The Magic 8 Method
Half Square Triangle units (HSTs) are squares made up of two triangles. Each triangle occupies half of the square’s space. As you might expect, there are many, many different methods to make those blocks. This tutorial shows you 20 of the most common methods.
First, a glossary.
A finished HST is the size that it is in a quilt. It’s dressed and ready to go to the ball. An unfinished HST is in raw, unclothed form. It will be 1/2″ larger than a finished HST because the size includes a 1/4″ seam allowance.
The “Magic Eight” Method of Making
Half Square Triangle (HST) Blocks
This method works well when you need to make a lot of identically colored HST blocks. Here is an overview of the method. Make a test block first. (My personal preference is to cut the squares slightly too large so that I can square up the HST blocks later on. If you are sure of your 1/4″ seam, you can use
7-3/4″ blocks. ) Here is how to make a test block.
Assemble:
- (1) 8″× 8″ Background Square
- (1) 8″× 8″ Colored Square
On the back of the Background square, draw 4 lines: one vertically through the center; one horizontally through the center and one on both diagonals. These will be your cutting lines.
Place the Background square and the Colored square right sides together. Sew 1/4″ on both sides of the diagonal lines. You will find it easier to chain-stitch these. Sew all the squares diagonally first, going from one block to the next without snipping the thread in between the blocks. When that is done, you can do the other side.
Press your sewn block. Don’t move the iron. Just press with a hot iron in an up and down motion. You want it to lay very flat before cutting.
Cut it apart on the drawn lines. If you cut it apart using a rotary cutter, take care not to move the squares with each cut.
When you have all the blocks cut, you will need to square them up. There are two ways you can square up your block. You can place a 3-1/2″ ruler so the diagonal line is directly over the seam and just cut two sides. Or you can press open the block, pressing to the dark, and square it up to 3-1/2″× 3-1/2″.
Download this free chart
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