It is so fascinating to see colourful and innovative designs on quilts. There is a wide variety of patterns you may have observed in different quilts. Quilters use their mind and creativity to make the quilts attractive and out of the box. Yet, designs having triangle shapes in them seem more appealing.
You must try sewing triangles in your Quilt as well. But, How do you quilt a triangle quilt?
Sewing triangle quilts together may seem challenging. But if you follow some simple steps while sewing, you can sew triangles pretty smoothly.
Let’s see some steps to sew triangles together in a quilt.
Some Basics to Know
Before you deal with sewing triangles for your Quilt, you need to gather some ideas about triangles. No, you do not have to open up your mathematics text now. Just keep on reading the article.
Mathematics says, basically there are three types of triangles:
- Isosceles triangle: Having two sides of equal length.
- Right, Angled triangle- Triangle where one of the angles has a right angle, i.e., 90 degrees, you call it a right-angled triangle.
- Equilateral triangle – Having all sides of equal length.
There are many other types of Triangles in Mathematics. We will learn only that much we will need for our quilting process.
But, wait, you may wonder why we need to learn about triangles out of a sudden? Knowing how to sew seems enough.
We are learning the types of triangles for a fundamental reason. The stitching technique for each is different, and we need to proceed accordingly.
Some Pro Tips
Before sewing your triangles, you need to keep a few things in mind to make your job run smoothly.
- Don’t jump directly. As you start sewing, arrange your triangles. You need to do it to make them look organized and more appealing. Arrange them, keeping color combinations in mind.
- Get yourself proper tools. Make sure you have accurate rulers in hand—especially triangular rulers with a blunt tip.
- Always make your triangles wrinkle-free—iron your triangles before sewing. Also, iron after you sew two triangles together.
Sewing Isosceles Triangle:
Following are the steps you need to consider to sew isosceles triangle:
- Use a triangle ruler with a blunt tip: Use a 45-degree triangular ruler for an isosceles triangle.
- Cut your triangles with the help of a ruler. There are marks lined up on your triangle ruler to help you do the correct measurement.
- Sew two triangles:
Now, this is the tricky part. Follow the steps below very carefully.
- You have two triangles with a blunt tip. Place the triangles next to each other, having their blunt ends in opposite directions.
- Turn one triangle having a blunt tip on the top over another.
- Stagger the triangle. Make sure the blunt tip fits perfectly between the edges of the other triangle at the bottom.
- Now the two triangles are ready to sew together.
- Sew a precise quarter-inch of a seam to join the triangles together.
- After the two triangles are sewn, iron them together.
- Sew the other triangles in the same way.
- Once you complete one row of triangles, prepare the other row.
- Place the rows upside down and sew them together.
- Don’t forget to iron the triangles after sewing.
- Cut the extra fabric using scissors.
And how the Quilt with the isosceles triangle is ready. It’s pretty easy. Try to create beautiful quilts.
Sewing Right Angled Triangle:
Sewing right angles, triangles are sewn in the same way you sew the isosceles triangle. Follow the steps below to sew right angles triangles:
- Take a standard quilting ruler to take measurements. You can refer to the link below for various options of quilting rulers:
- Take one of the right-angled triangles. Make a mark on both the sides of the right-angled triangles for ¼ inch seam allowance.
- Place the triangles over one another. Please place them so that both the right angles of the triangle are opposite each other.
- Pin the triangles along the mark of ¼ inch and sew it accordingly.
- Sew the other triangles in the same fashion.
And with this, you finished learning how to sew right-angled triangles together.
Sewing Equilateral Triangle:
Before you proceed, get one thing clear. Equilateral triangles are also known as 60 degrees triangles.
Now at this point, you may have one question in mind, how to sew 60-degree triangles together?
The following points will guide you through sewing right angles triangles together:
- Take two equilateral triangles and place one triangle above the other with sides aligned.
- Leave a space of about ¼ inches for seam allowance and stitch the triangles. Sew the triangles on the right-hand side.
- After sewing is complete, open the piece.
- Take another triangle and align it at the unstitched edge of the triangle.
- Sew it by the right-hand side of the triangle.
- Once the row is complete, repeat the other row of the triangles.
- Keep the row at opposite ends and start stitching.
- Don’t forget to iron the triangles after stitching. And your equilateral sewing triangle is complete.
And with this, you have learned how to sew triangles together. Be it an isosceles, equilateral, or right-angled triangle, and you know it all. But hold on, there is something more to learn. Keep on reading.
Some Intelligent Hacks
While sewing the triangles together, you will face one major issue. It will be pretty challenging for you to keep the triangle points pointy. But don’t worry. Some intelligent hacks will come to the rescue.
- Always use a ruler to cut the triangles. A triangle with incorrect dimensions will look worse after sewing. Also, it will destroy the beauty of your Quilt.
- After aligning the triangles, pin directly before and after the seam intersection. It helps you to secure the layers.
- The seam allowance must be exactly ¼ inches. There should not be any change in this measurement. It will keep the triangles pointed.
Final Words
Quilting is an art, and you can create wonders just by putting in some extra effort and creativity. Stitching together triangles may seem challenging. But see how following some simple steps can make it easy.
But yes, while working with triangles, you always need to make correct measurements. Not only for triangles, for any geometrical shapes, make sure you use rulers and make accurate measurements. So, go ahead and create wonder. Happy Quilting.
