Our church sewing groups makes comforters from 10 1/2" squares (for final finished of 10"). Being tired of the plain old squares, I want to make some different ones. The pattern I’m thinking of is sewing two pieces together and cutting on the diagonal to make two triangles. Then sewing those together and cutting on the diagonal again, and putting four together to make a sort of hourglass figure. What I can’t figure out is what size square to begin with to end up with a 10 1/2" square that will be sewn to 10" and still have all the points end up properly. My one trial was, well, let’s just say, less than perfect or what was needed! Any math geniuses out there??? I’m sure there’s a formula somewhere.
@annekepoot I went to this website:
https://www.quiltingdaily.com/pieced…triangles-qst/
and based on this you would start with an 11 1/4” square. You might even start with a slightly larger square and trim down when you are finished.
Could you also do something like a log cabin with 2.5” strips?
@Char - Thank you for the link - I’d likely try for 11.5 as my 1/4" is not always accurate - I’m going to have to adjust my presser foot. We’ve mostly done the 10.5 inch squares as they are quick and easy - 48 squares will give us the regulation minimum 60" x 80" that our organization (Mennonite Central Committee) requests and for knotting we need only do corners and middles to meet their minimum knot distance. For me, a log cabin would be lovely, although more fiddly and time consuming. We try to churn them out as there is such a huge demand for them and we can’t keep up. There are a few ladies who are not part of the group but who every once in a while will contribute what we call a “nice” quilt and they generally go out to places like women’s shelters or to children’s hospitals etc. where “prettiness” seems more appropriate. When I complained one day that just because you are poor doesn’t mean you can’t have pretty things, an older gentleman (we had a few men in our knotting group) said “If they complain, they aren’t cold enough.” True, but I still like pretty. If your life is already dismal, let’s not exacerbate it with an ugly comforter!
I get the pretty. I make quilts for our firefighters to give to kids and for the quilts for kids group. No, they don’t have to be pretty, but…. Why not?
I agree! Pretty, bright, visually interesting, something to make the situation a little less dim.