How to make 1/2 (half) square and 1/4 (quarter) square triangles

1/4 square and 1/2 square triangles are the basis for many quilt block designs and creating them quickly and accurately can help make a myriad of classic quilt designs such as:  Flying Geese, evening star, royal star, hourglass, diagonal, chevron, basket, pinwheel, and many more. 

Half square triangles are made up of stitching two triangles together (usually of contrasting fabrics (light and dark) to create a square.  This can then be arranged in a multitude of ways to create interesting quilt blocks. 

The first step is to make your triangle squares.  This technique produces two sets of triangle squares by sewing two squares together of alternating color, sewn on the diagonal, which once cut apart gives you two half square triangles:

The second step is to trim your squares: 

Here is a video showing how to trim your squares using our slotted trimmer tool. 

Now you can put them together to design a block that suits you: