After separating and rough-cutting all my scrap fabrics, it was time to start piecing Half-Square Triangles.
As you know, I have experimented with different ways to make 2½-inch half-square triangles from 2½-inch strips. This time, I pulled out Bonnie Hunter’s Essential Triangle Tool.
The cutting process is straightforward, but there are a few important steps.
First, place the two fabrics right sides together…
To help them stay in place, I placed the background over the accent strip, and then ironed them in place.
Next step….. Square up one end of the strips…
Then, position the ruler so the edge lines up with the squared edge and the little blue triangle hangs off the strip…
and cut the diagonal edge for the first HST…
Then turn the ruler the other way (see the blue triangle hanging off the edge again)…
and make the next perpendicular cut.
Continue turning the ruler back and forth as you work your way along the strips.
Once everything was cut, I clipped the triangles together in groups of four…
That kept the pairs organized and made them easy to carry over to the sewing machine.
The cutting was finished—but I still had something important to learn about sewing these triangles together.
I’ll share that discovery in tomorrow’s post.