I know the desired method of joining HST is not to chain piece triangles together. However...it always seems that I don't think things through well enough in advance to plan otherwise. My question is, when sewing together the HSTs, how do you keep the end of your seem (at the bottom point) from veering off when it hits the feed dogs? I guide the tip along with a wooden skewer until it's ready to slip under the presser foot, but most often the tip will not follow the trajectory and I end up with the end of my seem being less than 1/4 inch. Of course that produces a less than perfect square when opened and pressed. Any advice?

Practice!
sorry, but that's about all that I can think to suggest! There's no magic wand!!!!

The important part is that you recognize the problem and are working on dealing with it.

Setting seams, then pressing WELL at every step helps a lot. Also, I feel it's more of an issue with some machines than others.

You're doing what needs to be done ... awareness ... and experimenting to find what works best for you!

When I do my HST ~ 1) enlarge square; example- pattern calls for 2 7/8", I cut 3". 2) draw diagonal line and sew scant 1/4" seams. 3) cut on diagonal line 4) press and trim to proper size.

Now sometimes because of the pattern I have to sew those blessed triangle. Then I use a leader (scrap fabric) before sewing triangle, somehow this helps.

Also what I have learned ~ start slow. Plus if you have a straight stitch plate, helps also.

Good luck

After reading Grammy's comments, I'm not sure which you are asking .... when you are initially making your HST's (Grammy's)? or when you are joining two or more HST's together (my comments)?

Looks like we both interpreted it differently. Perhaps you could clarify!

I don't have to worry about seams or much at all using Triangulations!!! It's awesome!

I have used the "purple thing" to push it thru...on my new machine it has pin feed, which makes piecing awesome...so I really don't have to use any thing to push it now. The pin feed also makes it where I don't have to use the walking/even feed foot for straight quilting, either... I also make the squares 1/8" bigger, that way when I go to square up it works great. I use the June Tailor square up ruler, too. I really still don't love making hst, but doing it how I do it now makes them come out right, and that takes away a lot of the frustration!!..
Good luck,
Kif

I always trim down my HSTs. Yes, it's a bit of work but I like the result.

Have you tried different feet to see if that makes a difference? I like the foot with the edge guide.

Whatever is an HST?

HST = Half Square Triangle (I think)

I'd like to hear more about your pin feed machine. What kind is it?

Thanks!

If I am understanding you correctly, your concern is the last little bit veers off as you have to let go with your stiletto....one thing I do to control it is the positioning of your left hand/fingers, holding and guiding the piece square to the foot as it passes through, you have to make sure you position your fingers just far enough away so that they don't bump into the foot as it passes under though or you end up with a wobble in your stitching, once I figured this out I had no more veering off! :D

Thanks everyone for your advice. I wasn't able to reply earlier while the changes on the board were occurring, but I would like to clarify that I am indeed talking about sewing two triangles together, and it's the last little point to slip under the presser foot that doesn't keep going straight. I'll try your suggestions and live in hope! Love the idea of a machine you're able to keep the pins in while sewing...for those of us with a regular machine, wouldn't it be nice if they would develop some sort of flexible pin that wouldn't damage machine or needle when run over? I do hope the sewing machine makers of the world have a marketing person lurking around this board to hear all our great suggestions. :)

Here's how I do HST, if you have a bunch of them to do, there's a grid method of doing them. Instead of 7/8" of an inch, I use 1", then square them up.

The magic number for half-square triangles is 7/8. Simply add 7/8 of an inch to the desired FINISHED SIZE of your half-square triangle. For example, if I want a 2" finished size half-square triangle, I will cut two squares (one from each color) that measure 2-7/8" each. There are two methods that you can use to construct your half-square triangles from squares. Either way, you'll end up with two half-square triangles.
Method 1 - Cut Then Sew: With your rotary cutter and ruler, slice each square from corner to corner to make two triangles of each color. Layer color 1 on color 2 with right sides together and stitch a 1/4" seam along the long side. Repeat with the second pair of triangles. Press seam toward the darker fabric and trim points. You now have two half-square triangles that measure 2-1/2" on all sides. They will measure 2" when sewn into the block and then into the quilt. This method works fine, but you do have to handle stretchy bias edges. If you use this method and your half-square triangles turn out to be not exactly the right size, you might want to give Method 2 (below) a try.

Method 2 - Sew Then Cut: With a pencil and ruler, draw a line on the wrong side of the light color square. With right sides together, layer the lighter square on the darker square and stitch a 1/4" seam on BOTH SIDES of the drawn line. Cut apart on the drawn line and press seam allowances toward the darker fabric. Trim points and you are done. You now have two half-square triangles that measure 2-1/2" on all sides. They will measure 2" when sewn into the block and then into the quilt. This method lets you avoid handling the bias edges, therefore yielding half-square triangles that are more accurate in size.

