Question I'm embarrassed to ask
 

OK...I know this may sound ridiculous to some of you that I don't know this. But here goes....when someone says that they used a certain sized triangle, which side are they measuring to get the size? The short side? the diagonal side?

This has puzzled me for a long time, but I was too embarrassed to ask. But hey, you don't know what I look like, so I know you won't laugh and tell all my friends. :o:o

Good question. Never thought of that! Never be embarrassed for asking.

which triangle are you inquiring about? the half square, equilateral, or other? Usually it pertains to how the triangle fits in to a square or rectangle. At least that's the way I see it ;-)

I use it to refer to the short side. That's the way I learned it, so I've always assumed that's what everyone means. But there's that word - assume!

to me, if i'm cutting a strip into 45 degree triangles, i would say mine is 6 inches if the strip is that wide. the triangle would be set with the six inch measurement hitting the bottom of the strip. But as you say, there are many triangles. What confuses me is hexagon measurements. not everyone does that the same either.

I'm talking about the half-square triangle.

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.

That's a good question!

in that case, PaperPrincess' explanation is perfect.

probably in the other cases, too ;-)