My Favorite Way to HST's (16 at at time)

 

Hey all my Spinning Wheelers! 

I hope I have not put you all in the loonie bin with the amount of HST's in this project

I promise the end result is so worth it.

There is no time line so work at your own pace!

I thought I would share my favorite way to do HST's for this project. 

I just discovered it.

I was doing mostly 32 at time 

but 

I found this method makes them nearly perfect with a whole lot less squaring up! 

Start with 2 - 6.5" squares

A dark and a light  with right sides together. 

Draw you line down the center on the light square  at 3.25" both ways.

Then you will stitch around the entire square and on both sides of the center lines. 

When stitched - cut diagonally both ways and down the center both ways. 

I like to use my little rotary cutter and nip the corners off each HST

Then press to the dark side! 

No need to square up....Perfect 2" HST's!!!

I think you are going to love this method! 

Now back to regularly scheduled chain piecing...

Christa 

Second Story Quilting





 

Half Square Triangles 2.0..... The Saga Continues!

I hope you had a chance to try the previous HST tutorials....

As I said...

 There are a ton of ways to do HST's. 

It worth a try to see how your brain handles 

and 

likes (or dislikes)the process of each way! 

Another way I use Press and Seal in my quilting world.....

I wrap my trays or design boards(small ones) with it

It makes these trays of components easy to stay organized !

Perfect to take them with you, if you are going to retreat or YUMA, AZ!

This next way of HST's is great if you have smaller pieces or strips of fabric.  

If you are more of a Strip quilter, 

this next method might be right up your alley!

I like this version because they are all 2" HSTs with the dog ears already cut off

I cut my strips - 2" by WOF(or whatever length)

One dark and one light - right sides together. 

Sew down each side of the strips.

Press and starch before cutting! 

Place your ruler(any size) on the strip on a 45 degree angle

Line up the stitch line with the 2" line on each side

(Blue line is the stitch line)

Cut on either side of your ruler....

You can flip your ruler to the top 

or

continue on from the bottom

The first cut is waste 

I love that the dog ears are already nipped off

It's a great way to use up any strips of fabric you have in the project as well.

Perfect little HST's

Blossom Heart Quilts has a great blog post on strip HST's

This second example also eliminates the dog ears as well

You will need a dark and a light 2.5" square

Stack right sides together and stitch on all four sides. 

Cut diagonally corner to corner 

and

 each corner can be nipped off

Voila!! 

Check out this video for 4 HST's at a time! 

HERE

So many options....so many HST's

How many have you made so far??

Christa 

Second Story Quilting On Etsy

 

32 Hst's

 Now here is a method to make multiply HST's

but

it does involve a bit of marking!

Start with 2 - 10" squares

(one light and one dark)

with right sides together,

mark the half way line(5") going both ways. on the light square

Next - Mark a line corner to corner in both directions

next mark a line from center line to center line diagonally

Now you are ready to sew!

These dotted lines are where you will sew 1/4" along the solid lines 

EXCEPT

 the two center lines!

When all lines are sewn you can start the cutting process

Cut down the two center lines

Then corner to corner on each square

Then in half both ways on each quadrant!

This yields 32 HST's at a time

Press the HST's to the dark side!

In case that was as clear as mud...

Here is a little video!

We are not far from putting some components together! 

Till next week....

Christa 

2SQ

Ps. you can find the kit at the link below!

Spinning Wheels Quilt Kit

1416 ... Not the Year.....HST’S

I can  not tell a lie...

There are ALOT of HST's

1416 - 1.5"  Half square triangles to be exact.

I am not a huge fan of trimming

 but

 it sure does make a difference in the final construction. 

STEP 1

Treat yourself right and change your blade...

Your body and mind will thank you. 

Trust me. 

It's a simple joy in quilting. 

Some tools of the trades that can make this process easier....

 Blocloc Rulers 

Check them out here on how to use.... 

 For small squaring, I really love my rotating mat

Insert a really good Netflix serries here......

You can also use a regular ruler so no pressure. 

(oh my..... I really need to clean my mat)

 

You will simply line the 45 degree line up to the center of the HST 

and

square to 2" x 2"

There are so many ways to eat this elephant! 

Let's start with MY favorite way to do them. 

16 HST's at a time. 

You will need

 1 - Light 6.5"x 6.5" square

1- Dark 6.5" x 6.5" square

(89 light and 89 Dark squares = 1416 HST's)

I like to stack them right sides together

Then mark the half way line, vertical and horizontal with a pencil

on the light square

I do quite a few pairs at the same time 

to 

take to the sewing machine. 

I am a big chain piecer fan.

I stitch down each side on the block....

(regular 1/4" seam)

As well as both sides of the middle(blue) lines.

These blue lines are your stitching lines. 

At this point, I like to starch and press these before cutting apart. 

Next, cut the two centers lines 

as well as

 diagonally corner to corner.

I like to clip off my dog ears

 (the green lines)

 before

cutting each square into 4 HST's.

This yields 16 HST's

Press open the HST's toward the dark side.

Here's a great video demonstrating this technique.

Just to give you an idea of how many different ways there are to do HST's...

Check out this video by Karen of  Just Get It Done Quilts

Karen is a Canadian Quilt who always has great tips and tricks in the quilting world.

This will get you started on those Half Square triangles. 

We will try a few techniques if you are interested in learning a few new ways! 

If you are looking to join us, 

get your kit HERE

Till next week,  

Christa 

2SQ

www.secondstoryquilting.ca