I’m a big fan of quilts. I spend numerous hours looking at quilts on the net and feeling envious. I really love the texture of them. I can always picture myself lying on a quilt during a lazy summer afternoon. What a perfect way to spend summer holiday.
However, I was never brave enough to have a go and start a quilt myself. I first bought a book on amazon called “Traditional Patchwork quilt Patterns” few months back, but I was still looking at the patterns, nothing more.
I then came across the free class given by Amy Gibson on craftsy. This is amazing. Every month, Amy gives you a video tutorial on two different quilt techniques. This is perfect for people like me that dream on starting quilting but don’t know where to start. Her instructions are very clear and you can watch her doing before having a go yourself. The platform is very interactive and you can get advice from any member. I highly recommend it.
So, here we go. I picked some fabric and decided it was time for me to finally try quilting. I followed Amy’s instruction on half square triangles blocks. I quickly became addicted and researched on the net new patterns fr this technique and eventually designed my own half square triangle pattern. Phew, what an achievement.
If you want to have a go at quilting and don’t know how and where t start, here is what you need to do: pick some material – all you need is a cutting mat, a ruler and a rotary cutter plus some fabric of your choice.
Here is the technique I learn from Amy but I also seen it everywhere on the net, so I feel I can share it with you.
1 – Cut your fabric (I wasn’t so fussy about the dimension – as long as it is a square and you are always cutting from the same shape, should be fine)
2 – Sew 2 square (right side facing each other)
3 – Cut on the diagonal
4 – Cut the other diagonal
This will give you lots of tiny triangles (1). What you now need to do is pressing them open with your iron (2) and neaten them properly (3). Tadam! This is all you need. Now the fun part is to create as many patterns as you can with these lovely triangles.
Do 4 x 4 half square triangle to create your pattern. I was amazed by the endless possibility of creating new patterns.To get you started, you can have a look at Jeni’s Half square triangles block of the month on her blog “In color Order“, she is posting a new pattern every month.
I’ve started by sewing Amy’s block on craftsy, then Jeni’s blocks. I then googled for new patterns and as I said designed my own (although I’m sure I didn’t invent any, all possible patterns must be already out there – still fun to play around).
I realized I had soon enough squares to build an entire quilt. I’ll keep you posted on that.
I hope the instructions were easy and clear enough. If you are thinking of sewing a quilt, have a go at half square triangles it is so much fun!
Tags: block quilting, Half square triangles, Quilt
