Hello quilty friends! I’m Shereece Nicole of Sew Hooked on Treasures (the spot for quilty gems to help you maximize your sewing time). I appreciate Elizabeth letting me drop by to share this tutorial, Sew & Flip Extra Triangles, with all of you!
There are some amazing patterns out there that use the Sew and Flip (or Stitch and Flip) method, like the free pattern Wonderline. You can also use it to make flying geese, snowball and hatchet quilt blocks. It’s a technique utilized to keep your bias sewing from getting wonky or to “round out” the corner of a square. But it leaves these extra triangles. The Wonderline quilt will leave you with some triangles you won’t want to waste.
So what do you do? Turn them into half square triangles (HSTs)! Here are two ways of doing so to avoid bias wonkiness.
#1 Parallel Seams:
After you’ve marked your first corner to corner seam line, make a second line a half inch from the first.
Sew along both marked lines and cut in between them evenly. Now each piece has the necessary ¼” seam.
With the extra triangle, trim and press as you prefer. (For HSTs, I prefer open to reduce bulk.
#2 ~ The “L”:
This is best for those that trim before you sew and flip.
Place two triangles right sides together. You have the opportunity to mix and match fabrics here!
Starting at the top point of the “L,” sew ¼” seam toward the corner stopping ¼” away from the corner.
Turn your triangle 45°. Sew ¼” seam along the bottom of the “L.”
Cut from the corner to the long edge of the triangle.
Trim and press as desired.
What to do with the HSTs?
There are so many options! You can simply sew them all together to make a pillow, wall hanging, baby or lap size quilt. Or maybe you want to change things up. Maybe create a tote bag like the Riley Tote from Amy of Ritual Quilt Co. Zipper pouches are also fun! Sew Shevaun has a free Slim Notions Zip Pouch pattern, which would be a great place to start if you’ve never sewn a zip pouch.
With my extra HSTs from the X Marks quilt, I made both! I love how they coordinate and enjoy using them for going to guild meetings, the library and so much more.
I hope you found this helpful! Don’t forget to get the FREE Wonderline pattern to practice sew and flip and come out with some extra HSTs for another project. Please tag @sewhookedontreasures on social media when you post a project made with your leftover HSTs.
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