Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Easy HST Strip Quilt {tutorial}

A while back my friend Sara (@saracecilquilts) posted a picture on Instagram of a quilt she made from 2.5" strips.  It was darling, and she graciously shared her cutting dimensions with me.  After doing a bit of figuring, I came up with {rough} dimensions for 3 sizes: baby, throw and twin. 
It's such a fast and fun quilt to sew together.  Not to mention, a super-cute way to use up leftover strips. (or start with a brand-new jelly roll!)
I've only made the twin size so far (I adore quilts that can be used on beds!), but plan on making many more of these quilts as my leftover strips multiply. 
The instructions below aren't super comprehensive, but you'll get the general idea. =)
 
Tutorial for:
EASY Half-Square-Triangle (HST)
 STRIP QUILT
*finished block size 7.5"
*1/4" scant seam allowance
*WOF = width of fabric
*HST = half square triangle
 
NOTES:

- I don't have calculations for how much fabric you'll need, but you can figure that out.  I used a combination of leftover 2.5" scraps, and full 2.5" x WOF jelly roll strips.  For full strips, after sewing 4 together, I sub-cut them into 8.5" squares, which made it go really fast!

-If using 2.5" strips that are WOF , you can get four (or five) 8.5" strip squares out of each full strip set (4 strips sewn together).  (4 is conservative; 5 if strips have a min. of 42.5" usable fabric)

Baby/Crib Size (37.5" x 45")
- 5 blocks across x 6 down = 30 blocks (15 squares of each - strips & solid)

Throw Size: 
60" x 75" = 8 blocks across x 10 down = 80 blocks (40 squares of each - strips & solid)
68" x 75.5" = 9 blocks across x 10 down = 90 blocks (45 squares of each - strips & solid)

Twin Size: (67.5" x 90")
9 blocks across x 12 down = need 108 blocks (54 squares of each - strips & solid)
If you can get 5 per WOF (42.5"):
-make 11 WOF strip sets,
-cut 11 WOF solid strips,
If you can get 4 per WOF:
-make 14 WOF strip sets
-cut 14 WOF solid strips

 
DIRECTIONS FOR MAKING BLOCKS:
1)  Sew (4) 2.5" strips together, trim to 8.5" squares.
2)  Cut white/solid 8.5" squares, mark line diagonally
3)  Place solid square with strip square.  Sew 1/4" on either side of diagonal line (make sure you pay attention to the direction of your strips - keep them going the same direction when you sew them to the solid square!)
4) cut apart on the drawn line, yeilding (2) 8" squares

[for info on stripe binding fabric, click here]
 
If you make one of these quilts yourself, be sure to tag us on your IG picture!
 sara (@saracecilquilts) and me @redrainbootshandmade