How to Make a Scrappy Charm Pack Quilt with Half Square Triangles
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Scrappy quilts are by far my favorite kind of quilt. I collect a lot of charm packs and mini charm packs, which means I end up with a lot of random designs in my stash. I love sewing these into simple square patchwork designs, but recently decided I wanted to do something a little more interesting.
I always loved the idea of making a quilt with all kinds of different designs. With a bunch of charm packs in my stash I decided it was the perfect time to try out a half square triangle quilt.
I call this my HST Sampler Quilt because it features so many different kinds of blocks – all made from half square triangles. There might be official HST sampler patterns out there somewhere, but I just made this up as I went along. I just had fun making different blocks with HSTs and arranging them to create a unique quilt top.
What is a Half Square Triangle?
Half square triangles or HSTs are super easy to make and there are tons of fun ways to use them. If you’re wondering how to make them, check out my half square triangle tutorial. I explain how to sew an HST and assemble an 8-point star block using HSTs. If you’re unfamiliar with this type of quilt block, it’s a good introduction that will get you started.
Fabrics
I get almost all my quilting fabrics from Green Fairy Quilts. They are a family business with a great selection and really good prices. The fabrics in this quilt are from at least 6 different collections, maybe more.
I had fun flipping through my various charm packs and pulling out coordinating colors. I knew I would use 8 squares for each large HST block, so I separated the colors into piles of 4. When I had these assembled, I paired them with contrasting colors to create bundles of 8.
I wanted each block in my quilt to be completely unique both in the design and color. Some of my blocks ended up with contrast between light and dark colors, but others I created with different bright colors.
Once I finalized which colors I wanted to go together, I clipped them together in bundles of 8 squares. This made it easier to sew them together whenever I had time.
Sewing the Quilt Blocks
It was really fun seeing how everything shaped up as I started sewing the blocks. I usually made just one block at a time. Because I was trying to go for a scrappy quilt look, it was fun not having to worry about how it would all look in the end.
I ended up liking some of the color combos better than others, but overall I think they ended up looking really cute together.
Again, if you want a fun walk-through of making HST blocks, check out my step-by-step tutorial. It explains everything you need to know about turning the squares into finished blocks.
I made most of my blocks with two contrasting colors, but at a certain point I decided to throw in a third color on some of the blocks. The green and blue diamond with the yellow center (right) ended up being one of my favorites.
These blocks could also be made with a combination of plain squares and HSTs. However, I really liked the flexibility of having all half square triangles to work with. It made it so much more fun to design and play around with the layout.
Assembling the Quilt Top
I wasn’t sure how big I wanted my quilt to be when I started, but I got to a certain point where I was ready to be done. My finished quilt is made from 25 HST quilt blocks. Considering how long it takes to make each one, this was quite a long project. However, it was fun to work on a block here or there when I had time. I’m a pretty slow quilter so each finished block took me about 45 minutes to an hour.
After I had all my quilt blocks made, I had to decide what background fabric to use. I debated for a long time on what color to use, but decided on various low volume fabrics.
When I was happy with the layout, I sewed the panels and background fabrics together in strips, then assembled the strips together. I was super happy with how it came out! This is by far my favorite quilt to date and I use it pretty much every day when I’m sitting on the couch. Clementine loves it too!
