HST blocks
#21
Member
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 95
I use a product called Stitching Lines (www.marinaandcolusa.com). I find them very helpful keeping the stitching lines straight. I also find that the practice of making my squares slightly larger (1/2 inch or so), sewing and then trimming down to 4 1/2" for instance works best for me (some people call it "squaring up"). I always wash my fabric and use spray sizing or starch before I ever cut it. I like to use it after I've cut my square down as well. I am making HST's for an Edyta Sitar quilt and seem to be having good luck with this method.
#22
hst
Hello group
I need help with half square triangles I know to cut the square the size you need and to draw a line on the material and put the two fabrics together and then sew 1/4 inch on each side but that is where I mess up
how to sew the 1/4 inch on each side of the line I sew crooked some time does any one have a easier method to sewing the 1/4 inch and some times the squares are not the same size and they are crooked I am a new quilter and I don't know if I like HST I have been trying to cut the blocks for the mini carpenter star i really want to do this one but my HST are a mess I cut 3 inch squares and 3 1/2 squares but they are not straight I guess I could cut them down to 2 inch squares and maybe the material was bias cut to
I hope there is a easier way to sew and cut the blocks thanks
I do have a 1/4 inch foot so how do I use that on the lines ?
I need help with half square triangles I know to cut the square the size you need and to draw a line on the material and put the two fabrics together and then sew 1/4 inch on each side but that is where I mess up
how to sew the 1/4 inch on each side of the line I sew crooked some time does any one have a easier method to sewing the 1/4 inch and some times the squares are not the same size and they are crooked I am a new quilter and I don't know if I like HST I have been trying to cut the blocks for the mini carpenter star i really want to do this one but my HST are a mess I cut 3 inch squares and 3 1/2 squares but they are not straight I guess I could cut them down to 2 inch squares and maybe the material was bias cut to
I hope there is a easier way to sew and cut the blocks thanks
I do have a 1/4 inch foot so how do I use that on the lines ?
You also might like the printed hst. I use triangulations, but there are free programs out there. You simply print out the size you need - I use doodle pads cut down to printer size. Sew on the lines - actually I sew a hair inside of the lines. And voila, perfect hst. There are also rulers for this job. Find one that works for you.
HTH
#23
I have been making a quilt with oodles of HSTs of all different sizes and I found Triangulations to be a life saver. It comes with a CD that enables you to print HSTs and QSTs in increments of 1/16". Basically you place your two fabrics right sides together, print the appropriate size triangles from the CD and lay that on top and pin. The printed paper has cut and sew (continuous line, by the way) lines. Start sewing. When done you just cut them apart. Depending on the size needed you can have anywhere from 4-32 + on a sheet. I have even used it for cutting single triangles of weird sizes (lets say 2 7/16"). I print the triangle sheet on my printer, spray with temporary adhesive and lay it on the wrong side of my fabric and cut on the cutting lines. The fabric doesn't shift and you have perfect triangles. The quilt pattern I was using used templates (ugh) but by measuring the sides of the template, I was able to use Triangulations instead. I also found out that pressing your seams OPEN helped me achieve greater accuracy. On matching triangle points I have resorted to using Elmers SCHOOL glue instead of a pin to match perfect seams. Works like a charm. After sewing I pop open the seam and iron flat. Good luck and hope this suggestion helps.
#24
Super Member
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Illinois
Posts: 9,018
Hi there I am doing HST at the moment on a quilt for my nephew and have read and watched a few videos on them. One video was from Jenny at the Missouri Quilt Company and I though it was a pretty good idea. Make sure your suares are cut the same size and join them together WS facing. Take a 1/4 seam all the way around the outside of the block and then cut diagonally across them and you have two HST. Really easy method I thought. It is on youtube if you are a visual leaner like me. Just wish I had seen this video before I started cutting my out Good luck.
#25
Super Member
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Michigan. . .FINALLY!!!!
Posts: 6,726
I use this handy little tool for HST. You can line it up diagonally and then draw a line on each side. Sew on the lines then cut down the center. It's called a Quick Qtr by Quilter's Rule. I also make my squares a little bit larger to start with, then square them up after piecing.
#26
Hi there I am doing HST at the moment on a quilt for my nephew and have read and watched a few videos on them. One video was from Jenny at the Missouri Quilt Company and I though it was a pretty good idea. Make sure your suares are cut the same size and join them together WS facing. Take a 1/4 seam all the way around the outside of the block and then cut diagonally across them and you have two HST. Really easy method I thought. It is on youtube if you are a visual leaner like me. Just wish I had seen this video before I started cutting my out Good luck.
#28
I also cut the squares a little larger. After they are sewn together, cut apart and pressed, then I use one of the square rulers and trim to size. It does take a little more time but I get good squares and points.
#29
I just made a sailboat quilt top with pinwheels (lots of HSTs). I decided to do the math and cut my squares the correct size, since my machine is pretty good about straight lines and has a helpful 1/4" seam line guide (I use a clear foot). I prefer not to mark the fabric, so I cut the squares in half first, then sew a 1/4" seam on the two triangles right sides together.
To make your HST squares come out to the right size as your whole squares, you need to add 1/(2*sqrt(2))" to the sides, or 0.354" (slightly less than 3/8"). You have to add less than the 2 x 1/4" (1/2") seam allowance because in the square dimensions your seam is actually applying on a diagonal, and the horizontal distance eaten up by the diagonal is less. So for me, I wanted 3" squares. That meant cutting 3.35" squares (I cut at 3 3/8"). Technically, they end up being 3.021" square, but that's within my sewing margin of error I think. I could have squared them up to 3" exactly, but the difference was so small it didn't really matter to me (it's only a crib-sized quilt), as I just squared up the terminating edges of the quilt once everything was pieced and that worked fine with my pattern. If you have a large quilt, or all your blocks are HST, then you're better off squaring them up to exactly the size you want or it'll be really noticeable once you start to match seams at opposite ends. For instance, joining two blocks together puts you off by 0.042", but 10 blocks puts you off 0.21" (nearly a quarter of an inch), 50 puts you off by 1.05", and 100 puts you off by 2.1"!
To make your HST squares come out to the right size as your whole squares, you need to add 1/(2*sqrt(2))" to the sides, or 0.354" (slightly less than 3/8"). You have to add less than the 2 x 1/4" (1/2") seam allowance because in the square dimensions your seam is actually applying on a diagonal, and the horizontal distance eaten up by the diagonal is less. So for me, I wanted 3" squares. That meant cutting 3.35" squares (I cut at 3 3/8"). Technically, they end up being 3.021" square, but that's within my sewing margin of error I think. I could have squared them up to 3" exactly, but the difference was so small it didn't really matter to me (it's only a crib-sized quilt), as I just squared up the terminating edges of the quilt once everything was pieced and that worked fine with my pattern. If you have a large quilt, or all your blocks are HST, then you're better off squaring them up to exactly the size you want or it'll be really noticeable once you start to match seams at opposite ends. For instance, joining two blocks together puts you off by 0.042", but 10 blocks puts you off 0.21" (nearly a quarter of an inch), 50 puts you off by 1.05", and 100 puts you off by 2.1"!
Last edited by x7lillies; 09-26-2012 at 09:51 AM.
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