Bonnie Hunter’s Celtic Solstice Mystery – Inklingo Clue 03a

Bonnie Hunter's Celtic Solstice Mystery   WELCOME BACK, DETECTIVES!

We are very grateful to Bonnie for the opportunity to show you the new methods that Inklingo makes possible while you make her fabulous Celtic Solstice mystery design!

Bonnie shows one traditional method in each clue but encourages everyone to see what can be done when you print shapes on fabric with Inklingo too. Thanks to Bonnie, there are many new Inklingoists this month.

After Bonnie and I released Clue # 3 on Friday, there was some discussion of an old “Magic 8” method of sewing Half Square Triangles (HST).

Inklingo Improved Magic 8

Original Magic 8 method of making HST into Sawtooth Squares

  1. Do a little math.
    Take the desired HST finished size + 7/8 and multiply by 2.
  2. Cut two squares of fabric and layer the right sides together with the lighter fabric on top.
  3. Draw diagonal lines from corner to corner (black, above).
  4. Sew a scant 0.25-inch seam allowance on either side of the diagonal lines (red).
  5. Cut diagonally and across (green and black, 4 lines).
  6. Press to the dark.
  7. Trim to size, if necessary.

Magic 8 is free and it allows you to sew the stretchy bias seams before they are cut but it takes a long time to cut the squares and draw the lines accurately.

To simplify the math, some quilters add more than 7/8 and trim each triangle afterward. (Life is too short and trimming is too dangerous!)

Inklingo Custom Page Sizes

IMPROVED MAGIC 8 WITH INKLINGO

  1. No math. All you need to know is the finished size.
    If a pattern doesn’t tell you the finished size you can probably tell by looking at adjoining shapes, but you should tell the designer you need that info! A professional like Bonnie will always tell you the finished size!
  2. Print the lighter fabric with Inklingo HST. There is a choice of layouts (a few examples above) and many suggested custom page sizes to make the best use of your fabric.
  3. Layer with unprinted fabric. This works perfectly with scraps, even scraps that would be too small to cut into squares for the original Magic 8 method.
  4. Sew a scant 0.25-inch seam allowance on all diagonal dashed lines.
  5. Cut on all the solid lines.
    Use scissors if you need portability!
  6. Press to the dark.

Inklingo Feathered Star with Yin Yang

WHAT IS IMPROVED?

  • Make more than 8 at a time. Or fewer!
    For example, you can make 24 at a time with Layout 1 and even 32 at a time with Layout 2 for Celtic Solstice.
  • There is no math, so less chance of a mistake. All you need to know is the finished size.
  • It works with odd sizes like 1.41, 1.59, 1.86, and 2.83. (Index of Shapes) This has amazing advantages for designs like Feathered Star because it allows us to use standard-size blocks in the center— like the 6-inch Yin Yang above.
  • Faster and more accurate than drawing lines on the fabric.
  • You can use any scraps, not just squares, so it allows you to use fabric more efficiently.
  • Precision corners to eliminate dog ears.
  • Yardage requirements at a glance, which is especially helpful if you are using stash.
  • Use scissors if you like! Great if you need a portable project.

Inklingo is inexpensive and it allows you to sew the stretchy bias seams before they are cut. It is especially good value when you consider how much time it saves and how much more accurate the results are!

For example, Bonnie’s Celtic Solstice Shape Collection includes ALL of the shapes for ALL of the clues, not just the triangles! Several quilters have been confused because only $20 sounds too good to be true!

Inklingo Improved Magic 8 for HST

Monkey says, how much do you value your time?

Inklingo Pinwheels & Sawtooth Squares

MAGIC 8 FOR CELTIC SOLSTICE CLUE # 3

You need 200 or 488 Sawtooth Squares.

That’s 400 or 976 individual triangles, half yellow, half orange.

Wow! That’s a lot! We need a good method!

Small (75 x 75 quilt)
Original Magic 8
Cut 50 squares 4.75 inches and draw diagonal lines on 25 of them.
Inklingo Magic
Print 200 1.5-inch HST on the lighter fabric. That can be as few as 9 sheets of fabric so it only takes minutes to print. Use the custom page sizes that use your scraps most efficiently. Cut apart to layer on smaller scraps, strips, or yardage—whatever you have in your stash.

