Saturday, April 11, 2009

Week 15 quick trick

Here is a shortcut to easily make the triangle part of this week's block without having to cut or sew triangles on bias sides. First cut two 2-1/2 inch squares for the square corners, cut two 2-1/2 x 3-1/2 rectangles for the four small half square triangles and one 4-1/2 x 5-1/2 rectangle for the two large half square triangles.


Sew each corner square to a 2-1/2 x 3-1/2 rectangle and then sew them to each other as shown below (picture shows the wrong side after sewing). Make a small snip in the seam so that each side can be pressed away from the corner block. Draw two diagonal lines that go from one corner, through the point of the corner square, to a point 4-1/2 inches away from the edge. (I'm sure the picture does a better job than my words.)


Put this unit right sides together with the remaining 4-1/2 x 5-1/2 rectangle and sew on the drawn lines. Then cut between lines to separate into two blocks. I find this method easier than cutting and sewing triangles with bias edges and hope it makes the block easier for everyone. -- Kathie







Edited to show other size block instructions:

The general rule for the rectangle sizes for any size block you are making is that the long side is 1 inch longer than the short side.

For a 5 inch finished block: Square is 3x3, small rectangle is 3x4 and large rectangle is 5-1/2 x 6-1/2.

For a 6 inch finshed block: Square is 3-1/2 x 3-1/2, small rectangle is 3-1/2 x 4-1/2 and large rectangle is 6-1/2 x 7-1/2.

7 comments:

Donna said...

Thanks Kathryn! Your picture and explanation are clear and easy to follow... I may give it a try when I get to this week's block just to avoid that long bias seam...

Unknown said...

Kathryn....I thnk I just got a little crush on you!!!


This is where I usually screw things up...I am awful on bias work..AEFUL and I do straight really well...long story...so this will be a much LOVED technique I commit to memory.

LOVE the fabrics BTW.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for this tutorial, I've been looking for this method. Do you have a way to change the sizes?

Vicki said...

Thanks Kathryn. Very clear instuctions and I'll be trying this out tomorrow. Also love the fabrics.

hetty said...

Thanks for the tutorial, Kathie! I am going to give it a try.

Librarynan said...

Thanks for sharing this, This is a WAY COOL method!!!

floribunda said...

wow -- I've never seen that method before! will definitely try it out...