Thank you for purchasing my Slip Stitch Quilt pattern. Here are instructions on how to trim the HRT units for your baby and lap quilts 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. The block should be 2-1/2 wide for the baby quilt (seen here) and 3-1/2″ wide for the lap quilt.
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 4-1/2″ long (baby quilt) or 6-1/2″ long (lap quilt) 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 4-1/2″ mark of the ruler. Perfect!
Sometimes, if your seam allowance is off, your block will not be the required length when you line up the diagonal. If this happens, check your seam allowance is not scant.
Once you’re happy with your test block, continue on to trim the blocks for your quilt.
Happy sewing!
