All Sizes Class Plan
From No Scrap Left Behind
Class Description:
The All Sizes quilt (pp. 54–60) contains five different sizes of half-square triangles. In this class, explore the many techniques and tools that are available for making half-square triangles. Try them all at least once, then pick your favorite technique to make the remaining triangles. Other topics that will be covered in this class include a look at fabric values and why they are important and how to sew an accurate quarter-inch seam.
Class Length:
3 or 6 hour class.
Class Supply List:
- Required text: No Scrap Left Behind by Amanda Jean Nyberg
- Fabric per project requirements:
- o 3 ¼ yards of scraps or fat quarters in various light-colored fabrics
- o 3 ¼ yards of scraps or fat quarters in various dark-colored fabrics
- Rotary cutter, cutting mat, working sewing machine, 6˝ ´ 24˝ ruler, pins, and any other basic quilting supplies that you would normally take to a class
- 6 ½˝ square ruler with 45° angle markings (Omnigrid or similar)
- Mechanical pencil
- Any favorite tools that you may have for making HSTs
Other sales opportunities:
- Bloc Loc rulers
- Quick Quarter (by Quilter’s Ruler), Quarter Inch Seam Markers (by Fons and Porter), or a similar tool to mark ¼˝-seam lines on a square to piece two triangles at once
- Perkins Perfect Piecing Seam Guide (for finding an accurate ¼˝ seam)
- Thangles or Triangles on a Roll
- Quilt in a Day Square Up Ruler
- 6 ½˝ Omnigrid square
- Rotating cutting mat and blades
Classroom Preparation:
Set up stations for each student to accommodate mats, cutters, and ample room for sewing. Set up one iron for every 3 students.
Class Agenda:
Student Homework Before Class:
- Choose fabrics for the quilt and separate into light and dark values.
- Pack machine and sewing supplies.
Teacher Homework Before Class:
- Prep as many triangle methods and tools as you would like to teach.
- Make a few examples of triangles with poor value contrast and a few triangles with good value contrast.
- Prep pieces of fabric for demonstrating how to accurately piece a ¼˝-seam allowance (see p. 39). Also, prep plenty of fabric pieces for students to test their seam allowances.
In Class:
- Start the class with a very brief lesson on values and contrast. Show an example of a few triangles with good value choices (good contrast) and a few triangles with poor value choices (little contrast). TIP: If students are having trouble with this concept, recommend auditioning fabrics on a design wall and viewing them from 10 feet away.
- Demonstrate how to make a pair of HSTs according to the instructions in the book (pp. 54–60). Use a Quarter Inch Seam Marker or Quilter’s Quick Quarter ruler to draw the lines on the squares quickly and accurately. Use a 6 ½˝ square ruler to trim the triangles to size.
- Demonstrate how to trim triangles with a Bloc Loc ruler. (For this method, press seams to the side.)
- Demonstrate how to piece triangles with a Thangles or Triangles on a Roll. This would be especially helpful for the smaller sized triangles in the quilt.
- Have students try each of these techniques on their own.
- Demonstrate how to make 8 triangles at a time.
- Demonstrate the Quilt in a Day ruler method for trimming these triangles.
- Discuss the importance of careful pressing to avoid distorting the triangles.
- Allow students to sew for a period of time.
- About 1 hour before the class is finished, demonstrate how to test and achieve an exact ¼˝-seam allowance (p. 39 in the book). A Perkins Perfect Piecing Seam guide may be helpful tool for this demo.
- At the end of class, encourage students to show their work and ask them to share their method of choice.