King (111 x 111 quilt)
Original Magic 8
Cut 122 squares 4.75 inches and draw diagonal lines on 61 of them.
Inklingo Magic
Print 488 1.5-inch HST on the lighter fabric. That can be as few as 21 sheets of fabric, so it is much faster than the original Magic 8. Use the custom page sizes that use your scraps most efficiently. Cut apart to layer on smaller scraps, strips, or yardage—whatever you have in your stash.

Inklingo Improved Magic 8

USING SMALL SCRAPS AND STRIPS

Print the largest Suggested Custom Size you can and then cut it into sections or rows that fit with the smaller scraps and strips (unprinted) before sewing. With Inklingo, you are not limited to using squares!

By the way, it works the same way when you print Quarter Square Triangles (QST) for Hourglass blocks too! There are many methods like this illustrated in The Inklingo Handbook.

Cathi at QuiltObsession with Inklingo

WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO WITH SAWTOOTH SQUARES?

When Cathi at Quilt Obsession saw the parallelograms in Bonnie’s Celtic Solstice Shape Collection, she was inspired to design!

She added Sawtooth Squares to make the Star of the Milky Way, above! (Beyer 64-7)

Half Square Triangles—HST for short—are some of the most common and useful patchwork shapes. We think you will love how quickly and accurately you can sew Sawtooth Squares with Inklingo—and learning to print on fabric sets you free to design too.

The video in Clue # 3 was made in 2009 before I had heard of the Magic 8 method of sewing HST into Sawtooth Squares. Maybe I should have called it “Improved Magic 8.”

Inklingo Half Square Triangles for Celtic Solstice

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME HST MAGIC?

  1. If you are new to Inklingo, please follow the Quick Start Guide on the website!
    We always recommend starting with the FREE  Diamond/Triangle/Square Shape Collection, so there are no surprises when you buy something. The first chapter of The Inklingo Handbook is included with the free shapes! See pages H5-H48.
    .
  2. DOWNLOAD the FREE Inklingo Celtic Solstice PDF for Clue 03.
    (You can catch up on Clue 01 and Clue 02 too if you like.)
    .
  3. Order and download Bonnie’s Celtic Solstice Shape Collection

NOTE  Bonnie’s Shape Collection will stay at a special low price for a few weeks, so you can make your decision after you have seen a few clues and played with the FREE shape collection. This is a mystery, not a race!

Bonnie’s Celtic Solstice Shape Collection includes all of the shapes for all of the clues.

Free Diamond Triangles Square Shape Collection

Love the lines. Quilt more!

There are HST in the free shape collection, so you can try this method even before you buy anything.

As usual, Clue # 3 includes a video and a one-page guide to keep you organized at the sewing machine.

Inklingo Improved Magic 8

Let the fun begin!

Linda & Monkey

New to Inklingo? Order and download free shapes and start sewing in the next few minutes. Quick Start (Always FREE.) There are triangles, diamonds, and squares in the free collection—great for dozens of different blocks.

Inklingo for Beginners

25 Signs YOU are an Inklingo Quilter

9 thoughts on “Bonnie Hunter’s Celtic Solstice Mystery – Inklingo Clue 03a”

  1. Inklingo Magic. Love it. Even for those who still prefer PPing their HSTs. Inklingo is sew much more accurate! Don’t think so? Download and print the free page from the Internet and compare to Inklingo printed shapes! Trying is convincing.
    Hugs to you and Monkey, Linda.

    Reply
    • Hi Joni, I am sorry for the frustration. Have you received my replies on Facebook and by email? I have written several times. Please make sure my messages are not going into your spam or junk folder.
      Please give me as much detail as you can by email at linda@lindafranz.com. I am happy to help, but you do not seem to be getting any of my replies.
      Hugs, Linda & Monkey in Canada

      Reply
  2. I thought as I saw the posts on the Magic 8 method that printing is a whole bunch easier than drawing and although doing a few that way might make sense with so many to be made in (Scottish) Celtic Solstice I would never do it that way!
    It’s just too bad people are too afraid of just sending some fabric fused to freezer paper through their printer…sigh. Monkey’s work is just begun to convince that even a monkey can do it! LOL

    Reply
  3. I think all Inklingo collections are MAGIC, not just HSTs. I finished my Celtic Solstice Clue 3 in a few hours, even with the added work of grading seams (my preference).

    Reply

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