half-triangle square in grape bsket block

[karen f.]

what is the fastest, easiest technique for cutting half square triangles and making a grape(amish) basket? anyone can advise please?

[karen f.]

what is the fastest, easiest technique for cutting half square triangles and making a grape(amish) basket? anyone can advise please?

You can make the half square triangles in several different ways that are easy!! I love to start with 2 squares, draw a line on the diagonal on one of them, sew 1/4 " from the line on each side, cut on the drawing line. It will give you 2 half triangle squares! What I love most about doing it this way is that the edges are straight of grain :wink: no bias edges to fight with!! :lol:

[karen f.]

what is the fastest, easiest technique for cutting half square triangles and making a grape(amish) basket? anyone can advise please?

You can make the half square triangles in several different ways that are easy!! I love to start with 2 squares, draw a line on the diagonal on one of them, sew 1/4 " from the line on each side, cut on the drawing line. It will give you 2 half triangle squares! What I love most about doing it this way is that the edges are straight of grain :wink: no bias edges to fight with!! :lol:

I do somethign similar except I do strips and I draw my diagonal lines in like a zig zag and mark the cutting lines for the squares. So you start 1/4 inch off your diagonal line, sew down till you get to the square cutting line, then turn and go up the next one and off the edge. You are basically sewing a series of v's. Once you do your whole strip you cut everything apart and press. I made dozens of them at a time this way in virtually no time at all. I always make the strips slightly large to allow me to square up the individual blocks once they are all done. See my profile - the Tree of Life and my Pittsburg quilt were both done this way.

[Wanda M.]

Square in a square has a simple method of making 4 half squares at a time, but you must have their ruler for it to work! :?

[Wanda M.]

I went under Google and did a search under Half square triangles and found this link describing the method I was talking about.

http://www.horizonquiltpatterns.com/createhst.htm

And the measurement was 7/8" larger than your finished size :wink:

[Wanda M.]

I prefer making them using 1 inch larger, then trimming them to the exact size after sewing. That takes care of any distortion that might occur from pressing the seams open--just cut them all nice and square afterward.

Pat in Rockport, TX

[Wanda M.]

~thanks everybody, i tried mandys and is looking good. I also found thangles on th internet ' you tube, it is a template too.