I have spent an afternoon testing out a new item that has come into stock at QH… It’s not new to me though.. I picked up an early version of Triangulations several years back when in America… Ooh gosh I see that it was around 2004 – how time flies.
Triangulations is a very simple computer disc that allows you to print you own foundation papers for sewing really accurate Half Square Triangles ( hereafter known as HST’s) in many different sizes.. The new updated version has size increments for HST’s of 1/16″ and has also branched out to include Quarter Square Triangles (QST’s) in increments of 1/8″ and Tamed Geese – which I assume are the authors name for Flying Geese’ in increments of 1/4″. So you should be able to find the size you need.
To start you find the page for the size you will need and print off the papers – the numbers of finished triangles etc will vary on the page depending on the size.
I started off with 2″ finished HST’s -it took me 6 minutes to produce 12 perfect HST’s
The method is easy, you sew on the dotted lines and cut on the solid ones…
I moved on to the new QST’s … The sewing lines are a little different but I still managed to produce 19 QST’S with a finished size of 2 1/2″, plus 2 bonus HST’s of 1″ finished to go in my scrap pot. Here they are all trimmed ready for piecing..
Finally I thought I would try HST’s in a smaller size – these finish at 1/2″- yes thats half an inch – for those of you that may like to work in miniature where accuracy not only save time but sanity. I put the timer on this one 13 minutes from pinning the paper to the fabric, to cutting them apart.
I have to confess that I did not trim them all up nor press them open – at this size I feel it would be a job for sitting in the front of the TV.. One A4 size of paper and 2 pieces of fabric the same size created 96 tiny perfect HST’s – I have to say that if I had to make these by any other method it would drive me Bananas and use a lot more fabric and hours more time.
So if you are a lover of scrap quilts this would be a great way to mix your fabrics with a plain white or solid to give a statement look or pair them into darks and lights to create endless patterns.
I’m off to try the Geese out as believe it or not I have still got fabric left from 2 fat quarters….
p.s – Sorry these are not listed on the website yet but you can phone in to the shop if you can’t wait… They will be on the website shortly.
