I dont know what it is about triangles. I can do circles, I can do complicated paper piecing but I cannot do triangles.

I get the colors on the wrong side. I sew the wrong sides together, making a square not a larger triangle. Luckily I have extra fabric.

Intellectually, I understand them....but somehow I cannot get them tamed. I have two quilts going right now that are triangles. I am finishing these and never doing another one.

But for right now, I think I might just stop and have a margarita.

LOL I sew them on the wrong sides too... unsew them and then do it again ROFLMBO Could I have some salt on the rim of a margarita too? :D:D:D

Sorry, it posted twice, yikes!

I do better matching up squares, draw a line catty corner, stitch the 1/4in on each side, then cut them in half. Triangles drive me crazy too, so whenever possible, I do it this way. Just check out your pattern before you do all those final triangle cuts, & this might be alot easier...

Sure...regular with salt or raspberry with sugar?? I already ate a candy bar. If I hadnt promised this stupid quilt to a charity by the 29th, I would throw it in the closet!

I made the mistake of cutting out striped fabric. Now as if the triangles aren't bad enough--try getting the stripes going in the right direction.

GRAMMY, we are sisters...YES it is striped fabric on top of it all!!!

I only do triangles if they start out as squares and are cut into triangles after sewing. I want to do a hexagon quilt though and then I'll have to get over it, I guess.

When I do anything with triangles, I ALWAYS lay the block out on the left side of my sewing machine. I study it, lay one piece on the other piece, hold it, pin with one pin, and then PRAY that I'll sew the triangle right..... :) :)

I,m with you, gave up a piece of fruit for a wine spritzer from South Africa, seems like a fair trade to me. It is called Pomula Trust me the margarita will help you see things in a different light!

I am also working with triangles at the mo doing a kite design quilt and i know what you mean about sewing them on the wrong way round but i unpick them and this is more frustrated than anything lol,,,

I am making squares first. Then take my dritz marking tool and draw a diagonal line on the back of each striped fabric. Sew 1/4" on each side of that line. Then cut on the line. Press open and you have two triangles.

I figured out each square gives you strips in two directions. After you have two squares worth of triangles you can match them up.

PatP that is a wonderful stained glass window in your avatar!

I'm not a triangle fan either

I feel your pain! I have a full bottle of wine, wanna come? :lol:

Thank you neeng, that window is 5 ft in diameter the trim is sassafras wood . It use to hang in the second story of our old farm house. DH put it there and then he installed it in our new home. When the sun shines I feel like I am in church everyday! The baby is grandson Parker Lance in his great-grandma Palmers christening gown with matching underskirt.

Okay...just when I was getting my mind wrapped around the idea of trying triangles...all that add 7/8 stuff...I was really gearing up to try it...ugh! I'm sticking to applique...LOL!
Oh and thanks so much for the warning about stripes and triangles...RFLOL!

HSTs are the only way to go! Just look at the pics of how to, & try it! So much easier!...

I like to use a Wonder Cut ruler to do HST's - the ruler does the math for me - I just have to cut strips...there are other rulers on the market that work well for cutting triangles also.

I dont have problems sewing them. I have a problem putting them together properly. I finally did what the one quilter posted and laid them out on the side of my machine.

I am not doing HST. I always get so confused about what they are called. I am doing the ones where two triangles are put together to make another triangle. You sew on the short side.

I got half of them done...only need 32. But I have 15 mistakes!!! Stripes wrong way, WOW upside down, accent color in the wrong place and the infamous put two triangles together and get a square.

My husband just came in and laughed. He thinks it is hilarious. I think he is sleeping on the couch tonight.

The couch is a great place for husbands who think our frustrations are funny:)

yep I think it is a good place for hubbies to sleep when they laugh at us!!!! Have another margurita or two and you wont care which way those little triangles are facing!!! :thumbup:

Dakotamaid, I am not sure what you are doing with your triangles. Most of the triangles I use are either in paper piecing or in HSTs (half square traingles). I always do HSTs the way that was shown earlier in this thread. One of my very early quilts was a disaster that wouldn't even slow me down today. It was a scrappy row-pieced quilt of triangles with lots of animals for a child to "spy". My row was nothing like straight. If I were doing it today, dots where seams will meet, as I did on beginning my Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt. Then line up dots and sew dot to dot.

Oh yes, trial and error....do you have red?

try Rhonda's cut down method..Its a great way to get over your fear.

I had to use Thangles that came with a QOM before I got the hang of them.

Great demo!
Thanks!

HSTs are really really easy to make my way.

Really Easy Half Square Triangle Blocks
http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-37915-1.htm

HST!! I guess I have to make a lot more of them for them to come out right. I mark the cutting line, I mark the stitching line. I starched them, pressed them, stitched them cut them and still bless them when I am done!!! I am going to have to make a gazillion of them before I have it right.

My best investment was "Quilt in a day" Triangle Square Up ruler, that along with a tip from the Rotary Magic book by Nancy Johnson-Srebro, my quilting bible :thumbup: Never bother with the 4 3/8" measurement, she recommends measure up and trim down, so 4 3/8ths would become 4.5" it really works for me.

As for those "design changed" HSTs put them in a box to use up in scrappy quilts, saves on frustration and grey hairs :mrgreen:

I'm working with triangles now and trying to make a pinwheels baby quilt. Well, now that I have all the HST's made and trying to sew the actual square, I figure out that the white fabric I used is not 100% cotton and it's stretching out all over the place. YEESH - another beginner mistake. I think I'm just going to keep pushing through and call it a learning experience. Bad thing is I doubled the triangles I needed because I figured it would be just about as quick to do 2 quilts at once. LOL - another lesson learned!

I also use this ruler and now I don't mind doing the trianles they come out perfect every time

If you are having problems with triangles get a package of THANGLES in the correct size. They are easy to use & are very accurate.

Grammy -
Your photos will make a world of difference for me too!! Thank you!

I've only done triangles once, and that was for a quilt that the quilt committee of our local hospital's Women's Board made for a charity auction. We used Thangles, and what a lifesaver they were!

I always copy a picture of my block and put it under my clear table of my machine. It helps keep me on track!

Here's a site that you can print off to make HST's.

http://www.blockcentral.com/a-halfsq...glepaper.shtml

Hope it helps.

Have you tried Rhonda's half square triangles. Not sure of your pattern, but if you traingles end up a square. This method is the easiest I've done. I love triangles.
http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-37915-1.htm

I cut out my squares with the Accuquilt Go cutter and then followed the directions on YouTube by Missouri Quilt Company and nothing is coming out the same size. NOTHING!! I'm starching and pressing and repressing and still nothing is quite matching up. So frustrated here, but all the pieces are cut so either I just sew them all together the best I can or trash them, so I'm pushing on. Good luck to anyone trying to master triangles.

Try the grid method; it works great...............but stripes? Yikes!