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. Then sew another seam a little but away from the first seam.
Now just trim between the two seams. I use a scissor but you can use a rotary cutter..whichever is handy.
Now you have two pieces. Iron them as shown.
You will need to trim the “bonus triangle” so that it is 1 1/2″ x 1 1/2″. 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”. 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. 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. I just wouldn’t have pulled that many different fabrics.
If you have any other questions about bonus triangles, ask away. 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/