Quarter square triangles

My preferred method is to cut them larger, stitch, and trim to size. (You need a little square ruler with a bias line.) Then they are perfect. Roberta in D

"Anne Rogers" schrieb im Newsbeitrag news:eI2dndF05_rx2VzbnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com...

I was thinking about doing it that way, though it can get a bit time consuming! I just completed a quilt where I cut every single unit down to size, which was really pessimistic when doing 4 patches!

The top that's in mind that requires me to solve this issue only has 6 blocks, so it's not too many, though they are fairly big, but thankfully not bigger than my biggest ruler.

I'm glad it's not just me that has to cut them down to size!

Cheers Anne

Anne, I will agree with one of the first quilting teachers I had and say that I am "triangle challenged". I have just decided that in the interests of my sanity and all to cut any quarter or half square triangles over size and trim down when the unit is finished. It takes time to do the trimming, but assembling the final project goes much faster. I usually add at least a quarter inch to the size of the square for quarter square triangles. Not much, but enough to let me be able to trim square. Are you cutting the triangles then sewing or doing the mark the square, sew a quarter inch each side of the line, then cut.... method? Be sure when you make the second cut/or draw the second line it is exactly perpendicular to the first one.

There are also various brands of triangle paper, for both half and quarter square triangles that can help if you have a lot to make.

Good luck, have fun, Pati, in Phx

Anne Rogers wrote:

unfortunately on my machine, the needle moves to the left not to the right, I don't understand it, the instructions imply left is the default, but then when you look at the seem guide on the foot plate, the measurements are correct only if the needle is in the right most position. Plus, it's in the right most position that it's in the centre of the foot. Definitely something I'll be checking out when the time comes to get a new machine.

Anne

unfortunately not for this project, two QSTs form a bigger triangle and then join to a different unit, so they all need to be the same orientation, that method produces 2 one way round and 2 the other, which is fine if you need hour glasses, but not for this :-(.

ooh, never seen QST paper, I've tried a HST one, actually it was one of the iron on ones, I like it well enough, but you need too many different sizes. Not long ago, I got an "Angler II" by Pam Bono, once I got it taped to my machine properly it works really well.

Cheers Anne

I don't usually starch my fabric, but I find that some spray starch or sizing on the strips before cutting the triangles helps to keep them from getting too wonky when I sew. I'm also in the "cut a bit larger and trim" camp.

Julia > I've only been quilting since January and in general I think I'm doing

Anne, does your machine have a "mirror image" function? Some machines only have the ability to move the needle in one direction, but the mirror image moves it the opposite direction. (If that makes sense....)

Pati, in Phx who is having an interesting time typing with the help of

Anne Rogers wrote:

If you do many quilts with half square and quarter square triangles, you may want to check out Brenda Henning's Triangulations software. I use it quite often when making quilts. A stitching grid is printed on your computer' printer and all you do is follow the sewing lines and then using a rotary cutter, cut the pattern apart. Viola..perfect half squares and quarter square triangles. I am doing a quilt now with 500 half square triangles. The cost of the software was well worth it to me.

not as far as I'm aware and the manual is short enough that I have read it from cover to cover

cheers Anne