I keep getting asked questions about how to make “bonus triangles” so here’s a little “how to” of what I do.
Sew the regular seam as shown. Â Then sew another seam a little but away from the first seam.
Now just trim between the two seams. Â I use a scissor but you can use a rotary cutter..whichever is handy.
Now you have two pieces. Â Iron them as shown.
You will need to trim the “bonus triangle” so that it is 1 1/2″ x 1 1/2″. Â You’ll need to add the other corner using the same method.
Once you have collected a bunch of “bonus triangles”, you can make some great projects…
This wall hanging that I just finished up, was made entirely of “bonus triangles”.
The pattern is a Country Threads pattern, “Troops in Formation”. Â You can find it here.
Most of the triangles came from this “Nine in the Middle” quilt.
Saving those bonus triangles from the “Nine in the Middle” quilt, gave me a HUGE jump start on “Troops in Formation” wall hanging. Â I also made many of the Quilt Square Quilt Along blocks using them too. Saving the bonus triangles also gave me a lot of variety in my projects as I would never have had if I had started from the beginning. Â I just wouldn’t have pulled that many different fabrics.
If you have any other questions about bonus triangles, ask away. Â I’ll try to answer them.
I did mine a little different, since I am challenged by DRIFTING, I marked where to sew and where to cut. i don’tknow if they will be 1.5″ or not. I put all of those in a box w a whole bunch of others that I have saved. they are a bit bigger. I need to look into what to do w them. starting to have a HUGE string collection too.
Oh, yaay! So much easier and quicker than I was going to do! Thanks, Jo!
I do the same thing you do! Like have two for one and don’t even realize it!
wow Jo–what amazing quilts—you have me on board—I can’t believe I was always so careless with those bonus babies>>>>>
Thank you for showing more detail on the bonus triangles…….oh, imagine what I have wasted but not anymore!
I have been doing this for years and now I know what I can make with them. I need to dig my container out with all my bonus triangles and start trimming. I see a few movies in my future so I can get lots of triangles trimmed. Thanks for the inspiration!
Thanks! Your explanation is so clear! I realize i can be a bit too careful when i make mine, drawing lots of lines, trying to get them all to be the same size…. And of course, they don’t end up that way anyway! Right now I am working on a patriotic colored block of the month (actually 2blocks each month) and there are 8 rather large (6.5″ each) flying geese in each block. I’m planning on using all those bonus triangles in the border.
Hope your open house is joyful & leaves you & your guests with warm memories. B
i love that method! i have a drawer full of these cute little things. there is a 52 ufo quilt block pick up starting this friday to help use up all those little things you end up with. quick thought: always square them up before you use them. This makes using them sooo much better.
http://www.patchworkposse.com/blog/2012/01/52-ufo-quilt-block-pick-up-tutorials-ideas-and-inspiration/