Thank you for purchasing my Deco Diamonds Baby Quilt pattern. Here are instructions on how to trim your 2″ x 3-1/2″ HRT units without a specialty ruler.
Read all the instructions first, before trimming. I recommend making a test block with waste fabric to practice this method before you attack your actual blocks, just to make sure your seam allowance is as it should be.
First up, trim the long edges of the HRT unit evenly from both sides so it is 2″ wide.
Take a quilting ruler and start at one of the corners with a diagonal. Line up one edge of the ruler with the long edge of the HRT. Then slowly slide the ruler down the unit (keeping the ruler/block edges lined up) until you find the spot where the diagonal is exactly a quarter inch from the long edge.
Once that spot is located, the part of the HRT extending past the top of the ruler can be trimmed off. Because the diagonal is now a quarter inch from both edges, when it is sewn together with another unit the diagonal will form a lovely point.
Check to see if your ruler has two intersecting lines at the quarter inch mark (like mine above). This makes it a lot easier to make sure the diagonal is exactly a quarter inch from both edges.
Turn the HRT around and repeat the process with the other corner.
Before you trim the top off the opposite side you need to make sure your block is 3-1/2″ long when you have the diagonal matched up. See the block below – the diagonal is right under the 1/4″ crosshairs and the bottom of the unit is on the 3-1/2″ mark of the ruler. Perfect!
Sometimes, if your seam allowance is off, your block will not be the required 3-1/2″ long. If this happens, check your seam allowance is not scant.
If you look closely at my block below you’ll see I am off by a bit (happens to us all ;) ). I still used this block as the discrepancy was less than 1/8″ and that is well within my tolerance level for block accuracy!
However, if your block is out by 1/4″, for instance, I would try another test block and pay attention to your seam allowance.
This trimming process is the same whether making left or right slanting HRTs. Here’s what it looks like for the HRTs facing the other direction:
