EQUILATERAL TRIANGLES

An equilateral triangle is a triangle which has three sides of equal length. This is a common shape used in patchwork and super easy to piece, so once you get the hang of it you won’t look back! There are lots of templates available to aid with the cutting – these are commonly referred to as 60-degree triangle rulers. In case you don’t own a 60-degree ruler yet, we’ve provided a template you can download and print out on p74!

HOW TO SEW EQUILATERAL TRIANGLES

CUTTING TRIANGLES WITH A TEMPLATE

Triangles are simple to cut using an acrylic template with markings. The benefit of an acrylic template is that you can cut multiple sizes. Paula is using a Creative Grids 60-degree ruler, but there are many different ones you can choose from.

When sewing a strip of triangles that finishes with a straight edge, there are two options. You can either trim away the excess triangle to create a straight edge at the beginning and end. Or, you can cut half-triangles to sew at the start and end. To cut a mix of half and full triangles, follow steps 1–3. If you just require full triangles from your strip, skip step 2 (you will need to cut on both sides of your ruler for the first triangle).

Cut a strip of fabric the same size 1

as the unfinished height of your triangles. For this example, Paula cut 4½in tall strips of fabric. Fold the strip in half, bringing the short edges together with the fabric wrong sides together. Trim the short edges, so they are straight, removing any fabric selvedge in the process.

Line up your triangle ruler with

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the edge of the strip so that the mark ¼in to the left of the centre is lined up with the edge of the fabric and then cut along the diagonal line (Fig A). Because your strip is folded, you will have two mirrored pieces, which can be used for the ends of pieced rows (Fig B).

Rotate the ruler so that the

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diagonal edge is aligned with

the previous cut. Cut along the other side, for a pair of full triangles (Fig C). Continue working your way down the strip, turning the ruler between cuts to align the diagonal edge, until you have your required number of triangles.