4.5″ Easy Angle Ruler Review & Tutorial
Do Half Square Triangles send you into near palpitations? Do they make you sweat and say, nope, I can find a different block? Well, do I have a ruler for you! The Easy Angle 4.5″ Ruler by EZ Quilting available at Fat Quarter Shop.
I started out with some amazing Batman Fabric by Camelot Fabrics and a vague idea to make a quilt for my nephew (I hope he isn’t reading my blog!). The idea is still vague but it involves mixing solids with the prints for Half Square Triangles and interspersing these with fussy cuts of the panels and larger prints. I am hoping to tell a story with the quilt, you will get to watch it evolve here because I’m not using EQ7 to draw this quilt out! I’m quilting without a net!
Always on the look out for a new and hopefully easier method for Half Square Triangles, I asked Fat Quarter Shop if I could do a review of the 4.5″ Easy Angle Ruler. Before I give you my thoughts on this ruler, I thought I would do a quick tutorial.
When using this ruler cut your fabric strips 0.5″ wider than the finished size you want your HSTs to be. I wanted 4″ finished Half Square Triangles so I cut my strips to 4.5″ wide.
Line up the ruler and cut along the diagonal.
Next sew along the diagonal with a 1/4″ seam.
I created 4 PERFECT half square triangles in less than 10 minutes – my fastest time yet!
(and yes, I do time how long it takes to make my HSTs with different methods – you have to remember, I sew during nap time and being able to sew fast is important to me!)
Things I Like:
- The included instructions are easy to follow and written in 3 different languages – which is normal for all EZ Quilting products
- This method is fast, as I said, 4 perfect HSTs in less than 10 minutes
- This method is PRECISE. I didn’t have to trim my HSTs down to size at all.
- Designed to make HSTs sized 1″ to 4.5″ – wonderful for projects with super small HSTs like Feathered Star
- Truth in advertising – Easy to Use
Areas for Improvement:
- I usually have something here, but this time I have nothing. I think the product is great. I will say there is no pattern, but there really doesn’t need to be. A half square triangle can be a finished block, so there is no need for a pattern.
Final Thoughts:
The 4.5″ Easy Angle Ruler is absolutely worth every penny. If only because it will save you the time of having to trim down your blocks. There are only one set of dog ears that will need to be clipped off, which to me is a bonus.
Have you used the Easy Angle Ruler? What do you think of it? Do you have a favorite HST method?
Don’t forget to go enter to win a fat quarter bundle of Battle Over Gotham from Fat Quarter Shop – giveaway open until July 3rd!
