Half-Square Triangle Tutorial

This post is a part of the Warm Cool Quilt-Along! Feel free to join in the fun at any time! :)

1. Color Refresher
2. Quilt Sizes and Fabric Requirements
Today's Post: Half-Square Triangle Tutorial

Half-Square Triangle Tutorial, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.

Let's talk Half-Square Triangles! As I've said before, HSTs are a great building block for many different quilt blocks and patterns and therefore learning how to make them is important! I've used lots of photos for this tutorial so hopefully it's clear and easy to following!

Half-Square Triangle Tutorial, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.

1. Take 2 squares, in this case one Warm and one Cool. This is really important for creating the Warm/Cool pattern!

Half-Square Triangle Tutorial, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.

2. Place your squares right-sides-together.

Half-Square Triangle Tutorial, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.

3. Line up a ruler along the diagonal, from one corner to another.

Half-Square Triangle Tutorial, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.

4. Carefully trace a line with a pencil.

Half-Square Triangle Tutorial, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.

5. Using a scant 1/4" seam allowance, sew along one side of the pencil line. I recommend either using a 1/4" foot, or move your needle over so that it is 1/4" away from the edge of your presser foot. This way you can simply line up your presser foot with the pencil line! Backstitch at each end.

To find a scant 1/4" on your machine, use the test outlined in this tutorial at Sew, Mama, Sew!

Half-Square Triangle Tutorial, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.

Half-Square Triangle Tutorial, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.

6. Turn your square and sew down the other side of the pencil line.

Half-Square Triangle Tutorial, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.

Half-Square Triangle Tutorial, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.

7. Using scissors, cut down the pencil line, splitting the square in half.

Half-Square Triangle Tutorial, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.

Half-Square Triangle Tutorial, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.

8. Press your seams. I prefer to press my seams open. I think that it allows the block to lay flatter. For more information on seam pressing check out this tutorial from Sew, Mama, Sew.

Now we need to trim our HSTs. For the Mini size, trim your HSTs down to 3". For the Baby and Twin size, trim your HSTs down to 4.5".

Half-Square Triangle Tutorial, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.

9. Place your ruler over your HST with the corner on the diagonal seam. Line up the diagonal line on the ruler with the seam. Carefully trim as little as necessary on both sides.

Half-Square Triangle Tutorial, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.

10. Turn HST and trim the other two sides, again lining up the seam with the diagonal ruler line. This time trim off enough to reach the desired unfinished size HST as stated above.

Half-Square Triangle Tutorial, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.

Woo hoo! You're done! You now have two Half-Square Triangles!

Continue to make HSTs with the remaining squares, making sure to match up one Warm square with one Cool square. Do so somewhat randomly, just making sure that you have some variety in your match-ups!

Note: If you want to make different sized half-square triangles (for other projects!), simply add 1" to the size you want your finish HST to be to get your starting square size. Then trim to your unfinished size. For example, if you want a finished HST size of 2", cut two 3" squares and trim to 2.5" :)

Feel free to add photos of your progress to the In Color Order Flickr Group! If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask! Next week we'll be laying out our quilt tops!