am on to the next step. Like others, I do believe the measurement you are seeking is for the straight sides rather than the diagonals so that the finished unit (square) has the measurement you require. Another example is the triangle made with the tri-recs tool. When choosing patterns just be sure you understand the directions when you read them. Some pattern writers are much better than others.

Unless they state otherwise, I just assume that it's a half square triangle and the size refers to the finished size of the square. You can usually look at the picture of the quilt to verify that it's a hst.

I've wondered this too. So if they end up with a 5" hst, they started out with two 5.5 squares? right?
In my day as an elementary teacher and equilateral triangle is the same measurement on all sides.

Then when it gets interesting - a quarter square triangle is the same shape as a half square triangle.

I much prefer the term HST UNITS TO HST'S - to me, a HST is a triangle cut from a square - not the two triangles sewn together to make a square.

:eek:....wow, am I ever glad this question was asked!
I never knew this stuff and never even thought to ask.

Normally it would mean the finished size of the square, and don't be embarrassed about asking questions. My favourite saying to my pupils is, there is no such thing as stupid question just a stupid person who doesn't ask!