Here are some simple half square triangle instructions. Half square triangle units, are perhaps the most commonly used patchwork quilt component. The half square triangle is a kind of quilt block. It kind of looks like a square built from two triangles Although, most quilters know it by this humorous name, the half-square triangle. It looks like a square with a single diagonal line. Half Square Triangles

While easy in theory, many quilters find it tough to accomplish. Even though it seems easy, flawlessness in all of the steps is really the key.

You can construct the block in a few ways. It is not advisable to make a half square triangle with two triangles, because then you have to handle bias edges of the individual triangles. One way is to make it with 2 squares. Quilt Blog

Step 1 is to cut two squares, from two different fabrics.

Step 2- sew two diagonal lines, 1 half inch apart. These should be centered from one corner to the opposite corner. It is most important to sew these 2 lines exactly one quarter of an inch from both sides of the center diagonal line.

Step 3 is to cut within the two rows of stitching and press each seam allowance to either side.

All this is easy to do, but hard to get right. Human error makes this hard. Pitfalls like stitching with too big or too tiny a seam, or cutting the fabric in a slapdash fashion. Also, fabric can complicate things on it’s own. It tends to shrink up if too much warmth from an excessively hot iron is used, thereby yielding a skewed block. Many quilters insure an exact block by fashioning their half-square triangle a little bigger than they need, and then trimming it down to the right size. Click here to go see some good Easy Quilt Patterns.