Hello all, I have made 2 very basic quilts so now I am starting with large triangles and diamonds. My question is... is it okay to cut a square on the grain and then turn the square and use as a diamond? I am concerned going against the grain.
Thanks,
Donna
hello Donna, welcome to QCA. your cutting dilemma will not work. Squares are cut a 90 degree on all 4 sides, a diamond is 60 degrees, therefore you can't interchange them. You can do a square in a square that looks like diamonds on the inside square, and the unit is finished on the 4 sides with QST that is called on point. If you would like some great tips and help please go to the youtube and look up Quilting square in a square, cutting diamond quilt blocks or find Kaye Woods, Nancy Z Fons and Porter the crafty Gemini. Jenny Doan at the Missouri Quilt Co. there are too many to tell you but you get my drift. take a bottle of wine and enjoy the night through learning to quilt and soooo much more. Have fun Quilting.
You will get more stretch when you cut triangles or diamonds but this is part of quilting. Just be careful when you press and don't stretch when sewing seams that are on the bias. Some use a little starch on the fabric to help stabilize it.
if you cut the square on grain and turn it to make a diamond you will be fine. all four edges are on the straight of grain. it's when you cut the square diagonally and have an edge on the bias that it becomes tricky. if you are very careful with the triangle and don't stretch it during handling and sewing, you can work on the bias just fine.
quilters work against the grain all the time. there are techniques to keep outside edges on the straight of grain. that's what you really want to avoid. there should be no bias edges on the outside edge of the quilt. all the bias edges contained within the quilt are fine.
gini in north idaho
Gini, that is exactly what I meant that I wanted to do. Thank you! I am sorry I did not explain better. I have made my cuts. I did think incorrectly and I made the square the wrong size but at least it was cut too big so I could cut it smaller. I wanted 8" from point to point and I cut an 8" square. Oops, too big. I learn from my mistakes. I have added triangles to the corners of my turned square and I have my first 8" block.
I am so excited.
Donna Smith
you will have less stretching on the outside edges of your block if the bias edge of the triangles is next to the square. you do this by cutting a square in half, that cut edge should go next to the edges of the squares. there's a formula for figuring out how big you need to cut your square so the diagonal edge will fit on the square, i think you add 7/8ths of an inch to the size of the square. it's too late for me to do the math.