Beyond Basic Borders – Half Square Triangle Blocks

Half square triangles are fun and funky to use in any design. As you know, this is my favourite shape to design with. The possibilities are endless!

Beyond Basic Borders is a new series of how to elevate the quilting border to the next level. Whether you use the leftover fabric from your quilt top, or introduce some new colours, this is going to be fun!

To begin with, we will base the borders on using your GO! Qube Mix & Match sets although we will transition into other dies. Experimenting with colours and layouts, we will show you how simple design changes can alter the appearance of the block.

1. 4” Qube – 2” Finished Border
2. 6” Qube – 3” Finished Border
3. 8” Qube – 4” Finished Border
4. 9” Qube – 4 ½” Finished Border
5. 10” Qube – 5” Finished Border
6. 12” Qube – 6” Finished Border

The length will depend on your quilt top.

Materials:

1. AccuQuilt GO! Big or GO! Fabric Cutter
2. Shape 5 from any GO! Mix & Match Qube

Cutting Instructions:

1. Cut (8) half square triangles (HST) per unit.

Pressing Instructions:

Pressing seams to one side or open is another discussion within itself, although the two general thoughts are:

Open Seams allow for a smoother flatter quilt top, which doesn’t allow fabric colour to appear through your quilt top.

Side Seam Pressing is faster, and the seam is usually pressed towards the darkest colour. It makes it easier when you want to ‘nest’ seams in place, giving a clean seam intersection.

My suggestion – try both and see what works for you! There are no Quilt Police here.

Sewing Instructions:

1. Sew one light HST and one dark HST together to make one square. Press.
2. Repeat for the remaining 6 HST to make 4 squares in total.
3. Sew two squares together in the orientation shown below to make a rectangle. Press. Repeat for the other two square units.
4. Sew the two rectangles together, matching seams, to make the combined unit. Press.

Finished Options:

Adding different colours, in different sequences can totally change the look and appearance of the design. Below is the original two-colour design, which in itself is stylish, although you can see with adding more colours can change the appearance to feature windmills or hourglasses.

Original Design: Rotating Blocks: Adding Colours:

This is just a few ideas, on how to use this simple block.

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Congratulations on finishing your project!