Looking for a quilt pattern that is simple, fast, and still flexible and unique? Have you tried Half Square Triangles (HSTs)?
HSTs have become one of my favorite piecing forms for making quick and creative quilt tops. To make the Kaffe Fassett quilt, I gathered 4 charm packs of Kaffe mixed designs. I also used 4 packs of white Bella solid cotton. Charm Packs are bundles of 5 inch x 5 inch pre-cut fabric squares. A standard charm pack contains 42 squares. They are a great, affordable way to buy all the designs from full collection of a designer or manufacturer. And did I mention pre-cut?!? Who doesn’t love to dive right into a project without measuring, planning, and cutting?
HST designs allow you to sew first, design later. I opened all 8 charm packs and paired one white square with one Kaffe print. Mark the squares with pencil or chalk diagonally from corner to corner. Sew 1/4 inch from the line on each side, then cut down the pencil line. Iron the seam allowance to one side. To make this a quick task chain piece all the pieces in batches.
This video demonstrates chain piecing HSTs from another quilt, but the process is the same. Sew, cut, iron.
The key step with HSTs is after the sew-cut-iron routine is trimming. Trim the squares to insure the diagonal seam is exactly corner to corner, that and the square are precisely 4.5 inches x 4.5 inches. This step is the most important step to make sure all your blocks align and that your quilt be squared.
Once your blocks are trimmed the fun begins. I have a piece of batting tacked up in my hallway that I use as a design wall. The fabric blocks stick to it like velcro. This makes it perfect for playing around with HST blocks to find the perfect design. There are many, many, many designs that can be created from HSTs. A couple of my favorite mock ups are shown.
Piece the blocks together and then quilt!
It is always fun to leave one block as a “mistake.” It can be an Easter Egg or a signature mark on your custom creative quilt.
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