Help with size of square

ack, i was going to type out what i thot but as i've already messed up one post today, i'll shut up while i still can. someone else can tackle this one. sorry. j.

"Joanna" wrote ... If I want to make a 6 1/2 square what size do I need to make my triangles. I want to do a pinwheel type block. So 8 triangles will make up a square. I hope this is clearer then mud. Thanx Joanna

I assume from your description that your pinwheel block will be 6-1/2 inches finished size or 7 inches, including the outer seam allowance. That means that each quarter, made up of two triangles, will finish to

3-1/4" square. Cut the squares for the triangles 1 inch larger than that, or 4-1/4 inches. After you have sewn two triangles together, trim the resulting square to 3-3/4 inches. Sew 4 of these together. It should measure 7 inches (6-1/2 inches in the finished quilt).

Julia > If I want to make a 6 1/2 square what size do I need to make my

Mud? You want to talk about mud? HoooBoy, do we have mud. Meanwhile, back to the question. Joanna, please do it the easy way. Cut a 3½" square of something and a

3½' square of something else. Put them down right sides together. Stitch diagonally (can't use that word without thinking of Harry Potter) across from corner to corner. Flip open and press. You can gently draw a line with a pencil if you're timid about stitching accurately. If you're doing a mass production, you can put a strip of tape (or a BandAid if that's what you have) on the -0- line of your SW and track with that. Okay. Now. Is that as clear as mud? What I'm saying is you don't have to / need to cut triangles - you can just make them happen and there's no fiddling with bias trauma. Polly

That's fairly wasteful of fabric, if you're going to be making a lot of HSTs it's better to cut the square such that you can stitch a quarter inch either side of the middle and get two triangle squares from two starting squares, rather than just one. If you are accurate, you need the squares to be 7/8 inch bigger than the finished size, if you prefer to trim to size, then go for an inch bigger.

Cheers Anne

yup, those are HSTs aka half square triangles.

i'd start with 3-7/8" inch squares, if you sew perfect seams, if not, cut them 4 inch and trim after you get those HSTs, to 3.5 inch then join the 4 of them into your pinwheel. that pinwheel should then measure up at 6.5inches and when joined to other blocks or fabric into the quilt top should measure up at 6 inch.

after you stitch'em 1/4" each side of that drawn diagonal, you cut along the diagonal line between the two stitching lines. four different fabric squares will give you 4 HSTs (2 sqs make 2 hsts). sew those 4 hsts together into your pinwheel.

mud mud glorious mud. j.

"Polly Esther" wrote... Mud? You want to talk about mud? HoooBoy, do we have mud. Meanwhile, back to the question. Joanna, please do it the easy way. Cut a 3½" square of something and a

3½' square of something else. Put them down right sides together. Stitch diagonally (can't use that word without thinking of Harry Potter) across from corner to corner. Flip open and press. You can gently draw a line with a pencil if you're timid about stitching accurately. If you're doing a mass production, you can put a strip of tape (or a BandAid if that's what you have) on the -0- line of your SW and track with that. Okay. Now. Is that as clear as mud? What I'm saying is you don't have to / need to cut triangles - you can just make them happen and there's no fiddling with bias trauma. Polly

Anne, I beg to disagree and hope not to be disagreeable. The method I tried to give Joanna is fast and simple. I concede that it wastes some fabric but it does not waste time. For some of us, time is precious. Polly