half square triangels

I can't believe I'm going to do this- there was a quilt on the cover of a
McCall's magazine- last year I believe (it's upstairs somewhere) that is
made completely of HST. All beige and assorted darks. I have never liked
HST, but I learned to do it where you draw the line down the middle with one
of those marking rulers, sew down both sides and voila- 2 HST. They didn't
seem too bad that way.
My question is- is there a trick to sewing them together so that the corner
seams aren't hard to manage? Is there a time for pressing in a specific way?
Any insights are appreciated.


--
Helen in MN

sounds lovely, Helen.
if you're doing all lights(beiges) and darks, just try pressing all the
seams to the dark side. should work ok, depends on the overall pattern
you're doing though. you might find you have to change some of them along
the way, so keep that iron heated and at the ready while your sewing.
....or you could iron all to the dark, then lay out the design and see which
ones will need reverse ironing so they all alternate for nice flat seams.
clear as mud again, eh, sorry.
you can sew those in more than just two at a time as well.
i'll if i can find the url for more hsts in one go. hang on a sec...
http://quilting.about.com/library/weekly/aa022298.htm

several good links on this page, including templates for multiple HSTs.
check all the links before you get going though. there might be one over
another that works best for your needs.
if they're always too small, perhaps cutting them a wee bit larger and
squaring them off will work better for you.
good luck,
jeanne
seriously contemplating making some 'beads' blocks on mc calls freebies,
perhaps a wee wallhanging or a pillow, some 3D additions, oh dear, here i go
again
--
http://community.webshots.com/user/nzlstar
real reply is san-fran at ihug dot co dot nz

"Helen in MN" wrote...
| I can't believe I'm going to do this- there was a quilt on the cover of a
| McCall's magazine- last year I believe (it's upstairs somewhere) that is
| made completely of HST. All beige and assorted darks. I have never liked
| HST, but I learned to do it where you draw the line down the middle with
one
| of those marking rulers, sew down both sides and voila- 2 HST. They didn't
| seem too bad that way.
| My question is- is there a trick to sewing them together so that the
corner
| seams aren't hard to manage? Is there a time for pressing in a specific
way?
| Any insights are appreciated.
|
|
| --
| Helen in MN
|
|

Helen,
if you are going to do a lot of the same HST, then use something like Triangles
on a Roll. Makes it much easier to do. Just remember to sew just on the seam
side of the line that is marked and they come out great. I did a quilt that had
over 400 HST units in it and would never have done it without the ToaR. (They
come in finished sized from 1" to about 4" I think)

Pati, in Phx

Helen in MN wrote:

I can't believe I'm going to do this- there was a quilt on the cover of a
McCall's magazine- last year I believe (it's upstairs somewhere) that is
made completely of HST. All beige and assorted darks. I have never liked
HST, but I learned to do it where you draw the line down the middle with one
of those marking rulers, sew down both sides and voila- 2 HST. They didn't
seem too bad that way.
My question is- is there a trick to sewing them together so that the corner
seams aren't hard to manage? Is there a time for pressing in a specific way?
Any insights are appreciated.

--
Helen in MN

"Helen in MN" wrote in message
...
I can't believe I'm going to do this- there was a quilt on the cover of a
McCall's magazine- last year I believe (it's upstairs somewhere) that is
made completely of HST. All beige and assorted darks. I have never liked
HST, but I learned to do it where you draw the line down the middle with
one
of those marking rulers, sew down both sides and voila- 2 HST. They didn't
seem too bad that way.
My question is- is there a trick to sewing them together so that the
corner
seams aren't hard to manage? Is there a time for pressing in a specific
way?
Any insights are appreciated.

Hi Helen,
My absolutely positively favorite way of piecing HST's is with a product
called Thangles http://www.thangles.com/

No, I am not affiliated in any way. I found the product at a quilt show, and
they are SOOOOO easy to use. NO 7/8ths. You cut your strips with 1/2 inch
seam allowances, just like you would for squares. So, if you have quilt
blocks where you use squares AND hst's of the same fabric, you need only ONE
SIZED strip.

