Making QST from HST

 A QST unit is a quarter-square-triangle square, a square made up of 4 triangles.

Traditionally, it's made with 4 individually cut triangles, each triangle one quarter of a square, with the straight grain of fabric on the long side of each triangle.  This involves sewing on the bias, which can invite stretching and distortion.

In this tutorial I'll share how to make QST without cutting individual triangles or sewing bias edges.

Let's agree on a couple of definitions before we start.  

• The finished size of a unit is the size of a unit after it is sewn to other parts of the quilt, with the seam allowances taken in by the seams.
• The unfinished size includes 1/4" extra on all sides for seam allowances.

 For example, an unfinished 4 1/2" unit will be 4" finished in the quilt.

Please note that I prefer to make units a touch oversized then trim down to exact size and perfect shape.  This is more forgiving of slight variations in sewing.  The measurements I share will reflect that.

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HOW TO MAKE QST UNITS

Step 1.  Choose four fabric squares, each 1.5" larger than the desired finished QST size.  This is enough to make four QST units.

Step 2.  Referring to this tutorial and the notes below make 2 HST, trimming them to 1" larger than the desired finished QST size. 

• Refer to the diagram below to see how to distribute the 4 fabrics between the HST to get the desired fabric distribution in the final QST.

• The four squares you started with will yield two HST1 and two HST2.  You'll use one of each to make one pair of matching QST.

• Press either towards Fabric 1 in HST1 and towards Fabric 4 in HST2, OR away from Fabric 1 and away from Fabric 4

These are the two HST I will be working with.

Step 3:  Draw a line, diagonally from corner to corner and perpendicular to the seam line, across the back of one HST.   This will be a guide for sewing in step 5.

• If you do not have an accurate 1/4" guide on your sewing machine or presser foot, you may prefer to draw guide lines on either side of the diagonal, 1/4" away from the diagonal, as I do below.

Step 4:  Layer HST1 over HST2, right sides together and with seam allowances in opposite directions.  

If you have pressed in the directions specified in Step 2, the fabrics should fall in the right order.  You can check by folding HST1 back lightly along the drawn line to preview the QST.  

Step 5:  Making sure the seams are butted up tightly next to each other, sew 1/4" on each side of the diagonal, across the existing seams.

Step 6:  Cut between the sewn lines to separate into two units.

Step 7:  As you press a unit open, spin the seam allowance to reduce bulk in the center.  The second half of this tutorial explains how to spin seams.  Alternatively, press seams open or to one side.

Step 8:  Carefully trim the QST unit 1/2" larger than the desired finished size, keeping all the seams intersecting the corners of the unit.

• Position the rotary cutting ruler over the unit, shifting the ruler as needed until the markings for the size you need intersect seams in all three corners and the a corner of the ruler intersects the last corner of the unit.  

• The  example below shows trimming to a 4" square.  The points circles in red highlight the measurements. Please note that I have exaggerated the amount of fabric to trim away in the example below so that you can see the intersection points more clearly.  Using the measurements in this tutorial, you would need to trim away less than 1/8" on any side.

• A:  The diagonal seam bisects the corner of the ruler.
• B:  The 4" mark along the top edge of the ruler meets the diagonal seam.
• C:  The horizontal and vertical 4" measurements lines intersect over the diagonal seam.
• D:  The 4" mark down the side of the ruler meets the diagonal seam.

Step 8:  Trim away the excess fabric at the top and right side.

Step 10:  Turn the unit 180 degrees and position the ruler so the required measurements are flush with the two sides you trimmed in the last step.  In this example, the 4" vertical and horizontal measurements are flush with the previously trimmed  edges.

Step 11:  Trim the excess fabric at the top and side.

The QST unit is now complete.  Remember, it includes 1/4" seam allowance on all sides, so it will be 1/2" smaller once it is sewn into the quilt.

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For quick reference, here's a summary of relevant measurements:

• Starting squares:  finished QST size + 1.5"
• HST trimmed size:  finished QST size + 1"
• QST trimmed size:  finished QST size + 0.5"

For example, for a 4" finished QST:

• Starting squares: 4" + 1.5" = 5.5"
• Trim HST to: 4" + 1" = 5"
• Trim QST to: 4" + 0.5" = 4.5"

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I hope you have found this useful.  Please share in the comments if you have any tips and tricks for making QST.

Happy quilting,

Joanne

Viewing fabric selection in grayscale

As I was reminded when I was testing my Sparks pattern over a year ago, contrast between colours is not necessarily the same as contrast between values.  I'll show you why it matters, then one method to check value with a phone camera.

Why it Value Matters

Colour versus Value

You can definitely see four distinct colours in the photo on the left.  There is contrast between all the colours.

The picture on the right is the same picture viewed through a grayscale filter to show value instead of colour.  It looks almost like there are only three different fabrics rather than four.  The yellow and tan both appear light in value, while the orange and red are medium dark and dark.  There is much less contrast between the two fabrics on the left.  

