Triangle Squares on a Grid
My favorite way to quick-piece half square triangle units is to sew them together from sandwiched squares. It works well for me because I make lots of scrap quilts, and I can assemble scrappy triangle squares very quickly by chain piecing them.There are several other ways to quick-piece half square triangle units. It's not a bad idea to try them all to see which methods you like best for different situations, because triangle squares are one of the most common components used in quilts.
Try this grid assembly technique when you need lots of identical triangle squares. Draw the grid on paper and pin it to sandwiched fabrics, or draw it directly on the reverse side of the lightest triangle square fabric.
Determine Grid Size
- Refer to your pattern or calculate the finished size of the triangle squares. Add 7/8" to that size to determine strip and grid width. I nearly always use strips just a little wider than necessary to construct my triangle squares. Then I trim the squares back to the correct size after assembly.
- Determine how many squares you need. Each square in the grid produces 2 triangle squares.
- To calculate total strip length, multiply the grid size by the number of squares required. Use shorter lengths of multiple strips if necessary to make the best use of your yardage.
- Cut strips of the two fabrics chosen for your triangle squares, their width as determined in Step 1 and their lengths as determined in Step 3.
