😎 HOW TO MAKE A HALF SQUARE TRIANGLE ✂️ - 10 WAYS TO MAKE AN HST

does your pattern call for a half square triangle block or maybe within your block pattern you need to incorporate several there are so many ways to make a half square triangle block i've gathered ten but how do you know which one's best to use well stick with me and i'll show you how to do it [Music] hi i'm karen brown of just get it done quilts i give you tips tricks and strategies to help you make the quilt that you want to make and please help support the channel by clicking that subscribe button after learning to sew squares and rectangles together the next skill to master is the half square triangle they make amazing quilts just by changing color and value they are also building blocks within larger sampler blocks there are so many ways to make half square triangle blocks some methods are straightforward some are fussy and some appear almost magical so let's see what method works best where first what is a half square triangle well it's a triangle this angle is 90 degrees which is sometimes called a right angle and these two angles are half that size at 45 degrees that means these two sides are exactly the same size hst is short for half square triangle and when we sew two of them together that's called an hst block but often we call that an hst 2 just to confuse the new quilters there is a lot of acronyms in quilting check out my video breaking the code to learn more the easiest way to make an hst is to take a square and cut it in half along the diagonal you can use the 45 line on your mat or the 45 on your ruler or just line up your ruler between the two opposite corners and cut and what size should the square be you take the finished size of your block and add seven eighths then sew two together along the longest side the challenge in this method is not to stretch the seam while you sew and you also need to be careful and steady to sew straight i have several tips on how to get this right in my video how to sew straight and making the perfect hst and i'll leave links to them in the notes below this is a good method if you only have to make one or two hsts or you want a lot of variety in how you pair up your fabrics however i find 7 8 a fiddly mark to line up to and it's a really easy block to be out of square if your angle is just off by a touch so i cut my block at one inch larger and then trim back this means i have an extra step of squaring up but my block is perfect when i do your cutting is square why not just make two at a time the math is exactly the same for one but instead of cutting along the diagonal you mark it then sew a scant quarter inch down one side then back along the other cut through the middle and you have two similar hsts you can also use this half inch ruler to mark the sewing lines instead of a center line [Music] by keeping your fabric in one piece as you sew down one side and then back up the other gives your fabric more structure to prevent it from stretching and i like to give it a press before i cut along the diagonal just to set the seam first the challenge with this method is you no longer have an edge to align your presser foot against you can use low tack washi tape to give yourself a ledge or just use a steady hand honestly i use this method even if i only need one hst if i can't use it on my top i use it in the back if you only have charms or mini charms you might consider this method you mark the diagonal but this time you sew directly on the line then you trim at a quarter of an inch this way your hst block is exactly the same size as your original square which is really convenient and really cuts down on your cutting and trimming it's also the best method if you're fussy cutting however this only makes one hst block and the rest is waste which is a big waste so i will often make a bonus hst by marking over a half inch and sewing on that line it makes a different size hst but i can always use it someplace else [Music] for this method with two squares together you sew around the outside edge then cut on the two diagonals the first time i saw this method i thought it was so clever you almost want to say ta-dah as you open them and then you realize that all your blocks are cut on the bias and not only can they distort as you sew them together they can continue to distort as you sew your strips and rows together starch can help minimize this but be very careful while you sew this method is often used with pre-cuts to give yourself another size option but with those pinked edges it's often very tricky to make that 90 degree turn accurately and the math for this method is a bit complicated because this is the finished size but you can use an approximate by adding a half an inch and then doubling it for example if you needed a two inch block you add a half an inch that's two and a half inches and double it so it's five inches but do know that you will have to trim it honestly i use this method once and i never used it again this method is just compounding the two at a time method doubling the size of both sides so that the square that you cut is actually four times the size mark both diagonals then sew a scant quarter of an inch seam on both sides give it a good press before you cut to set your seams then square your piece on your cutting nut ensuring that the corners are square then make a horizontal cut in the center of the sides and then make a vertical cut in the center of the other sides then make your