Low-tech HST trick

      10 Comments on Low-tech HST trick

I just finished working on two patterns that will be published in spring of next year. I cannot show you the quilts now but I am really excited about the patterns. They are both beginner-friendly but the layout makes them look complicated and add a great visual impact. One of the quilts has a gazillion (96 to be exact) half-square triangles (HSTs). In fact the entire quilt is made up of HSTs of two different sizes. I was not looking forward to using the the usual method – draw a diagonal line and stitch on both sides – for all of them.

I want to share a little trick that sped up my HSTs a whole lot. No more drawing a line along the diagonal. This is not new. I’ve seen it in other blogs before. I think you can even buy some kind of tape/paper or sticker that helps you do this. I didn’t have time to research any products, so I came up with this low-tech alternative. What follows is a picture tutorial. It has lots of pictures and I apologize if they don’t show up right on a small mobile screen.

Stick a length of painters tape in front of the needle. Do not worry about covering up bobbin access. We will deal with that later. If you have an extended table or a drop in table, this will make it easier. The length of space you have in front of the needle determines the size of HST you can sew with this method. I also have a trick to temporarily extend this space to sew a large HST.

Line up a ruler so that the needle is just to the right of the edge and the ruler is perfectly parallel to the direction of sewing. Draw a line using a sharp marker.

Another view of the ruler position.

A single line aligned with the needle position.

Now move the ruler and align the quarter inch line on the ruler with the line you just drew. Draw another line.

Two lines. One is aligned with the ruler and the other is a quarter inch to the right. I use a quarter inch, not a scant quarter inch, because I cut my squares slightly larger and trim the final HST.

I used a blade to cut a few slits to give me access to the bobbin case. You can remove most of the tape outside these two lines. You can even use a narrower tape to begin with.

Place two squares, each one inch bigger than the desired finished size of your HST, right sides together. Place one tip a quarter inch from the needle – at the edge of your quarter inch foot. Align the other tip with the quarter inch line on your tape. Start sewing
As you sew, make sure the bottom tip is always on the quarter inch line. Keep your eyes peeled on this tip. Don’t look at where the other end is going or what the needle is doing. If this tip is aligned, the needle will sew in the right place.
Repeat for the other side, keeping the tip of the diagonal on the quarter inch line.
I used a piece of cardboard to extend these lines for a larger HST. This is temporary. I take out the cardboard when I’m done.
When done, I press them open and trim them to size.

I hope you like my low-tech trick to speed up HSTs. Thank you for reading my blog.

10 thoughts on “Low-tech HST trick”

  3. rl2b2017

    Hi Vasudha! Great idea and great photos that you’ve shared with us. I’ve always been going to give this method a try and just haven’t yet. Perhaps a project with 96 HSTs would push me to the point of doing so! ~smile~ Roseanne

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