BOW #28: Hourglass

You should have the hang of HSTs (Half Square Triangles) by now, and have used them in many blocks.  Now it's time to get started on QSTs (Quarter Square Triangles).   Take heart:  they start with HSTs!

Half Square Triangles are squares made of 2 triangles so, as you might expect, QSTs are squares made of 4 triangles; the Hourglass block is a single QST unit.

To make a 12" finished Hourglass block

(1) 13-1/4" light square
(1) 13-1/4" dark square

Use the squares to make 2 HST units. (Remember, draw a diagonal line from corner to corner on the wrong side of the light square.  Place the light and dark squares, right sides together, and stitch 1/4" inch on either side of the drawn line.   Cut on the drawn line, fold back the dark triangle of each and press.  Square up to 12-7/8"

At this point, there are 2 ways you can proceed:

Now, cut the HST units from corner to corner, at right angles to the seam of the HSTs:

Then put two resulting triangles together, making sure that dark is next to light:








Just as with the HST, there are many blocks that use QSTs, so it's a good block to have in your toolbox.  We'll be looking at some other blocks, in upcoming weeks, that use QSTs or easy variations of it.  By itself, though, the Hourglass makes a great filler block, or alternate block in quilts.    Hmm... Some Hourlgass blocks in baby colors or bright colors would make a great baby quilt....


MK: Right on cue -- ta-dah! I forgot I had this baby quilt, until Karen mentioned it.