Sew Easy Triangle Cushion

designed and made by Janet Goddard

A beginner friendly project showcasing half square triangles. (Finished size 18½” square)

You need:0.75m calico or white fabric: background & cushion back4 F/Qs: triangles & outer border (Aspen F/Q’s)19½” square wadding (Hobbs Heirloom Premium HL72)19½”square lining fabricSew Easy 4½” x 4 7/8” Triangle Ruler (NL2403)18” cushion pad (2HPAD18)Thread for piecing and quilting

Cut: ¼” S/A included in all measurementsFrom White fabric:Two 3” x WOF (Width Of Fabric) strips; Two 1½” x 13” stripsTwo 1½” x 15” stripsOne 19”) WOF strip: cut this into One 14” x 19”), One (5¾” x 19”) and One 6 ” x 19”) piecesFrom Navy Spot fabric cut:One 3” WOF strip; Two 2½” x 15”) strips; Two 2½” x 19”) stripsFrom each of Maroon Spot, Blue Floral and Maroon Floral fabrics cut: One 3” WOF strip

To Stitch the triangles:Seam Allowance: 0.65cm/¼”

1. Place one 3” strip of White fabric, right sides together with one 3” strip of Navy fabric. Line up bottom edge of ruler on bottom edge of fabric strips. Slide ruler to the left until the 3” line (marked in red) is aligned with straight side of fabric. Cut along diagonal with rotary cutter.

To make the next cut, flip the ruler over and line up 3” line (marked in red) with straight side of fabric. The coloured red triangle at base of ruler now lies off the material. Cut on the right edge. Repeat two more times until you have six pairs of triangles.

2. Repeat step one with the maroon spot, blue floral and maroon floral fabrics cutting eight pairs of triangles.

3. Stitch the triangles together along the diagonal.

Press seams towards the darker fabrics and trim points. You should now have thirty half square triangle units.

4. Lay out twenty -five half square triangles in a pleasing design, five across and five down. (See photo for placement.)

5. Stitch units together in horizontal rows. Press seams in each row in opposite directions.

6. Stitch horizontal rows together matching seams. Press all seams downwards.

Add borders and quilt:

7. Stitch one 1½” x 13” White strip to each side. Stitch one 1½” x 15” White strip to top and bottom. Press seams away from centre.

8. Stitch one 2½” x 15” Navy strip to each side. Stitch one 2½” x 19” Navy strip to top and bottom. Press seams away from centre.

9. To get cushion ready for quilting, place lining fabric wrong side up on a clean surface, followed by the wadding and then the cushion top, centrally and right side up. Secure quilt sandwich with quilter’s pins placed at regular intervals.

10. Machine quilt in diagonal lines across cushion top spacing the quilting ½” away from each seam line.

Finish the cushion:

1. Stitch remaining five half square triangles units into a strip. From remaining White scraps cut two 3” x 3½” rectangles.

Stitch one rectangle to each end. Press seams towards darker fabrics and trim points.

2. Stitch one 5¾” x 19” White strip to one side of triangle strip and one 6½” x 19” White fabric strip to other side. Press seams away from triangle strip.

3. Take remaining 14” x 19” White fabric and press under ¼” on one long side of the fabric towards the wrong side of the fabric. Stitch this 1/8” from outer edge. Repeat this on the 6 ½” long edge of the unit completed in step two.

4. Measure 2” from the turned under edge on each piece and fold this towards wrong side of fabric. Press and pin in place.

Put cushion together:

1. Place cushion front, right side facing up on a clean surface. Lay cushion back with triangle strip on top, matching raw edges with folded piece in the centre of cushion. Lay second piece of cushion back (right side facing cushion front) on top of this, lining up raw edges. Pin in place around outer edge. Stitch. Trim corners.

2. Turn cushion through and push out corners.

Janet Goddard

Janet loves to stitch. She teaches patchwork and quilting classes and writes patterns for magazines and books. Janet is the author of “Simply Modern Patchwork Bags”. This book features ten modern patchwork bags combining bright beautiful fabrics with practical and stylish designs.

www.patchworkpatterns.co.uk