Let’s talk about half square triangles.
I love them!
If you are also a fan, you probably agree that half-square triangles are a basic and extremely versatile building block for quilt designs. They can be made with just one ruler, very little fabric and they offer lots of creative options for assembly. For piecing stars, saw-tooth rows or even creating what I call “mock flying geese” blocks, half-square triangles are featured in a lot of my pattern designs.
But I’ve heard that some people find making them tedious because despite that they are quick individually, it takes a whole lot of them to make a quilt. The other objection may be the result of having to square-up each one after making them and before stitching them to another piece of anything.
I hear that!
While I haven’t quite yet figured out a way to avoid the square-up process, there are so many wonderful tutorials, videos and instruction sheets for alternative construction methods. I dove into all of them. Learning about how other folks approach this quilt piece was interesting and energizing. And I’m happy to report that I’ve compiled all my knowledge and learnings into a instruction sheet that I hope inspires you to give these triangles a go!
You can find a free, downloadable instruction sheet of this favorite method on my website. It’s fun to explore the techniques available and I’d encourage you to find what works for you.
What do you say? Let’s give these little unsung heroes of the quilt block a whole new fan base!