Half square triangles are arguably one of the most essential blocks in quilting. It’s used in hundreds of quilt patterns and can form a ton of different designs.
They also tend to be a bit time consuming to sew up. You end up getting a beautiful end product, sure, but I always wished it was a bit quicker.
Luckily, I found a way to make half square triangles that takes way less time. Instead of sewing up only one half square triangle, use this hack and you can sew up 8 at once!
This hack comes from Laura Ann Coia at SewVeryEasy on YouTube, and it’s absolutely genius. Keep in mind you can adjust the size of the original block to make larger half square triangles.
The finished blocks in Laura’s case are created with a 1/4″ seam allowance, so keep that math in mind when creating these blocks.
Start with two large squares of fabric and place them right sides together. Using a ruler, draw an “X” shape across the four corners. Now, draw a cross down the center.
Sew on either side of all of those lines, then use a rotary cutter to cut down the drawn lines. Press them all open and voilà! 8 half square triangles!
Isn’t this hack amazing? All of these years of quilting and somehow I had no idea this was possible. Thank goodness for YouTube, am I right?
Laura goes into more detail in her video below. Give it a watch and start using this brilliant technique for yourself!
Happy Quilting!