Raise your hand if you know what a Triple Triangle Square is! If you didn’t raise your hand, I have to admit I didn’t know what it meant either before writing this post! The funny thing is, that it is actually a very familiar shape that we have seen many times in our quilting lives.

The other day I stumbled upon TTS while designing the Coquet quilt from our Splendid & Printemps Fusion Look Book. At the beginning, I thought it was really easy to measure, cut, and make, but when I started writing the instructions I realized that I needed to find a simple math rule to cut precise pieces and avoid extra trimming steps.

Fortunately, I am a math geek and love these types of challenges; so, after cutting, playing, adding and subtracting, I finally figured out two formulas that work with any size as long as you know what your finished size is:

Fabric A and B: finished size + 1 ¼”

Fabric C: finished size + 7/8”

For example, for my project the finished square size is 4”, so to get four (4) 4” finished triple triangle squares (TTSs) I need to cut one (1) 5 ¼” square from fabrics A and B, and two (2) 4 7/8” squares from fabric C.

Fabric A and B: 4” + 1 ¼” = 5 ¼”

Fabric C: 4” + 7/8” = 4 7/8”

The first step is to take the 5 ¼” squares from fabrics A and B to get two (2) 4 7/8” half square triangles (HST):

Place the squares face to face. Draw a diagonal line, stitch at ¼” from each side, and trim along the drawn line. Open and press your two (2) 4 7/8” HSTs.

Now, take the two (2) 4 7/8” HSTs and the two (2) 4 7/8” squares from fabric C and repeat the previous process to get four (4) 4 ½” unfinished triple triangle squares (TTS).

*Make sure you draw the diagonal line crossing fabric A and B as shown on the following diagram:

You finally have your pieces! And now, it’s time to play arranging them to discover new ideas for your next project! So, what kind of creative quilter are you? The organic one who likes to create, cut and piece as you go, or the planner, the one who likes to have everything arranged, aligned, and organized before starting any project.

Let me know what you think! I really look forward to your comments,

Laucara