Welcome back to the Winter Star Quilt Along!
We’re already at Week 3 and this one is focused on creating half-square triangles (HST).
This basic quilt block is super easy to stitch and is beyond adorable to play with. I’ve been hooked since the first set I made all the way back in 2015 😉 You’re in for some fun!
They can be a little streeeeeetchy due to their biased edges, but the tips and tricks I share below with you will see you through it with no problems.
Get your Winter Star Quilt Pattern here!
This post contains affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, if you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a commission.
Preparation
Before I dive into any stitching situation, I tend to like to set the stage if you will, and get some preparation out of the way to make for a more efficient and enjoyable piecing journey.
Start by loading your Winter Star quilt pattern on your iPad or phone.
Pull up the Half Square Triangle Colour Combinations page for the Winter Star quilt size you’re making.
Set your device in a place where you can easily see the screen without it being in the way of your cutting mat or table.
Make three piles: A, B, and C.
Pair up your A, B, and C squares following the HST combination page. It works best if you work systematically down each combination list (e.g. A/B combinations). As you complete a pair, tap on the tick box next to the combination to keep track of your pairings.
Use the Block Labels included in the Winter Star quilt pattern to help keep everything organized as you work. This is especially important if you’re working on a larger size as there are a lot of different combinations!
This is where your piles and labels will have you sailing through this step.
Making Your 4-at-a-Time Half-Square Triangles
Once you have your squares paired up, now comes the time for some chain piecing. This will make super quick work of piecing all those squares together.
Grab some water (hydration helps keep your focus) and cue up your favourite podcast.
Once you’re comfortably installed at your sewing machine, grab one of your HST combination piles (I tend to like to start with A/B, but that’s just me 😉) and start stitching a 1/4″ seam allowance around the entire perimeter of your square. As you complete the fourth side, have your next HST combination ready to feed under your presser foot without cutting your stitches. It helps to stitch a few stitches between the end of the first HST pair and the new one you feed in to give you space to snip them apart.
Since the 4-at-a-time HST method stitches around the entire perimeter, I’ve found it easiest to snip my blocks apart shortly after I start stitching the next pair. This allows you to chain piece without having to wrangle a wad of HSTs as you make your turns around the square’s perimeter.
Place all your snipped HSTs back in their respective pile so that you don’t lose track of how they’ve been matched up!
Keep these piles going as you cut, press, and trim your half-square triangles. And don’t forget your block labels!
And click the video below to see the technique in action!
Take your time
It may be tempting to rush through this step, but I encourage you to take your time and make really pretty HSTs 😊
The more accurate you make them, the better results you’ll have when it comes time to start piecing your Winter Star quilt blocks together.
Break up your sessions
Don’t try and attempt this all-in-one session. There’s quite a bit of work to process here, especially if you’re making a larger quilt size. This is why I’ve built a full week for you to create your HSTs.
Work on a batch, then stretch and take a break. Your body will thank you for it!
My workflow gets broken into several sessions: piecing HSTs, cutting HSTs, pressing HSTs, and trimming HSTs. The latter gets further broken down into 3 to 4 more sessions just for trimming. My hands and arm get sore from this step, so I like to take lots of breaks. This is also another perfect step to pop on your favourite podcast. I catch up on most of my podcasts while trimming and basting as they’re both repetitive tasks that don’t require much thinking 😊
Half-Square Triangle Piecing Tips
There’s nothing difficult about making half-square triangle blocks, other than you need to look out for those biased edges, they like to stretch out on you.
The best way to combat that stretch factor is this: be gentle.
Be gentle with how you handle your HST. Don’t pull or tug on them, as they will stretch out on you.
You also want to make sure to press your HST rather than iron them. This will help prevent your fabric from being distorted and pulled out of shape.
Pins are your friend! When in doubt, pop a pin in there. This helps keep things aligned.
Starch away! If you want extra crisp HST, then starching your fabric before you even cut, or trim will help immensely.
The good news is the Winter Star quilt pattern builds in lots of wiggle room for you to trim down to the perfect size! You don’t even need any fancy rulers to do this. I ended up using this 6” square ruler I already had sitting in my quilt ruler rack.
And here’s a tutorial on how to trim your HST without needing one of those specialty half-square triangle rulers.
Stack your nicely trimmed HST on a plate, tray, or corner of your sewing table, stand back and admire the beautiful work you’ve done!
What notions and tools you’ll need
Here’s what you’ll need to make your half-square triangles.
- Sewing machine
- Thread for piecing
- Iron
- Ironing board or wool pressing mat
- Rotating cutting mat
- Rotary cutter
- Cutting mat
- Ruler for cutting your HST
- Ruler for trimming your HST
Plus, you’ll need your fabric! Here are the Pure Solids I’m working with:
To make the same version as shown in the Winter Star Quilt pattern (and the one I’ll be making) you can find the exact kit featuring the same AGF Pure Solids in this exclusive quilt kit from Sew Curated.
Weekly Giveaway
Since you’ll be sitting at your machine this week, I thought it was the perfect time to team up with my friends at Aurifil Thread to bring you the chance to win a cone of my favourite 50wt thread in colour 2000 to piece with!
To enter the giveaway, you must:
- Be following @aurifilthread and @shannonfraserdesigns on Instagram.
- Post a photo on Instagram of your Winter Star quilt pieces cut between October 17, 2022, and October 23, 20202, at 11:59 pm EDT.
- Instagram account must be public.
- Tag @aurifilthread and @shannonfraserdesigns
- Include the hashtags #WinterStarQuilt #WinterStarQAL
Week 3 giveaway is open internationally.
The best reward for getting through all that trimming is knowing that next week you get to make some Winter Star blocks!! It’s all about piecing from here on out!
Happy trimming!
xo
Shannon
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Hi, Shannon! Just want to double-check that after cutting up the 4 HSTs from the 8″x8″, then each HST is trimmed down to 4.5″ size? Thank you.
Hi Arlyna, you want to trim your HST down to 5″ (not 4.5″). Happy trimming!