Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Mysterious HSTs

8 x 17 = 136 HST

The new mystery quilt is still a mystery to me.

I can tell you it has 136 half square triangles in it.

I like half square triangles. They are sew versatile.

I learned a new method of making 8 HST at once.  Nice!

I like this method and will use it again, so I researched and found this nifty tutorial ... Half-Square Triangles Shortcut by Katie's Quilts and Crafts ... to help me with the math to figure out how to make these HST in all sizes.  Thanks, Katie. :)

Here are some more pictures of my process ...

Note: My 10" squares were all from a layer cake swap
and were all slightly different sizes to start and this
may have necessitated a little extra trimming.


Draw lines - point to point
 



mark seam allowance
 
 
sew just to the cutting side of the drawn line for accurate 1/4" seams
 
Note: What I call an accurate 1/4" seam, others refer to as a scant 1/4" seam. To learn more about this scant 1/4" seam, click on this tutorial by  A Quilting Life I personally feel that anything less than this is less than 1/4" seam and may compromise the life of the seams of my quilt. I have found that on my Janome 6600p the needle setting is 3.8 to achieve this accurate 1/4" seam.
 
 
align ruler with seam - cut on center line
 
 
cut on square for fours ... use perpendicular lines on mat
 
 
cut cross hatch for eights - use marked angles on mat
 
 
8 hsts
 
 
time to press open - press toward darker fabric
 
 
trim dog ears and square
 
 
I found I had very little waste in the end.
 
 
I like.
 
Time to sew some more mystery.
 
Have a happy quilty day!
 
:-)

 

7 comments:

Tiffaney said...

Love your colors! Can't wait to see your mystery quilt finished.

Scrapatches said...

Thanks, Tiffaney! ... As you can see, I turned off the verification codes again. So far no robots ... :) Pat

Delia Moran said...

What a great method! I'll have to add that to my repertoire. Can't wait to see the mystery. :)

Also, I've had codes turned off for years with no trouble. Blogger has a great spam filter.

Kathy Felsted Usher said...

Wonderful! Thank you. I wish you had a Print Friendly button so I can save it for later since my sewing room is not near the computer.

Jan said...

terrific method!! thank you!

Unknown said...

I'm not a math whiz, what size do the HST end up being?

Scrapatches said...

Thanks to all who have visited my blog recently and have sent emails and left comments!

Susan ... I would have replied to your question by email but could not as you are a no-reply blogger. These HSTS are unfinished 4.5" after trimming. When sewn into my quilt they will be a "finished" size of 4 inches. I am not a math whiz either. If you click on the link to Katie's Corner in my post you will find the helpful chart for the math for determine stating squares for various sizes of HSTs. I hope this helps. If you have more questions you may also reach me via email under "Contact Me" in my header bar. Have a happy quilty day ... :) Pat