Wyld Whirl Quilt Along Week 3: Half Square Triangles

Welcome to the Wyld Whirl Quilt Along! My name is Tawnee, I am the owner of Wyldwood Creative, and I’ll be taking you through each step of making the Wyld Whirl Quilt. We’ll break it down into 7 parts and cover every single step of the process from selecting fabric to labeling and binding your quilt.

Week 3 Quilt Along Task

This week, we're diving into one of the most versatile and commonly used units in quilting—the Half-Square Triangle (HST). Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned quilter, mastering HSTs will open up endless pattern possibilities. Follow along with this easy tutorial to make perfect HSTs every time!

Tools You'll Need:

• Fabric (we’re using 6” squares we cut last week)
• Square Ruler
• Marking tool like a heat erasable pen or Hera marker
• Sewing machine
• Thread (we us 100% natural cotton for quilting )
• Iron
• Tailor’s clapper (optional but helpful)
• Rotary cutter 

Let's get started!

Step 1: Pair Your Fabrics

Start by sorting your 6-inch fabric squares by value—lights, mediums, and darks. This will help you mix the colors and create a dynamic, scrappy look. Pair two squares with right sides together, meaning the pretty sides of the fabric should face each other.

Don’t stress about matching everything in advance—pair the fabrics as you go for a fun, organic look.

Step 2: Mark Your Diagonal Lines

There are two methods for marking your squares:

• Centerline Method:

• Use a ruler to mark a diagonal line from one corner to the opposite corner on the fabric square with a heat erasable pen or Hera marker.
• This method is great if you have a quarter-inch piecing foot on your machine, as you’ll sew 1/4 inch away from this centerline.
• Quarter-Inch Line Method:

• For this method, mark two stitching lines. Start by placing the quarter-inch line of your ruler along the center diagonal of your square. Then, mark a stitching line 1/4 inch away from the centerline.

• Flip the square and mark the other line 1/4 inch from the center. You’ll stitch along both lines.

This marking step ensures that your triangles are accurate and consistent.

Step 3: Prepare Your Sewing Machine

Before you start sewing, it’s always a good idea to clean your machine. Take a moment to dust out the bobbin area using pipe cleaners or a small brush. Change your needle to a fresh one for smooth stitching.

• Thread: Load your machine with 100% natural cotton thread. 
• Stitch length: Set your stitch length to 2.0.
• Extension table: If your machine came with an extension table attach it. The extra surface area is helpful for piecing

• Scrap Starter: Start by sewing on a scrap piece of fabric before your real project. This prevents thread nests from forming at the beginning of your stitches.

Step 4: Chain Piecing

If you’ve used the centerline method, sew 1/4 inch away from the marked center diagonal. If you marked two stitching lines with the quarter-inch method, sew directly on each marked line.

Sew all the way to the end of the piece plus a few stitches, this creates the “chain” in chain piecing. Feed the next piece in right behind the first piece. Continuing feeding all your prepped HSTs sewing down one side.

Once you’ve sewn one line on all of your square sets grab the whole pile and bring it around to the front of the machine. Sew down the other line on all the square sets. You may need to lift the presser foot before starting to sew on each square set.

Tip: Use a “leader.” A leader is a small scrap that you start stitching on before your piece. By using a leader any “thread nest” are on you leader piece and you’ll get nice clean stitches on your pieces. 

Tip: Use a light touch when guiding the fabric through the machine. Let the machine do the work. Chain piecing your squares (sewing them in a continuous line without cutting thread between pieces) will make this process quicker. Just feed each set of squares in right behind the previous set stitching a few stitches in between. 

** If you mess up don’t sweat it! I accidentally sewed a square set wrong side to right side. 

Step 5: Cut squares into two HSTs

Once you've sewn both sides of your marked lines, it's time to cut the squares into HSTs. Snip apart the chains between each piece.

• Line up the piece with the stitch lines running vertically. Line up the ruler so that the edge is in the middle of the two stitch lines.

• Cut right down the center between the stitch lines to create two half-square triangles from each pair.

• Don’t stress about getting this cut perfect; the lines are already sewn so the seam allowance doesn’t need to be precise.

Step 6: Press Seams

This is an extremely important step in the quilting process. Proper pressing is the secret to a great finish piece. Any hot dry iron will do. We love this mini project iron from Oliso.

• Set the Seam: Before opening your triangles, press them with the iron to set the seam. The heat helps the fibers of the thread and the fibers of the fabric mesh together.

• Pressing technique: When pressing be sure to lift and set your iron down. Avoid sliding it around on the fabric; this can warp and distort your piece
• Pressing Open: Use your fingers to gently spread the seam apart and press the seam open, press with your fingers then press with your iron. Flip the HST over and press a couple more times from the front side.

• Pressing to the Side: Lay the HST with the dark side up. Gently flip over the dark side of the fabric and finger press in place along the seam line. Press with your iron.
  

• Tailor’s Clapper (Optional): If you have a tailor’s clapper, place it on your seam after pressing to trap the heat and moisture for a super flat finish.

Pressing to the side VS Pressing open: There’s no right or wrong way! It really comes down to the situation and your preference. Pressing open gives a crisp flat piece but may have slight visibility of your stitches. Pressing to the side will create a small ridge but will give a sharp edge. Try both and see what you like!

for this project we recommend pressing open. It will make matching points in the HSTs easier when we go to make our blocks.

Step 7: Trim the Half-Square Triangles

Fabric gets distorted as we work with it, trimming gets our HSTs back to being exactly the same size. This pattern is designed to leave generous trimming room. We’ll trim the HSTs to 5.25” Here's how:

• Washi Tape Trick: Place washi tape on your square ruler at the 5 1/4 inch mark. This helps speed up the trimming process by giving you a clear visual guide.

• Trimming:
• Lay HST right side up. 

• Line up the diagonal seam with the diagonal on your ruler. Make sure that the square extends past all edges. 

• Trim the right and top sides of the HST. 

•  Rotate it 180 degrees. This time line up the edge you just cut with the taped lines on your ruler. Ensure diagonal line or ruler is lined up with diagonal seam line.

• Trim the last two sides.

• Trimming with a smaller ruler: If you do not have a square ruler you can use washi tape on your mat to make trimming easier. 
• Mark out a 5 ¼” square on your cutting mat. The tape on the right side should be just to the right of the ¼” line. 

• Lay your HST over the square you taped off. Ensure the diagonal is going directly through the corners. 

• Use your ruler to trim the right side. 

• Rotate the HST 45 degrees to the left then trim the right side. 

• Continue rotating and trimming each side being sure to line the HST up with the tape edges and keep the diagonal seam going through the corners.

Tip: If you have an HST with a selvedge edge. Trim the opposite side first as close to the edge as possible. Then trim the selvedge edge side. If you still have some selvedge that’s okay! It will be absorbed into the seam allowance, or it will be a fun pop of color!

All Set for Next Week!

Once you’ve trimmed all of your HST’s you are ready for next week when we’ll start assembling our blocks!