Tips and Tricks to Create a Half Square Triangle Quilt

Looking for a new quilting block? Half square triangle blocks look great and are easy to make. Find out how with this simple tutorial.

Quilting is a somewhat new hobby for me. I'm really enjoying the amazing patterns and creativity a quilt offers. I love being able to use up all the fabric scraps I have stored up in a big tote piecing them together in a new way to create something beautiful. 

My new challenge is learning how to make Half Square Triangle blocks.

In a previous post I showed you the first type of quilting I learned which was rag quilting. If you are interested in learning more about rag quilting you can read about it here: Quilting for the Beginner - Rag Quilts. 

A technique that has troubled me for some time and I have worked hard trying to improve my skills is the half square triangle. 

What is a half square triangle (HST) you ask? Well it is a square made from two different fabric triangles. Picture two triangles sewn together to form a square. Got it?

There is a special way to sew these two triangles together in an easy and efficient time saving way. The key is taking time to cut out your fabric first, marking some lines in pencil or washable pen and then chain sewing the fabrics together.

Half Square Triangle Tutorial 

Would you believe that in order to create the HST you first start by placing two different colored square fabrics together, one on top of the other right sides facing? 

I found a great tutorial I follow showing how to place the squares together, mark sewing lines and how to chain sew them. I used this method and tutorial from Coral & Co. and it worked out very well!

click here for the tutorial from Coral & Co.

You know the saying "There's more than one way to skin a cat?", well this applies to HST's too! The great tutorial from Coral & Co. has at least 4 tutorials of different methods you can use to make your own HSTs! Try them all and find what works best for you!!

Completed HST Quilt

I am proud to say that I finished my first HST quilt block quilt and I love how it turned out!! I made it for my new niece as a gift. 

The finished dimensions of the quilt were 42"x 36" which for a baby quilt is a very generous size. Here are some pics of the finished quilt I wanted to share with you.

I realize that some of the points don't like up exactly, but that's OK! The beauty of a quilt in my opinion is the little quirks and "personality" the quilt has. I know with each quilt I piece together my skills will improve and maybe, just maybe someday the points will be perfect.

The picture above shows the finished, bound and completed quilt. I forgot to take a picture of the backing which is just a very pale light green solid fabric.

The fabrics I chose for this quilt are so special to me and each one has a specific memorable meaning. Over the years I have made various quilts for others and I'm always left with some scrap pieces from those projects. Since this quilt was going to my new niece I thought it would be cool to include fabrics used in other quilts that have been given to other family members. 

The light green/butterfly print is from my mom who used it to make Christmas stockings for one of her grandkids. The orange and brown fabric is from a quilt I made one of my sisters for her 40th birthday. The orange dot, green dot and white with green dot fabric was from my new niece's older sister's quilt I made a few years ago.

I like to think that this quilt is a way that this new little baby is being sewn into our family as a new "block" as the family grows. 

The story of quilts, even ones we create can carry such rich meaning. I will always look at this quilt and be reminded of the other special people in my family!

I hope you give HST's a try! Let me know how your quilt turns out and if you have any great ideas to share on how you make your HSTs.

Book Recommendation About History & Quilting

The history of quilting and the many patterns is fascinating. The stories hidden within traditional quilt blocks contain rich history, biblical meanings, reflections of nature and many other wonderful meanings.

I recently finished a touching fictional novel set in the 1850's about a fugitive slave named Joanna who creates a hidden map within quilt blocks in hopes to escape slavery. The quilt is her only map to freedom as she travels the Underground Railroad to reach a safe haven. The book, The Lost Quilter, can be found here on Amazon. I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to you to read as well.

Here is the description of the story:

Just as Joanna could not have foreseen that, generations later, her quilt would become the subject of so much speculation and wonder, Sylvia and her friends never could have imagined the events Joanna witnessed in her lifetime. Punished for her escape by being sold off to her master's brother in Edisto Island, South Carolina, Joanna grieves over the loss of her son and resolves to run again, to reunite with him someday in the free North. Farther south than she has ever been, she nevertheless finds allies, friends, and even love in the slave quarter of Oak Grove, a cotton plantation where her skill with needle and thread soon becomes highly prized. 

Through hardship and deprivation, Joanna dreams of freedom and returning to Elm Creek Farm. Determined to remember each landmark on the route north, Joanna pieces a quilt of scraps left over from the household sewing, concealing clues within the meticulous stitches. Later, in service as a seamstress to the new bride of a Confederate officer, Joanna moves on to Charleston, where secrets she keeps will affect the fate of a nation, and her abilities and courage enable her to aid the country and the people she loves most. 

The knowledge that scraps can be pieced and sewn into simple lines -- beautiful both in and of themselves and also for what they represent and what they can accomplish -- carries Joanna through dark days. Sustaining herself and her family through ingenuity and art during the Civil War and into Reconstruction, Joanna leaves behind a remarkable artistic legacy that, at last, allows Sylvia to discover the fate of the long-lost quilter.

This book is worth the read! I hope you find some time to read it yourself.