The Half Square Triangles Leftovers

How long after a project is finished do you work with the leftovers?

For me, usually in my head it’s like going to be straight after but usually, it is wayyyyyyy after, not even expected in my mind at that time.

For instance this pillow project – it took 3 years later for me to actually be working on it!

If you have been with me long enough, you know that I made this swoon quilt 3 years back.

Sad to admit, I did have the plan to make the pillow sham or square pillowcase to match it right away, so I can display it nicely on the bed. But I didn’t get right to it. It took me more than 3 years to actually finally did it…

And when I did, I horribly made a mistake too, which some of you may have heard the story of through my newsletter I sent a couple of weeks back. (If you are not subscribing, you are missing out on some more quilty stories! so go subscribe 🙂 )

Anyway,  I finally did it. And that really what matters right?

Half Square Triangles Leftovers

This post contains affiliate links provided for your convenience. I may earn a small commission if you make any purchases at no cost to you at all. This is how I keep my blog running and delivers you more free content. Read the full disclosure here.

The fabric leftovers from making this quilt were triangles cut off from the corner snowballing (snowball: an act of making square fabric into a snowball looking block).

These triangles can simply be sewn together into the popular Half Square Triangles block.

Half Square Triangles (HST for short) are very versatile. They can be arranged in so many ways to create beautiful patchwork patterns.

I have made a whole quilt with HSTs before. Check that out here.

Trimming Half Square Triangles. Do you trim?

With half square triangles, I do find it a lot better to trim the block to size after you have sewn the two pieces of triangles together. This is where the small square rulers like this one I have comes in real handy. 

I have heard great reviews on the Bloc-Loc Ruler for this very purpose, but I have yet to try that. I believe the channel in the midline is really helpful for making the whole process of trimming HST faster.

It is just so important to get the block in the right size and shape to avoid further distortion when it comes to sewing these HST blocks together. Therefore, I do not skip this part. No matter how tedious it can be.

There are many ways to making half square triangles if it weren’t from leftovers.

You can check out this method if you are making a lot of them and you want it fast and accurate without trimming each individual blocks.

In the same Craftsy Class where I learned how to make the swoon quilt, Camille also has lessons for making various blocks out of HSTs.

I ended up with the scrappy look with the point of the HST towards the center. The finish looks great against the worn-out 3-year old quilt.

It was done. But I did forget to baste the top and quilt it. Which was a big mistake I talked about earlier…

O well, I still have more HST to sew with, so maybe I’ll make two more pillows or maybe two pillow shams to go with the quilt. We’ll see. I’ll sure be updating if I do.

Maybe another 3 years? I hope not. 😛

Fabrics for the quilts and the pillow is from my favourite selections of Anna Maria Horner, Art Gallery Fabrics and Martha Negley’s feathers.

If you are looking for fabrics, I would love to recommend online shopping HERE> I love their customer service, cheap capped international shipping  (since I am an international) and their fabric bundle comes in such a beautiful package.

What projects have you made from fabric leftovers of another project?

Share it in the comment, I’d love to hear about it.