Half Rectangle Triangles - How to Make
Half Rectangle Triangles, also known in the quilty world as HRTs, can be intimidating at first. But they can add so much to a quilt pattern, and honestly are popping up more and more.
I want to do my part to help you face your fears and learn a few tips that have helped me make these without any issue.
HRTs can be produced one at a time, or my preferred two at a time method, which I will discuss here. One BIG thing to remember that makes HRTs different from Half Square Triangles (HSTs) is that when creating HSTs, you produce reverse units, with HRTs you will produce two IDENTICAL units. It is crucial to mark your rectangles before hand, even if using diagonal seam tape, and the direction of your line DOES matter.
What I mean by this, is when I make HSTs, if they are a smaller size, I don’t always mark my lines because I use diagonal seam tape. And regardless of which corners you sew between, the same unit is produced. With HRTs, I always mark my lines, because they line up a little wonky looking. Also, the angle of the marked line matters!!
So, let’s make some HRTs!! You will need (2) rectangles in Fabric 1 and (2) rectangles in Fabric 2. I am using 3” x 6” rectangles in this tutorial, which match the size required in my newest pattern, Joyful Traditions.
SEW:
Step 1: Draw a diagonal line from the bottom L corner to the top R corner on the wrong side of a Fabric 1 rectangle.
Step 2: Pair with a Fabric 2 rectangle, RST, matching the top R corner of Fabric 1 with the top L corner of Fabric 2. Pin!!! Sew a scant 1/4” seam on each side of the marked line.
Step 3: Cut on the marked line creating 2 units. Press seams open. Again, remember the units created will be identical!
Step 4: Now we will repeat the process, only this time we will draw our diagonal line from the top R corner to the bottom L corner of our Fabric 1 rectangle.
TRIM:
Okay, so this is where the tricky part comes in for most people. I will say, there are a few specialty rulers out there that help. Melanie of Southern Charms Quilts has created one and you can get it in her shop, Meander and Make. Also, BlocLok has a ruler as well.
But, I have a tip for you if you don’t want to buy a specialty ruler! I use one of my regular rulers, that includes 1/4” marks, and I add washi tape or masking tape to mark the size I want my HRT to be. In this tutorial we will be trimming them down to 2 1/2” x 4 1/2” rectangles, which is the size unit in my newest pattern, Joyful Traditions. Also, I am using my Creative Grids 3 1/2” x 6 1/2” ruler. Use a Sharpie marker to make a dot on the intersections 1/4” away from the corners. You can mark opposite corners to start or I typically mark all 4 so that I am ready. Now to trim.
Step 1: Place the marked intersection dots on the seam line. Ensure that your rectangle has fabric outside the washi tape and the sides of the ruler. They usually look a little wonky right now and you will have more fabric in some areas than others. Trim 2 sides.
Step 2: Rotate the HRT. This time you can just line up your fresh cut sides with the washi tape and trim the other two sides.
I hope this helps you not shy away from a pattern that uses HRTs, and gives you some confidence to take them on! I have included a little cheat sheet summing up all this information in one place.