Over the last few weeks, I’ve had several questions about how I made the larger triangles in my Triangle Quilt Along quilt.  Since this is our week off for the quilt along, I thought it would be a great time to explain how I determined the size for my larger triangles. To help you visualize what I’m talking about, I’ve taken a photo of my quilt top and highlighted the large triangles.

The process of making these larger triangles is really simple.  If you have a triangle template, you are either cutting a triangle twice the height, or twice the edge length (depending on how your template is designed) of your smaller triangle.  By making it twice the size, it will actually take the place of 4 of your smaller triangles in your design.

Triangles by edge length -

For some simple math, let’s say that we have triangles with a 6″ finished edge, that means that they will have a 6.5″ uncut triangle, and a triangle twice that size will have a 12.5″ unfinished edge.

Triangles by height -

Again with the simple math, let’s say your triangle finishes at 5″ tall, that means that you cut them at 5.5″ tall and triangles twice that size would be cut from 10.5″ strips.

If you don’t have a template -

For my project, I was fussy cutting triangles, and I did not have a triangle template, so I based my math on the length of the edge.  I went with 12.5″ (which was a little larger than I needed, but I determined it would be easier to trim down, than not have enough.

Since I was fussy cutting without a template, I cut out 12.5″ squares and used the 60 degree angle on my ruler to get my large triangles. I wasted quite a bit of fabric doing it that way, but I also got the cuts I wanted without needing the template.  I did however decide to purchase one for future projects.

Expanding the concept -

This same concept works to make triangles that are 3 or more times the size of your smallest triangle, just multiply the finished size of your original triangle and add your .5″ seam allowance.

My weekly update on projects progress. Finishes This is the second week in a row that I haven’t had any finishes.  It’s almost depressing. But I have a decent excuse for the lack of sewing.  My birthday was yesterday, so … Continue reading →

This week, I’m happy to share with you the second part of my process for my sampler quilt – picking out the blocks I want to use. Remember that as part of the #DYOSampler quilt along, we’re designing everything ourselves, … Continue reading →

It’s the fourth week of the Triangle Quilt Along over at The Sassy Quilter. This week’s goal was to sew all of of our rows into one big top. This process took much less time than piecing all of the … Continue reading →

My weekly update on projects progress. Finishes No finishes this week, but I did make some progress on my quilts. Finished Quilt Tops: I finished my Triangle Quilt Along top!  I have 2 weeks to get this quilt quilted, so … Continue reading →