Regardless of what method you use to create the HST's -- the 'tricks' are in
pressing, and in how you feed the fabric through the machine when sewing.

By using any of the 'sew before you cut' methods you are already eliminating
the 'stretch' that can happen when you sew on the bias. After you have sewn
the HST, press... first 'setting' the bias seam by pressing as sewn... then
open the HST and press that bias seam light side to dark. If you are using
thangles, you should leave the papers ON while you press.
I suggest constructing each block in rows. Lay out your block. The side
seams are not cut on the bias, so there shouldn't be too much difficulty
'matching' the corners -- just line them up. When you sew the HST to the
next block piece, try and sew so that the light side of the HST feeds into
the machine first. This way, the bias seam will go through the sewing
machine in the same direction you pressed it. If you are sewing two HST's
together dark to light, make sure that the bottom piece feeds in light side
first (this way, the bias seam will not get pushed wrong by the feed dogs,
and you can see if you need to help the seam on the top layer as it goes
through).
After you sew the first row of the block together, press all vertical seams
in one direction (remember to press, and not iron. You don't want to alter
the pressing you did on the bias seams. Sew your second row. This time press
all the vertical seams to the opposite side. Continue in this manner for
each row of the block. If you want to do any trimming of corner points, do
it after each row. (Trimming is not necessary, IMO - but I do not hand
quilt!). I leave the papers on my HST's until it is time to sew the rows for
the blocks together. The papers come off easiest if you are NOT too gentle.
A quick 'rip' works better than a slow tear.
Now, when you go to sew the rows of the block together, you will have
'interlocking' seams. Pin if you like. PRESS. When you sew the rows
together, feed the fabric strip so that the bottom layer has the seams
pressed toward you, the top layer seams will be facing up. You can watch the
top layer (go slow when each seam gets to your presser foot). When the feed
dogs 'pull' the fabric on the bottom, the fabric will be pulled TOWARD the
matching seam on the top layer.

Have fun! Using these methods even flannels come out with matched points.

Thanks so much for all your help.
I think maybe I'll give the Thangles a go- hopefully they sell them at
JoAnn's, since I got a gift certificate for Christmas.
Helen in MN

I agree with "nzl". Make your original squares a little larger than
the pattern calls for. Draw your line, sew on both sides, cut apart
and press to the dark. Now take a square ruler (preferably a small
square). Line the diagonal line up with seamline and the edges with
one corner. Trim the excess offthe opposite corner. If necessary turn
the square and trim any excess on the original corner. This trimming
may seem like a waste of time but unless you are a very accurate sewer
the original squares will not be exact. After trimming they are exact.

If you are making many squares of the same color combination the grid
method saves time. I didn't check the address she gave you but I
assume the grid method is explained there. Again start with squares
that are a little bigger (an 1/8" larger is usually plenty). If you
are using lots of scraps then cutting the squares and creating two at
a time is the best method.

Don't be afraid of triangles. They will add great movement to your
quilts.

Susan


On Sun, 04 Jan 2004 21:59:19 GMT, "Helen in MN"
wrote:

I can't believe I'm going to do this- there was a quilt on the cover of a
McCall's magazine- last year I believe (it's upstairs somewhere) that is
made completely of HST. All beige and assorted darks. I have never liked
HST, but I learned to do it where you draw the line down the middle with one
of those marking rulers, sew down both sides and voila- 2 HST. They didn't
seem too bad that way.
My question is- is there a trick to sewing them together so that the corner
seams aren't hard to manage? Is there a time for pressing in a specific way?
Any insights are appreciated.

Sorry, I don't think they sell Thangles or Triangles on a Roll (another
way of doing HSTs) at Jo-Ann's . : ( I have only found them at quilt
shops.

Pati, in Phx


Helen in MN wrote:

Thanks so much for all your help.
I think maybe I'll give the Thangles a go- hopefully they sell them at
JoAnn's, since I got a gift certificate for Christmas.
Helen in MN