Quilting 102 Meera Chandrasekhar Sponsored by Shanthi Mandir, Summer 2012

Squares, Triangles, Diamonds and more

For a square piece: o Cut ½” larger than finished size (if your block needs a 2” finished square, your fabric should have a 2.5” square). o Cut a strip first, then chop it up into squares. If you have funky shapes (e.g., partial circles), make a template: o Make a full-sized version on graph paper o Cut, and paste on manila folder weight cardstock o Draw ¼” lines around the shape, then cut again o Use this template to cut your fabric For triangles and diamonds, there are easy cutting and piecing techniques.

Squares Finished size 3” Cut… 3 ½” seam

Half-Square Triangle units: (right angle triangles) Finished size Cut two squares 7/8 ” larger than finished size* 3 7/8 ” 3” * The add 7/8” rule holds for ANY half- square triangle finished size

1. Place the two squares one on top of the other, edges exactly aligned 2. Draw a diagonal line 3. Stitch seams on both sides of the line, ¼” from diagonal line

4. Cut along diagonal line, open stitched piece and press …And you have two half-square triangle blocks (3 ½ x 3 ½”) 3 ½” (when you stitch the 3½“ square into a block, it will have a finished size of 3”)

To make several half-square triangles, cut a strip of width = finished size + 7/8”

Quarter-Square Triangle units Star Block Card-Trick Block

Choose a finished square unit size. Add 1 ¼ " to finished dimensions. Cut two squares of that size. Use the half-square triangle sandwich method to sew the squares together. Cut apart, press seam open, to create two half-square triangle units. On the reverse side of one of the units, draw diagonal line, perpendicular to seam. Place the two triangle-square units right sides together, diagonal seams together, contrasting triangles facing each other. Align edges carefully. Sew two seams, each 1/4" from the drawn line. Cut the squares apart on the diagonal line. Press units open and trim triangular nubs at the ends.

Variations Two identical patches Not identical patches – mirror images

Long Triangles d/rotarycuttingskills/ss/cut ting_shapes_4.htm Start with rectangle Cut apart along diagonal

Equilateral Triangles Using the finished size, measure the distance from triangle's base to tip Add 3/4" to the measurement and cut a fabric strip of that width. Align the 60-degree line of a rotary ruler with the long edge of fabric strip. Cut along right edge of ruler to establish the first edge of the triangle. Rotate the ruler, aligning its other 60- degree line along the bottom edge of the strip. The edge of the ruler should be positioned to form a "point" at the bottom edge of your first cut. Cut along the right side of the ruler to create a triangle All three legs should be the same length--7/8" longer than the triangle's finished size. Continue flip-flopping your ruler to cut more equilateral triangles.

Diamonds Diamonds can have 30-degree, 45- degree, or 60-degree angles. The process of cutting them is the same. Cut a strip of fabric 1/2" wider than diamond's finished height. Align the ruler's 30-, 45-, or 60-degree line with the left lower edge of the fabric, sliding it far enough onto the strip so that there's fabric under its entire right edge. Cut along the right edge of the ruler to create the diamond's first angled side. Find the line on your ruler that matches the cutting height of the diamond--the same line you used to cut the fabric strip. Match the line with the angled left edge of the fabric and align the degree line along the bottom edge of the strip. Cut along the right side of the ruler to cut away the first diamond. Continue cutting diamond segments as needed for your quilt.

Making a box-bottom bag Several tutorials online o simple-reversible-totebag/ simple-reversible-totebag/ o bottom-bag.html bottom-bag.html o squarely-boxing-those-corners/ squarely-boxing-those-corners/ o the-bottom-corners-of-a-bag the-bottom-corners-of-a-bag I recommend using cording to reinforce the side seams