This week I’ll be showing you how to piece 8 half square triangles at a time.
Block 2 uses many of the same types of half square triangles. Making them with the “Magic 8” technique makes the process faster!
Pair your fabric, correct sides together.Mark diagonal lines from corner to corner.Once you mark both, you’ll havean “X”. I like using my Sewline Pencil Trio — it has a place for both black and white lead, so I always have the color I need handy!Pin to secure.Stitch, with your ¼″ presser foot, on both sides of the marked lines, using matching thread.
After sewing your fabric will look like the photo shown above.Mark and trim a vertical line through the center of the fabric,Mark and trim a horizontal line through the center of the fabric,Trim on the pencil lines of the diagonal lines (between your sewn lines).Open all (8) HSTs and press seams open.Trim the top and right edges of your HSTs, carefully aligning the 45 degree line on your ruler with your seam. Take your time with this step!
Rotate your block and trim your HSTs to your desired size (indicated in the pattern). Be sure to carefully align the 45 degree line on your ruler with your seam.You’ll see that there is quite a bit of extra fabric. I like to start with generous pieces of fabric when making my HSTs. While there is a bit more waste, adding this extra amount makes for a less frustrating trimming experience, especially if my ruler slips a bit and I need to make a second cut.
Leaf Peepers Pattern Correction: Both Leah and I were very careful to catch all the issues within the Leaf Peepers Quilt Pattern, but we missed one small thing for Block 2 in an earlier version of the pattern: In Step 2, the 4th bullet point should say “Trim on all 8 marked lines…” instead of “Trim on all 4 marked lines…”
Next week, we’ll dig into making Leaf Peepers Block 3.
