Half Square Triangles in Half the Time!

I know I’ve completely lost it—this is the third pinwheel/half square triangle post in the past few months, but I have my reasons:

-You’re going to get an awesome new pattern later this month that includes *some* pinwheels, so you’re welcome in advance!

-I’ve made about 560 Half Square Triangles (140 pinwheels) in the past month, so I probably have lost it a little…

-I’ve got one more post on giant Half Square Triangles coming up, so just settle in.

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If you haven’t been around the blog in a while, no problem, let me get you caught up!

1. First, I posted about making half square triangles fast using the Magic 8 Method. This was a pretty fun post and I’m really enjoying hearing about how it’s changed your pinwheel making experience!
2. Then, I followed up about how you can get the perfect pinwheel, which has a lot to do with a special pressing technique that allows your centers to sit flat.
3. Now we are back on Half Square Triangles and how to make them even speedier!
4. In a few weeks I’ll be showing you how to cut HUGE pieces on the bias without distorting or stretching. (Update: Here’s my post on How to Cut Large Triangles (on the Bias) and Keep Things Straight.)

Making Half Square Triangles FAST

The actual making of your Half Square Triangles is already as fast as it can get when you use the Magic 8 Method that I showed you a few weeks back. But what about all that trimming?! Don’t worry, you’re not alone, I hate this part SO MUCH!

So what’s a girl to do? Find a way to cut that time spent trimming in half!

Trimming Half Square Triangles FAST

Save the Trimming for Last

Yep, you read that right. Keep on sewing and *then* do your trimming. Here’s why:

Typically, you’re going to end up sewing at least two Half Square Triangles together (if that’s not the case for you, skip to the “Tools” section of this post). What I like to do is sew my two HST’s together and then trim. Why trim one block at a time when I can trim two!? Here’s how I do it without skimping on precision:

Sew the Half Square Triangles Together

First, I simply sew the HST’s together. Since I haven’t trimmed things up yet, I make sure that my seams line up nicely by fitting them together and feeling for them to “lock” into each other. Getting this part right is vital to getting a precise point later on, so don’t be lazy with this step!

I sew down the edge with my 1/4″ foot. If I’m doing a lot of these, I’ll chain piece as I go to save time too!

How to Trim 2 Half Square Triangles at Once

Now that I’ve sewn two pieces together it’s time to trim (Put that iron down! It’s not time for pressing yet!). Here’s where nifty tools are always helpful (but not required).

First, line up the 45 degree line of your ruler with the stitches running through the middle of your block. Next, slide the edge of your ruler to be flush with the sewn edge. Before cutting, make sure that you’re still lined up on the 45 degree mark. The only part that you’ll be trimming from this side is your dog ear! Trimming off any fabric from this edge will mess with the final size of your block.

Then, trim the remaining three sides of your block to the block size listed in your pattern.

That’s all there is to it—I’ve gotten great results with this technique and saved a ton of time. I mean, look at those points!

Helpful Tools for Trimming Half Square Triangles

I’m typically pretty anti-tool, and especially anti-ruler. I’ve got so many supplies and rulers floating around the studio…I don’t need one more. But either of these tools will make your life a lot easier when trimming HST’s and other blocks.

Bloc Loc Rulers

These little guys are the bomb. I don’t personally own one, but I’ve used them and they are amazing! They have a small ridge on them that “locks” into your 45 degree seam, and since the ruer is sized to the finished size of your block, trimming is a breeze!

You can easily find these on Amazon as single pieces or in sets!

Tucker Trimmer

I personally own the Tucker Trimmer and love it because I can use it on lots of different sized blocks, rather than having one for each size. It’s really simple to use and takes up very little space!

So there you have it! Now you now how to make half square triangles FAST, trim half square triangles FAST, and press PERFECT pinwheels. I’m getting dizzy with all these pinwheel posts!

Until next time, happy sewing!