Patchwork Essentials: The Half-Square Triangle

About Jeni Baker

Jeni has been sewing since she was 11 years old, and loves nothing more than to be surrounded by fabric. She graduated with a degree in Marketing and Studio Art, and is currently living in Wisconsin with her husband and pet bunny, George. She self-publishes sewing and quilting patterns for the everyday maker. Jeni regularly shares projects and tutorials on her blog, InColorOrder.com. She is always looking for ways to be creative everyday, and simply enjoys living a handmade life. In addition to sewing, her hobbies include knitting, baking, and collecting vintage kitchenware and linens.

Sewing World

The Half-Square Triangle (HST) is a quilt making staple. Whilst the HST may be a simple block, it yields complex results. A series of 12 patterns start with a beginner friendly, fast and easy design and progress to more challenging designs. The HST is a basic block unit that can be used to make beautiful, timeless quilts. This book shows you the multiple methods for making them (from the slow to the speedy) and combines the HSTs with other pieced blocks that complement the triangle blocks. The final chapter features an inspirational index of over 60  HST block variations and encourages the reader to design their own quilts using a single block design or combining a few.

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British Patchwork and Quilting

In this interesting book all the 12 quilts are entirely made with half square triangles (HSTs). There is an introduction to making HSTs, all are made larger than needed and trimmed to the correct size. The designs progress from simple rows of HSTs to a quilt resembling a medallion quilt made from 3 different sized HSTs. Scrappy HSTs can even be made by sewing 2" squares and small rectangles of fabric together to form squares. A gallery of 60 blocks shows HSTs in different arrangements. There are black and white grids to photocopy and colour. An original approach to a simple block.

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Crochet Addict UK

Jeni takes the maths out of quilting and makes it easier for you to create amazing designs with half-square triangles. After she has shared her cutting menus so that you can create without having to do the maths, she then builds on this with 12 beautiful step-by-step designs. Each of the designs is presented in it's finished format. You are given details of how the look was created. You are then taken through the materials required, the cutting required and how to assemble the HST's. From there you are given details of how to add the borders. At each stage there are pictures to guide you on your way. I love the modern designs and colours that have been used in each of the projects. However these are only guides so you can make your own look for your own taste. Jeni takes you through everything you need to know about colour & scale. The book is jam packed with different designs that you can use with your HST's. As a newbie to quilting I found this invaluable.
I love the fact that you can make the projects or use the information to create your own designs. I love the section on Patchwork Play. It's so much fun and seems such an easy method to create a unique quilt of your own. I also love the fact that you get projects to be able to try new methods out. The block party is filled with an amazing array of block designs. It has so many designs the only problem you might have is trying to pick which blocks you want to start off with. I think this book is one I'll be using time and again. I can't wait to get started on my project and seeing how mine comes out. My fingers are crossed and I am very hopeful that it will turn out well. I am sure it will with all the clear and easy to understand.