Well, I've got a sore wrist and feel like my life consists of nothing but trimming half-square triangles. 144 half-square triangles if I recall correctly. That is a lot, and I am thoroughly sick of it and haven't even finished half of them yet.
These half-square triangles are for the Frivols 8 "Brio" table runner I am making along with Carol at One Stitch at a Time. This is a good lesson on why triangle papers are a good idea. We couldn't use them for this project because our fabric pieces were too small. You still have to trim with triangle papers obviously, but for some reason it doesn't seem like such a boring task.
I don't know, what do you think? If you have to do a gazillon hsts, what method would you go with?
Carol jokingly told me she expected to see a scrappy bear paw block by now, but this is all I've got:
One quarter of one block.
Do let us know in the comments how you would choose to make 144 half-square triangles!
21 Responses
I trim as I go rather than make all the HST’s and then trim. Kind of lessens the load I think. You will have a beautiful quilt when you are done though. Keep going!
I am now feeling quite guilty for sucking you into this! I have EIGHT trimmed. I am doing a little sewing, a little ironing, a little cutting, then back to sewing to break it up. Maybe if we could learn to sew them accurately, we wouldn’t have to trim? This has always been in my mind. But you would still have dog ears to trim. Waiting to see what you other readers suggest!
Last month I trimmed more than 200 flying geese. I feel for you!
I use Bonnie Hunters Essential Triangle tool. Pieces are cut from strips. I clip off the dog ears and I’m done. About every 600000 triangles there will be one that needs a trim. I can deal with that. Practice for sewing the seam the right size really pays off.
I use Primitive Gatherings papers. I used these for 1500 1″ triangles.
All I can say is, I give you a ton of credit. I think it would have landed in the “nope. That’s not for me” trash bag.🙂 It’s going to be gorgeous though!!❤️
For that many triangles I either put in a favorite movie or two and trim until I’m senseless, or trim as I go. Good luck!
I love my easy angle ruler for making half square triangles. I pair two strips of fabric right sides together and cut, then rotate the ruler and make another cut. As long as your seam allowance is good, all you ever have to do is cut off one dog ear with a pair of scissors. They turn out perfect every time.
Honestly, I use my Accuquilt to cut HSTs. No trimming and it cuts the dog ears off before you even start to sew. The most popular size of HST is 2.5 inches unfinished so I bought a die board that can cut six layers of 12 HSTs. If I was doing 144 at a time I would sew 12 at a time and then do something else for a while otherwise that way lies madness!
Making HST is definitely one of the least fun steps in quilting. Even though I’m confident in my seam allowance I still need to check every single one. Most times I have nothing to trim, sometimes very little. I like to assemble a block or two just to keep the goal in sight! I’ve tried every ruler and haven’t been able to avoid the checking/ trimming step. Soon you’ll be finished!
I still like to trim down like you are doing. I still think it is faster and more accurate. My opinion only-just my preference. Beautiful block!
I either use my easy angle ruler or the ‘draw a diagonal and sew 1/4″ on either side” method. I sew a “bunch” of them, then cut/press/trim, and repeat to break it up. Gets me out of my chair, doesn’t make me stand too long, and gives my wrist a break periodically. Hang it there, it will feel great when you’ve trimmed the last one!
I use Bonnie Hunter’s HST ruler and never trim anymore….I LOVE it!
draw your own papers to the needed size? it would work just fine and you could control the number of each color needed. i draw on fabric and trim because im not a fan of removing paper.
Count me in the ‘make a few then press & assemble; repeat until finished’ group. I need some variety & getting up to press & move around a bit is what works for me. Your blocks are going to be so cute–I love those fabrics!
I use the bloc-loc ruler (sp?). I don’t mind the trimming too much as I like the finish it gives. I am ramping up to make an Ocean Wave quilt. I’ll let you know how I feel after all those HST!
I am currently making blocks that require 32 half square triangle each. I make one block at a time. So I am also in the alternating club. I cut, sew, cut, press, trim, sew, press. I make one block per day.
Sometimes I make them 4- or 8-at a time, sometimes I cut and sew, occasionally I use the die cutter. I prefer to have to trim because I still struggle with scant 1/4″.
Thelma posted a picture of Memories of a Masterpiece a couple of weeks ago. I bought the pattern. It has over 3,000 HSTs. what was I thinking? ;p Of course, they are 1.5″ which makes it even more challenging to trim up.
I am all over the board on methods for HSTs. I do like the Bonnie Hunter tool for less effort. It is close enough for most projects.
For most accuracy, I use the Tucker Trimmer. They all require effort and time for trimming. Another favorite is the folded corner tool. It clips the corner off of flying geese, snowballs pieces or matching squares for HSTs. They are exact matches so generally no trimming if you sew a straight seam.
If it is a massive general project without coordinating specific HSTs per block, I save it for a pile in front of the TV trim work.
I’d have my friend figure it out 😳🤣