Do Half Square Triangles send you into near palpitations? Do they make you sweat and say, nope, I can find a different block? Well, do I have a ruler for you! The Easy Angle 4.5″ Ruler by EZ Quilting available at Fat Quarter Shop.
I started out with some amazing Batman Fabric by Camelot Fabrics and a vague idea to make a quilt for my nephew (I hope he isn’t reading my blog!). The idea is still vague but it involves mixing solids with the prints for Half Square Triangles and interspersing these with fussy cuts of the panels and larger prints. I am hoping to tell a story with the quilt, you will get to watch it evolve here because I’m not using EQ7 to draw this quilt out! I’m quilting without a net!
Always on the look out for a new and hopefully easier method for Half Square Triangles, I asked Fat Quarter Shop if I could do a review of the 4.5″ Easy Angle Ruler. Before I give you my thoughts on this ruler, I thought I would do a quick tutorial.
When using this ruler cut your fabric strips 0.5″ wider than the finished size you want your HSTs to be. I wanted 4″ finished Half Square Triangles so I cut my strips to 4.5″ wide.
Line up the ruler and cut along the diagonal.
Next sew along the diagonal with a 1/4″ seam.
I created 4 PERFECT half square triangles in less than 10 minutes – my fastest time yet!
(and yes, I do time how long it takes to make my HSTs with different methods – you have to remember, I sew during nap time and being able to sew fast is important to me!)
Things I Like:
- The included instructions are easy to follow and written in 3 different languages – which is normal for all EZ Quilting products
- This method is fast, as I said, 4 perfect HSTs in less than 10 minutes
- This method is PRECISE. I didn’t have to trim my HSTs down to size at all.
- Designed to make HSTs sized 1″ to 4.5″ – wonderful for projects with super small HSTs like Feathered Star
- Truth in advertising – Easy to Use
Areas for Improvement:
- I usually have something here, but this time I have nothing. I think the product is great. I will say there is no pattern, but there really doesn’t need to be. A half square triangle can be a finished block, so there is no need for a pattern.
Final Thoughts:
The 4.5″ Easy Angle Ruler is absolutely worth every penny. If only because it will save you the time of having to trim down your blocks. There are only one set of dog ears that will need to be clipped off, which to me is a bonus.
Have you used the Easy Angle Ruler? What do you think of it? Do you have a favorite HST method?
Don’t forget to go enter to win a fat quarter bundle of Battle Over Gotham from Fat Quarter Shop – giveaway open until July 3rd!
That is wonderful. Trimming the dog ears gets on my nerves! Will have to add this to my tool stash! 🙂
Funny…..a week ago I just bought one! Haven´t used it yet, but I enjoy reading your blog about it. Now I must go and use mine 🙂
Gun, Sweden
great review I didnt know something like that even existed!
This is great – I had not seen it before…..super perfect HSTs up there!
Am I going to be in trouble by the quilt police if I don’t make it a habit of trimming my dog ears….
I am working on the Beginner Quilt along at the Quilting Gallery and yesterday I did my block 3 which was half square triangles. I’ve only done them once before and that was in a beginning quilt piecing class taken last Fall that wasn’t the best class at all so yesterday it was like learning them all over again myself. I had a few problems and had to recut and restitch two of them because when done, they were smaller than they were suposed to be even though they looked good. ugh. I really could use this tool it appears. LOL
After seeing your post I spent the past twenty minutes going through my drawer full of templates and rulers etc that I was lucky enough to find at an estate sale really cheaply because I could swear I had this one. Nope. Guess not although I have other things I’ll probably never use. haha
Thanks for the very good tutorial.
I have used it, though I usually don’t use it for HST. I’ve used it for triangles that go in a pieced block but are not HST. These look great, though, and I may try them that way to see what I think. I liked that the ruler was very reasonably priced, especially when I bought it – back in the days of the dinosaur. =)
When I first started quilting (about two years ago) some sage person advised me to get this ruler and the Companion Angle Ruler. Great advice as I love both rulers. Maybe you could also review the Companion Angle and the Easy Angle II. I’d love to know what that’s used for. Thank you.
Wonderful review Melissa, this is one of my favorite rulers!
Even with this ruler, you’d still be sewing bias edges wouldn’t you….and need to be very careful handling? Do you think this is a better method than starting out with two squares placed together and drawing the diagonal line, etc.? Thanks for the tutorial. Very timely for me!
My boys would go NUTS for this! So much fun!!!