Orca Bay Half Square Triangles!

Hooray! Our intrepid leader, Bonnie Hunter, has released the third clue for the Orca Bay Mystery, and you can use Inklingo! I just found out.

Bonnie said, “The more the merrier,” when I suggested writing about using Inklingo for the clues. If you check out her QuiltvilleChat Yahoo Group, you will see that quilters are using all kinds of special rulers, starch, and paper guides for the previous quarter square triangles (QST)—everything you can think of!

We know Inklingo is faster, easier, and more precise. LOL Of course we do! Monkey says the example below will show you why.

Make 350 Sawtooth Squares

That’s 700 little triangles! Don’t worry. They are quick and easy with Inklingo.

You can see why they are called HST—half square triangles, eh?

TWO-INCH STRIPS? YES!

Bonnie is well-known for using strips of fabric, so some Orca Bay Mystery quilters will want to use their supply of 2-inch strips for their HSTs.

Hooray! You can use 2-inch strips with Inklingo! It is always a little more fiddly to work with scraps, but Inklingo makes everything go smoothly for a perfect finish.

ONE: Check the Index of Shapes – Triangles.
1.5-inch HSTs are available in 3 different shape collections. You might already have what you need, even if you don’t have HST 00B.

TWO: Print one fabric. The other fabric is not printed.
Inklingo provides two layouts for HSTs. One layout features the triangles arranged in squares, while the other features them arranged in rectangles. For strips, use the one in RECTANGLES. You can print on 2-inch strips of fabric, or you can print a larger sheet, as shown:

(a) Print on a fabric strip 2 x 11.25, but cut the freezer paper 3 x 11.75. (Inkjet printers require a minimum of 3 inches wide.)
BTW, there are tips for printing on strips in an earlier blog post, so you can ensure that the fabric is positioned correctly on the freezer paper.
OR, even faster and better…

(b) Print on a larger scrap or yardage. Cut the freezer paper to 8.5 x 11.75 inches. Iron it to the right side of the fabric, and trim around it with scissors at the ironing board.

You can save a small sliver by cutting the fabric slightly smaller than the freezer paper (approximately 8.25 x 11.25 inches), but it is easier to trim to the same size as the freezer paper when pressing.

THREE: Cut the printed fabric into two-inch strips that fit on your other 2-inch strips (not printed).
No measuring! Just cut on the lines (shown in black, above).

FOUR: Layer the printed fabric right sides together on the 2-inch strips (or other scraps).
I use the walking foot on my machine, so there is no need to pin.

If you don’t have a walking foot, you might want to press the strips together first to prevent shifting, or pin once at the midpoint of the strip. (No starching.)

FIVE: Sew on the diagonal lines.
You can sew eight perfect Sawtooth squares with a strip like this one, sewing continuously. Sew immediately beside the dashed lines to get a scant 0.25-inch seam (not on the lines).
Start at one end and sew as shown by the red lines. When you reach the other end, turn around and return, as indicated by the blue lines.
It’s easier than chain piecing.

SIX: Cut on the solid lines. Three of the cuts are shown with heavy black lines above.
No measuring is required, so a special ruler is not needed. Any straight edge will do.
Zip. Zip. Zip.
If you need a portable project, you can even cut with scissors!

SEVEN: Press.
You can see how I do it in the video at the bottom of the main Feathered Star page.

If you follow this example to get 8 completed squares from the strips, repeat 43 times. (8 x 44 = 352 Sawtooth Squares, so 2 extra)

You will be amazed by how fast it goes. If you print the larger sheet shown above to get 4 strips at a time, you will only have to print 11 sheets of fabric! <gasp> FAST or what?

Inklingo makes these HSTs easier than any other method, and you will be confident that every square is the perfect size.

USE YARDAGE OR BIGGER SCRAPS? YES!

If you are NOT using 2-inch strips, it is even faster to print the layout with the triangles laid out in squares, as shown in the video.

(By the way, this video was made in 2006. Since then, thousands of quilters have discovered Inklingo, and the Patent has been granted. The website also looks a little different.)

ADVANTAGES

Either with scraps or yardage, Inklingo offers all the advantages of chain piecing (continuous sewing) or paper piecing (sewing on a line), without the need to fiddle with small pieces or sew a bias seam before cutting—or to pick off paper. Wow.

Print – Layer – Stitch – Cut

I think I know what you’ll be doing this weekend, eh? Let’s “do the Inklingo” (sounds like a dance) and have some fun!

By the way, I heard from a disappointed quilter last week who wished she had known about Inklingo before she spent money on an expensive alternative. Do a friend a favor and tell her how you make your HST with Inklingo, okay? She will thank you later.

Linda & Monkey in Canada