Half Square Triangle Tutorials

Do you have a favorite method for making half square triangles?  I used to use the method of drawing a line down the middle of a square and sewing a quarter inch on either side of the drawn line.  It is easy and quick.  The only down side is that with squares cut 7/8 inches larger than the finished size of the square, they don't easily come from precut strips.  I love being able to cut all the pieces for a block from the same sizes strips, and so have been converted into an Easy Angle fan.  I don't use a lot of specialty rulers, but I have really gotten my money's worth out of this one.
Because this year's RSC Sampler quilt is limited to just three units: squares, rectangles, and half square triangles, I have been thinking of all of the different ways people make half square triangles.  I'm starting a collection of tutorials, so let me know if your favorite method is not on the list and I will add it.

Magic 8 Method - add 7/8 inches to your finished size and multiply by 2
Square Sewn in the Middle Method - add 7/8 inches to your finished size
   Two at a time without drawn lines - using a laser to mark the line
Printed Paper Method - Pattern is printed on paper then sewn and cut
Sew Around the Edges of a Square Method -  leaves lots of bias edges, but seems nifty otherwise
Specialty Rulers
    Fons and Porter  (video)- cuts both HST and QST as well as the strips
    Easy Angle (video) - cuts units from same strip size as the square units in your block

T-Shirt Quilt Tutorial Part 2

A single size block with traditional lattice and corner stones makes for very simple and straight forward construction for any t-shirt quilt.  After the stabilizing and trimming of blocks it goes together just like a "regular" old quilt.  

After making a few t-shirt quilts like this, I started to branch out a bit.  

 A lot of shirts fit better in a rectangular space than in a square.  As long as you are consistent, this is no harder to handle than squares.  16 by 14 is a nice size, but it all depends on your shirts.  

Some shirts have smaller designs.  You could trim these out to a larger size, but that leaves a lot of empty space in the quilt and it ends up being really big if you are including lots of shirts.  If you have enough of these shirts for an entire row, you could easily trim them to 10 by 14 or even 8 by 14.  Just look at all the shirts for a given row and choose the largest size that you need to cut to include all the designs.  

 Sometimes shirts have small skinny designs that don't take up much space.  These can be combined to make a single block.  Sewing stabilized shirts together isn't hard.  Do pin to avoid shifting, and if possible, leave them a little bit big to start.  Sew the blocks together with a standard seam allowance and then press the seams open on the back.  This will help to reduce bulk as the stabilized shirts are a bit heavier than regular quilting fabric.  Don't forget to use a pressing cloth so that you don't melt the stabilizer.  After you have sewn and pressed, then square up to your desired size as if were a regular block.  

Sometimes you don't want to use the back and front separately, they can be combined into a single block.  This works best with rectangular blocks.  It is saves a lot of space compared to including the front and back individually, but allows you to include more of the details from the shirts.

 Lots of shirts have sleeves or pockets with fun images, those can easily be added to a smaller block.

Once you are comfortable with piecing shirts, it would be easy enough to sew them together puzzle style, completely free of the traditional lattice and cornerstones.  I personally like the traditional layout though.  I think the consistent colors help to tie everything together and the grid gives the quilt a nice structure.
This is my most recent quilt.  The top row is 14 by 16.  Some of the blocks are pieced, but some are just larger designs.  The second row is 14 by 8, it has a lot of smaller designs.  Notice that though each row has a different height, the widths are always the same to allow them to fit together.  Using a design wall or laying everything out on the floor makes it easier to keep track of where the blocks go.  Lay all of the blocks out and then add in lattice strips and cornerstones.
After sewing the top together, just layer and quilt it as if it were any quilt.  T-shirt quilts do tend to be pretty heavy due to all of the stabilizer, so keep that in mind when you choose your quilting pattern.  I used to tie these before I was comfortable with quilting.  Just make sure that you read the packaging on your batting and tie or quilt it at the recommended distance.

T-Shirt Quilt Tutorial Part 1

I seem to keep getting sucked into making t-shirt quilts.  For my family, for friends who have kids graduating from high school, from random strangers who saw a Facebook post.  Each time I post a picture of a t-shirt quilt, the same questions seem to come up.  So I thought that I would put together a quick tutorial for easy reference.  

First, go to the closet and dig up a pile of t-shirts with sentimental value.  The ones you can't bear to throw out because they remind you of all the special times.  Grab a nice sharp pair of scissors and start cutting.  Trim off the sleeves and necks, and cut straight down the sides to isolate the part of the shirt you want to keep.  Usually this is the front, but it can be the backs or sleeves or pockets.  Set aside the parts you don't want, but don't toss them out quite yet, because you just never know.  

Next, go to the fabric store or hop onto Amazon and find some lightweight fusible interfacing.  This is my favorite kind, it is sheerweight fusible by pellon.  The exact kind isn't important, but it should have adhesive on one side and not be paper backed.  Wonder Under is the kind with fusible on two side and it would NOT work for this project.

Your interfacing should come with directions.  Read these and follow them.  In general though, you heat set using an iron and a damp cloth.

Take one of the shirts you want to use and place it face down on the ironing board with the part you would like in your quilt centered.

Next take a piece of the interfacing bigger than your finished block and place it so that the adhesive side of the interfacing is down on the back side of the shirt.  For this quilt I was making 13 by 13 blocks, so I cut my interfacing about 16 inches or so.  It will be trimmed up later, so bigger is better than smaller.

Take one of the extra backs that you didn't throw away quite yet and get it wet, you can use a spray bottle or take it to the sink and dampen it there.  Move the iron slowly over the surface of the shirt following the time suggested on the directions for your specific interfacing.  Check to be sure the interfacing is well adhered to the shirt.  If you need to, you can turn the shirt right side up and iron some more to make sure it sticks.  Be sure to use the extra shirt back as a pressing cloth though, because a lot of the inks they use on the shirts will melt right off on the iron.  Trust me, cleaning ink off of your iron is no fun at all.

Now that your shirt is stabilized, you are ready to trim it to your desired size.  For the most part, t-shirt blocks will be larger than your standard 12 by 12 quilt block.  I find that a large square up ruler comes in handy.  It certainly isn't necessary though, you can use the lines on your cutting mat as a guide as well.

A word on desired size.  Take a look at all of your shirts, and determine which one has the largest image you want to include in your quilt.  In theory, all of your shirts should be at least as big as that.  A quilt with small children's shirts might only need 12 by 12 blocks.  Most designs though, are larger, so a 14 by 14 or even 16 by 16 block size might work best.  Your shirts do not have to be trimmed to a square.  I have found that 14 by 16 or even 18 is a nice size for capturing larger images on adult sized shirts.  It is easiest if you decide to trim all of your shirts to the same size, but it isn't mandatory.  You can keep a consistent width, but vary the height of the block for each row.
In Part 2 of the tutorial I will talk about design options and layout. 

New Tab

I made a new Tab for tutorials.  I seem to keep making the same things over and over using wonderful directions already published by other people.  It seemed like it might be handy to have a list of links and pictures all in one place.  I might someday categorize or organize them, but for now, at least the links will be easier to find.  All of the links are to free tutorials that I have personally used and are up to date as far as I know.  If any of that changes, please let me know and I will try to keep things up to date.