Part 3 of 4 in our Sherbet Sparkle series.
You've got a stack of half square triangles. Here's how 16 of them become a star, and how to find an arrangement you're happy with before you sew a single seam.
The triangles come from the Magic 8 method in Part 2.
Step 6: First, trim them square
Before you arrange anything, trim each triangle to the same size.
It feels fussy. It's the difference between star points that meet in the middle and star points that don't. Every triangle you trim now is a seam that behaves later.
Step 7: How the star comes together
Put four together with the colored corners meeting in the middle and you get the center diamond. Ring that with more units' diagonals pointing outward and the star takes shape. The white background reads as negative space and the colored diagonals read as points.
It's worth making one full star first, laid out loose, so you can see the logic before you commit to a whole panel of them.
A few things worth trying:
- Lay it out on a cutting mat or posterboard, so it's easier to transport to the sewing machine and iron.
- Group the warm and the cool. Let the pinks and corals live at one end and the greens and teals at the other, so the whole piece reads as a gradient.
- Or scatter them. Alternate warm and cool star by star for something busier and more playful.
- Watch the value, not just the color. Where a light triangle sits next to a light background, the star point disappears. Where a saturated one does, the point pops.
Stand back. Take a photo on your phone and look at that instead of the floor.
Move things until it looks right to you. There's no correct answer, which is the fun part!
Step 8: Sew it together
Once you're happy, sew the blocks into rows, then sew the rows together into the top. Press as you go, nesting seams. Now you've pieced your top! Good job!
Coming up
In Part 4 we finish it: basting, quilting, trimming, binding.
The full series
- Part 1: Materials list & Prep
- Part 2: Sewing: Magic 8 HST hack
- Part 3: Arranging the blocks
- Part 4: Quilting & Binding
Common questions
Do I have to trim my half square triangles?
For a design where points meet, yes. Untrimmed triangles vary by small amounts, those amounts stack up across a row, and star points end up cut off or floating. Trimming each one to the same size is what keeps the block accurate.
What are dog ears?
The little triangular nubs that stick out past the corners of a half square triangle after it's pressed open. Trim them flush with the edge so they don't add bulk in the seam.
What if my units are different sizes?
Ain't no thang! Trim them all down to match the smallest one you've got, as long as that still leaves room for your seam allowances. Consistency matters more than the exact finished measurement.
0 comments