I'm looking at your first Photograph with the Ruler. Look at the "er" of the word Porter. Now look exactly at the Right hand side of the ruler with the numbers. Right above the "er" I see the measurement that says "3 3/4".

Hexagon Blocks are measured according to the length of each side. Take some cheap fabric like muslin. Cut one strip, then use your 60 degree ruler, and go ahead and cut three or four triangles. Or cut six to make a full Hexagon block. Sew them together. Measure your sewn sides, the six sides of your perimeter. Are you happy with your muslin block?

Thank you, thank you, thank you! You are sew correct. Knew it had to be something simple and so wonderful to have people like you to make things clear. Well I am going to get busy and start cutting these. thanks to all of you for the encouragement. Mary

I think the ruler is the problem. You need to use a triangle ruler WITH a point, not one of the ones where the point is cut off. I think this may be the problem. the book is very specific on this. You could try to turn your ruler so one of the points is pointing up, and put a piece of colored tape where the 3 3/4" line should be. it looks like the yellow numbers on the ruler may be the finished triangle size.

I'm glad you understood what I was trying to say :). I'm not always so great about giving directions :oops:

I making the same quilt with the same fabric, but I am doing Octogons. Check out that link I put in this thread :thumbup:

I hope the ruler I have will work now that I know what I am looking at. This was the only 60 degree ruler I coul find. I will have to post and see if others have used one like mine. Thanks, Mary

I have that same fabric, too. I can't wait to see what it looks like when you get it together. Post pictures soom, as I can't wait. Thanks. I can't start mine until I get a few quilts done. I have 3 ready to sandwich and quilt and 7 or 8 to finish. I told myself that I have to finish some of these before starting another. I don't usually listen to myself, but I'm trying this time. lol
Sue

For this quilt you want to have your points. The reason you are not getting the measurement you expect is because your ruler has a blunt tip. You can still use this ruler, but you will not get the same reading of the measurement. That is not a problem. When you turn your ruler to make the next cut, be SURE that you have a pointy point, not a blunt point. For some patterns you do want the blunt point, but not for this one.

Why would the point be important?

It is so much easier to sew the 2 triangles together with blunt tips. Also, when you get to joining the halves (when sewing the rows together), the amount of bulk is drastically reduced.

I, too, initially thought the measurement problem was because of the ruler, but not that the blunt ruler was a problem. That was a weird sentence but I hope it made sense.

And in this particular quilt, especially with hexagons, the measurement number is really irrelevant as long as it's consistent and constant throughout the ALL triangles.

You use the points to align the 3rd triangle. If you make some of the triangles and start putting them together, you will see why. I realize that this is not the case with many other patterns.

The blunt end aligns just as easily. I've made a slew of these and found it much easier with the blunt edges.