diagonal cuts so there's a bit of extra work here to measure and mark you also need larger pieces of fabric and sewing a longer perfect diagonal is much harder to do but i do find it's the fastest method for quantity here i also add one inch instead of 7 8 in my calculations but don't hesitate to make your square even larger especially if you're a beginner whether you add an eighth of an inch or a half an inch you need to trim them up anyways you can also use the same principle and expand your marking to make a larger grid and more but note that if you're looking for an assortment of hsts this method might not work for you as this produces all the same block for this method we use with the fabric strips like jelly roll strips or larger and you use the easy angle specialty ruler you lay your strip down and align the ruler to the same width as the height of your strip i put a ledge of washi tape on both sides of the ruler to butt up against you cut along the diagonal then flip the ruler a line and then cut up the other side this method is good for when you don't have the height to make the aid at a time method or perhaps you're cutting squares this will make hsts the same finish size it does have the same issues as method one with the bias seam so be careful not to stretch this uses the same method as the aid at a time method but it's paper piecing with the sewing lines already marked for you your seams and your cutting lines can be more accurate but like all paper piecing removing the papers can be pretty darn tedious it's also an added expense and you will need multiple paper sizes depending on what size hsts you're making this method doesn't work for me but i do have friends that swear by it [Music] this is another one of those magical methods you sew two strips of fabric together on both sides you may have a top stitch to remove here but then ta-da you have a completed hst the math is a bit tricky because this is the finished size the height of the strip is equal to the square root of the finished size squared divided by two plus a half an inch a much simpler way is to just take the finished size and add half an inch then find the corresponding measurements on your ruler and place a tape or mark between them then align this with the stitch line and trim from there this method is great when you can combine multiple strip sets together and it also gives you another size option for jelly roll strips but all the blocks are on the bias just like the four at a time method and once they're on the bias they're always on the bias so be very careful with them [Music] this time our strips are cut on the 45 and then sewn together then you use your triangle ruler to cut the hst so your blocks are on grain and it might be great method if you need a lot of the same block but you need yardage to make bias strips and honestly this method is just a little bit fussy for my taste [Music] so most of these methods are for hsts that are all made with the same pairs of fabric this accordion method is about scrappy hsts where you want no two identical pairs you mark your sewing lines then add an hst to the right side when you are done you flip that piece to the left and then add another one to the right and then another and then another then trim in between them with your scissors i first saw this method on eva page's youtube channel she explains it extremely well so i will leave a link to her video if you want to learn more she has a specialty ruler she recommends to trim them up fast but i tried to order it on amazon.ca and it was 70 something dollars and then i tried to import it from the us and it was even more money so maybe one day when the border opens up again and i find myself in the u.s i'll take one for a test drive for most of these methods if you are using two solid fabrics all your hsts will be the same but if you are using stripes or directional fabrics your hsts may differ in appearance i have a video called stripes that show the different results and if you haven't seen it i'll leave a link to it in the notes below all of these methods have pros and cons it's important that you test them out to see which ones work best for you in different situations i will have a link below for the specialty rulers and the hst papers for the ones that you want to try and don't hesitate to make a couple of extra hsts if that's the easier method for you you can always use them in other blocks or in your after quilt last week on karen's quilt circle i had the color blind quilter tom was an excellent guest with all kinds of tips and he has provided a handout of specialized color palettes so make sure you check that out if you like this video please give it a thumbs up don't forget to subscribe and hit that bell beside the subscribe button so that youtube will notify you when i make new videos you can also follow me on facebook instagram and pinterest at just get it done quilts and of course my website just gettingdonequilts.com so take care and i'll see you next time

Channel: Just Get it Done Quilts

Views: 62,964

Rating: 4.9862251 out of 5

Keywords: quilting, karen brown, just get it done quilts, quilting tutorial, beginner quilting, fast and easy, diy, half square triangle tutorial, half square triangle, how to make a half square triangle, easy half square triangles, half square triangles made easy, half square triangle quilt, half square triangle quilt patterns

Id: kB4gzrRlLsM

Length: 13min 3sec (783 seconds)

Published: Sat Jul 24 2021