Make Half-Square Triangles from Strips of Fabric
Adjust the Size of the HSTs by Changing the Width of the Strips!
Most methods for making half-square triangles start with square pieces of fabric. You can make two, four and even eight identical HSTs at a time starting with two same-sized squares.
But, have you ever wanted to make half-square triangles from 2 1/2″ jelly roll strips? There’s a simple process that makes that doable, and that quickly produces several identical HSTs in the process. Nice!
Lindsay Conner has written a tutorial that clearly explains the process. Notice how she used tape on her ruler to facilitate cutting the triangles.
Lindsay’s method produces HSTs that measure 2 ½” unfinished (2″ finished). However, there is some waste involved. (Katarina’s process, below, is a no-waste method but the HSTs will be larger than 2″ when starting with 2 1/2″ strips.)
To change the size of the finished HSTs, adjust the width of the strips. The chart above from Patchwork Posse shows how wide to cut the strips for various sizes of HSTs.
Katarina used a similar process but placed the ruler differently for nearly no waste. She started with 2″ wide strips to create 2″ finished HSTs.
With either method, one way to adjust the size of the triangles is to change how the triangles are cut. A second is to adjust the width of the starting strips. Play with scraps to determine the appropriate strip width and ruler placement for the size of HSTs you want.
Note that HSTs made starting from strips have bias edges. Starch the fabric before starting to ensure that the HSTs sew neatly together without stretching.
