A precise Quarter Square Triangle block makes an impeccable quilt

After I spent a good part of last Sunday cutting squares for mom to make HSTs, so she could then make then make QSTs, I’m much happier with the results of these QSTs than I was at the samples I showed you last week. Following Elaine’s tips, which she promised she will share on QUILTsocial in her July posts, have been extremely helpful, and may I say a lifesaver. When I had made the samples I thought I was making them incorrectly, but relieved to know I just hadn’t completed all the steps to make them perfectly square.

In this experience of making QSTs it has proof of the fact that many hands make light work, or more currently expressed as the magic of ‘teamwork’. With the limited amount of time I can dedicate to quilting (unfortunately at this time of my life) it helps to have my partner, a.k.a. mom, to share the work. Here are the HSTs.

Half Square Triangles are so adorable it’s hard to cut them further into Quarter Square Triangles – right?

And getting ready to make QSTs…

Marking the HSTs to make QSTs.

At a glance, you can’t really tell that this QST doesn’t have straight sides, but when you place it on the cutting mat it becomes obvious!

Placing the QST on the cutting mat makes it obvious that the block isn’t a precise square and a precise square is what makes an impeccable quilt – at least an impeccable foundation.

I centered the 4” square measurement by placing the middle intersection of the ruler onto the intersection of the block as in the picture below and then proceeded to cut whatever fabric past the top and the right hand side of the ruler. Then turn the square to match the even sides to the ruler on the mat and again use the intersection on the ruler to the intersection on the block – this is double checking you cut it correctly the first time. You know, measure twice cut once. This is super easy, but it is slow and meticulous work.

Precision is everything in quilting, particularly in the many steps to make a QST block.

I’ll square up as many as I can late in the evening, to get the QSTs ready for mom so we can sew them together next Sunday.

Not the best light to be squaring up the QSTs, but I was inspired to do as many as I could one late evening. See those snippets at the bottom left of the picture above? Those snippets can really make your quilt wonky! So little a difference yet so detrimental, detri-‘mental’, oh yes…

My daughter, her boyfriend, and John were sitting around the table chatting away about the history of quilting, fond childhood memories and other such things while listening to my daughter’s boyfriend play his acoustic guitar. Does life get any better than this? See you next week.

This is part 2 of 5 in this series.
Go back to part 1:  Why Quarter Square Triangle blocks get wonky

Go to part 3: A baby quilt in progress

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2 comments

Sarah C January 4, 2017 - 8:44 pm
Thank you for the great tutorial on making and hour glass square
Pauline July 17, 2016 - 3:29 pm
That sounds like a great evening with the family around the table talking quilting while you square up your QST's - great. Pauline
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