This sometimes plagues me too. Some fabrics are worse than others, and the grain on which they are cut can be a slip factor. When I see a slip pattern occurring, I take a little extra time to starch my pieces together. It helps to have a mini iron and press board next to the machine so I don't have to keep jumping up to tack the pieces together. It makes a big difference with those uneven edges though. Well worth the extra time for me.

Here is what I do, I start sewing from the middle to the end, then flip and start sewing a few threads on top of where I started in the middle and sew to the other end. Hope this helps

Ok not sure if my post got lost or what, but I take my triangle and start from the center out to the end, flip it and start a few threads on top of where I started sewing at the center and sew to the other end.

I have used exact grid methods using paper grids and that would solve your problem. But I really dont like this way.
My prefered method is El Burns, using large squares and drawing an x then sew 1/4 inch on each side. Cut in half both ways and on drawn lines to get 8 HST. They are slightly oversized so need to square up with her ruler that only requires one cut.
It is fast and they are perfect every time. For 2 1/2 inch squares use two 6 inch squares. For 3 1/2 use 8 in squares.
I love making HST now.

I prefer the method where you mark the diagonal on the back of a square & sew the squares together by sewing a scant 1/4" on both sides of the line. 2 HST's for the aggravation of 1. I also use a similar method for QST's.

I have to move the needle over to get it to pull corners correctly on my old mechanical machine and my Singer. The 1/4" foot doesn't line up well enough with the feed dogs so it does the skewing thing you mentioned. If I don't feel like fussing with the needle position, I go very slow at the end & use my "Purple Thang" to keep it straight.

[QUOTE=BKrenning;4621469]I prefer the method where you mark the diagonal on the back of a square & sew the squares together by sewing a scant 1/4" on both sides of the line. 2 HST's for the aggravation of 1. I also use a similar method for QST's.

I do this too, plus use scraps for leaders and enders. I don't have a "Purple Thang" but I have a couple of sate sticks (wooden cooking skewers) that do work quiet well.

Hi, I know what you mean I had that problem for quite a while. Just being aware of it helped, Using a wooden skewer should be helpful but in addition I use the index finger of my left hand beside the presser foot and slow down a little when getting close to the point. I also make hst by starting with a square and sewing 1/4 inch on both sides from the center diagonal line and then cut on the diagonal line. You probably already do that. But slowing down helped and using my index finger as a guide helped to. Keep practicing

Thank you for sharing your ideas. I am scared to do HST's, but this way seems easier.

I use the Quilt in a Day HST ruler to square up my triangles.....but I starch the fabric before cutting.

Plenty of starch and sew very slowly at the end. Also guide it from the back. Could you put a message on the wall over your machine (if possible) to remind you next time to sew the squares together first then cut. No bias edges.

Working on my Storm at Sew quilt~ http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...ea-t85776.html
I had this laser cut, and I have to say I had zero problems with the tip on the angles going through the feeddogs.
Is this because of the laser cut tips, they also pressed the best and quilting was easier, even though the bulk of all the fabrics coming together.
They do have triangle rulers that cut the tip off of those angles, try that??? possibly that is the answer we all could use.

Thanks for posting the links to the paperpiecing sites.

I can only suggest to slow down near the end of sewing the 2 HST together. That's what I do. I feel I have better control.

I use black electrical tape to create a scant 1/4" "jig" on my machine. Stack 3-4 layers of tape right on top of each other, with the bottom layer stuck to the plate of your machine, and you've got a nice wall to run your fabric against as it is feeding. This allows you to keep pressure on the outside edge of your fabric, while it is tapering to a point, without risking the seam getting wobbly or wider than 1/4". No starch, speed reduction, or special tools required! Works like a charm.

If you're really Type A, :) I think Triangulations is your best bet. Yes, it's a little extra work, removing the paper. But for a whole page of triangles, you sew one seam on the lines, pivoting at the corners. You then press the stack on both sides to set the seams and cut on the cutting lines. Press each square open and the paper helps stabilize that darn bias seam to avoid the distortion there. If you press carefully, you will have perfect squares.

Every square is alike, every seam lines up perfectly in its corner where it belongs. Type A Heaven! :D

There are pages similar to Triangulations that you can download from the internet to try out the theory. Here's one page with a variety of sizes: http://www.quiltingandwhatnot.ca/Hal...-Triangle.html

If you find that this system works for you, the Triangulations CD contains 220 sizes of HST's in 1/16 & 1/8" increments, QST's and flying geese plus 18 pages of patterns to make from these basic blocks. The best price I've found on this CD is at Connecting Threads: http://www.connectingthreads.com/Too...M__D90174.HTML