Trimming 1/4-square triangles

Today on Terrific Tip Tuesday, we are trimming triangles!! Say that 5 times in a row…I dare you!!

Most of us are happy trimming 1/2-square triangles….we could do them in our sleep!!

But, trimming a 1/4-square triangle can get tricky!!

It is important that that the center point ends up in the right place….ie….the center!!!

If you just put your ruler down and cut, it may end up like this…..

The solution is to add one additional registration point….

To find that magical point, you divide the trimming size by 2. So, if you were trimming to a 2-inch square, the 1-inch point on your ruler would need to be touching this center intersection…

It gets trickier when you are trimming to a 1/2-inch….ie 2-1/2-inch square. Then the centering mark would need to be at the 1-1/4-inch point.

Enter my hack!!

I talked two weeks ago about using painter’s tape on rulers and this is the perfect solution here.

If I place a strip of tape at the 1-inch intersection point…..

….I can line my ruler up with the diagonal line and then slide the ruler down until I can just see the intersection in front of the tape…..

I really could see it but the photo angle makes it disappear….sorry!!

Now that it is in position, I can make my first two cuts and reposition my ruler for the next two…..

The result is a perfect 2-inch, 1/4-square triangle with the center in the center…..

Do you have other cutting tips??? I would love to hear them!

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