Why does this matter?  Despite seeing the colors clearly, when these fabrics are used together there will be much less contrast between the yellow and tan than between the red or orange and the tan.  This is not inherently a problem. If you don't need the same strength of contrast, it's fine.  However if you need the contrast between the yellow and tan to have the same strength as the contrast between the tan and the other fabrics, this will be a disappointing collection.

You can see how the difference in the strength of the contrast affects the design.  While the block design is clear in the orange and red, it fades away in the yellow because there isn't enough contrast between the yellow and the tan background.  

I rearranged the fabrics to balance areas of high contrast and lower contrast to rescue most of the blocks in this quilt.

How to check value using a phone camera

I'll demonstrate using my new fabric selection for the Colour Value Mystery Quilt-Along (QAL).  You can read my previous post about how I had to tweak my original selection because of two fabrics being more similar than I had thought.  

The pictures here are screenshots of the camera app on my Pixel phone.  Your phone may be different, but hopefully you can figure out the equivalent steps for your phone app.  If you're lucky, you might even be able to adjust a setting on your phone to just view everything in grayscale from the start.  My old phone had this feature and I miss it!  If you have Pixel phone and know how to turn that on, please let me know!

Step 1.  Take a photo of the fabric, arranged from lightest to darkest. (Note the black strip at the top of these images is the top of the phone screen, not one of the fabrics!)

Step 2: Click on the thumbnail image of the photo, circled in red above, which will take you to the screen below.

Step 3:  Click on the Edit button, circled in red above.  That will take you to the screen below.  The area circled in red has various tool options to choose from.  Swipe left until you find the Filter option.  When that option is highlighted you'll see smal versions of your photo with various filters, right above the toolbar.  

Step 4: Swipe left through the versions of the photo until you find the Onyx filter.

Step 5:  Click on Onyx.  You'll see the photo with the grayscale filter applied.

Step 6:  You can click on Save a copy if you'd like to save the grayscale version to review the results later.

Here's my fabric selection, from lightest at the top to darkest at the bottom.  

I hope you find this useful!

Happy fabric pulling!

Joanne

PS:  There's  still time to join the free Colour Value Quilt-Along!  Click here to go register.

Revising my Mystery QAL fabric selection

I'm hosting a mystery quilt-along again this year.  Though I'm doubling the number of fabrics to four this time, I still want the colour selection to be fairly easy despite participants not knowing what the quilt will look like in the end.  

I chose a design that hinges on having 4 different colour values:  dark, medium-dark, medium and light.  I chose blues for the three darkest fabrics and a light on white print for the lightest.  These digital swatches of Island Batik foundations looked pretty good together.

From left to right:  Island Batik Foundations Marine, French Blue, Chambray and Glaze

I ordered my fabric, spent some time setting up the technical behind-the-scenes parts of the QAL, then squealed with delight when the fabric arrived and the colours were just as gorgoeus as I had hoped.

If I was so delighted, you ask, why am I revising my fabric selection?   Well, part of the beauty of batiks is that they are handmade and each bolt will have some variations.  Usually I love the interest that colour variations add to the quilt.  This time, there was a problem.

When the fabric arrived, I stacked the pieces togethher and saw the strong contrast between each of the fabric, just as I needed.  Today I unfolded the fabric to take some pictures and found this:

Where did my dark fabric go?????

The fabric has different shades of blue through it. I was expecting more of the dark navy you see in the upper right in the photo above, with just a small amount of the lighter blue for texture.  That's what I saw when I first saw the fabric.  When I unfolded it, there were larger patches of the light blue that blended very, very well with my medium-dark fabric.  That's not going to work.  I need strong contrast for this design.

Folks, this is reminder that nothing beats seeing a fabric in person before you buy if you have the option!  This afternoon I trotted off to my local quilt shop to see if I coud find a substitute dark batik.  Yes, I should have shopped there first and not only seen my fabrics before I bought, but also supported my local shop so they can stay in business so I can run there the next time I have a fabric emergency.

Thankfully, I found a dark that I think works.  It's Indigo Vines by Lunn Studios from Artisan Batiks: Kasuri.  I hadn't planned on using a print, but I think it will be OK.  In fact, I think that little bit of print will add a little extra interest to the quilt. 

I can't wait to get started on these quilts.  Yes. Quilts, plural.  Depending where you use the different colour values in the design, you'll get either a slighly traditional or a slightly modern quilt.  I just couldn't pick so I'm making both :)

The free Colour Value Mystery QAL will launch on March 13th and all clues (instructions) will be sent by email every Thursday for 8 weeks.  Registration will open this Friday, February 28th.  If you're on my mailing list, you'll get an email with the link.  I'll also share on Facebook and Instagram, and add a link to the right sidebar of this blog.  After registering, you'll receive an email with the fabric requirements for either version in a choice of 5 sizes, baby through king.  I hope you'll join me!

Happy quilting,

Joanne