Triangle Troubles! HELP! (Pictures)

I am doing something wrong, I can tell. I just started the Thousand Pyramids quilt (Fons & Porter). Everything is pre washed and ironed and I just cut the triangles for the first two colors. I can tell that something is very wrong and I am obviously lining up my triangles incorrectly, because when I sew the rows together the points are going to be cut off. Can someone help me with this? These are cut with the Fons & Porter template which has one end squared off.

Attachment 81504Attachment 81505

This is how I am lining them up, which must be wrong.
Attachment 81506

If I can't get this figured out I will have to do Yellow Brick Road instead of Thousand Pyramids.

Good to have an alternative. hahaha
Sorry to not be any help but I could not help poking a little fun.

It looks like you are lining up your first set correctly, but it's the second green you are adding that is wrong. You need to line it up just like that squared off point is still there. That way the greens meet and sort of cross a bit to leave you a seam allowance so you don't lose your point.

I've never tried a quilt like this, but I'm thinking it would help to square off all three tips of the triangles and then line them up. It does seem as though they are lined up improperly, because on the first picture, you would want a 1/4" seam allowance between the edge of the green triangles and the tip of the lighter triangle.

I'm with Karen on this. I wish I had a picture of the proper alignment to show you.

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Originally Posted by K. McEuen

It looks like you are lining up your first set correctly, but it's the second green you are adding that is wrong. You need to line it up just like that squared off point is still there. That way the greens meet and sort of cross a bit to leave you a seam allowance so you don't lose your point.

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Yes, I re-did it with new triangles and lined them up as though the cut-off part were not there. That worked better, but my, these triangles are very confusing! Much more confusing than squares!!!

This is not perfect, but I think I am lining them up correctly now. The triangles on the sides look cut-off but I think they will be OK when that seam is sewn. What do you think?

Attachment 81507

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Quilt Lakeside

I've never tried a quilt like this, but I'm thinking it would help to square off all three tips of the triangles and then line them up. It does seem as though they are lined up improperly, because on the first picture, you would want a 1/4" seam allowance between the edge of the green triangles and the tip of the lighter triangle.

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I think this is a good idea, except that I am using the cut-off part to know where the lengthwise grain is, since these are equilateral triangles.

It looks like you got it figured out. Great job! Can't wait to see it finished.

Maybe this visual will help you to line up the cut off tip with the adjoining triangle.
Mommy by day Crafter by night: Isosceles Triangle Quilt Along- Making the Quilt

It's hard for me to tell due to the print of your fabrics. From what I can see they look much better.

When I use that template I don't cut off the points. Then I line up the points when sewing them together. Also, if you press the seams open you can use the points to line up the next triangle and the rows.

The second picture you posted looks great! Once you sew the blocks together, that cut off part will disappear into the seam allowance and your triangles will look spot-on!

Here is a link that might help. It's from sassyquilter's triangle quilt along from a few months ago. She is also member of the forum. Someone else on the forum made the quilt from this tutorial......but I can't remember who right now. The quilt was so pretty. Hope this tutorial helps.

http://www.sassyquilter.com/piecing-triangles/

When sewing angled pieces together, it's important to leave the dog ears on, b/c usually you line up just 1/4" short of the points. Sort of like Jenny shows when she makes the 5" tumbler quilt. It takes some getting used to for things to get lined up accurately. I had the same problem when I was working on the Storm at Sea pattern. I think if you keep trying, you'll get the hang of it. Does starching the fabric help? (I don't pre-wash anything.) JCY

Yes, I can tell I am now doing it the right way. It would probably be easier if all of the points were there on each small triangle (that is what confused me), but I do want to leave that squared off point because it tells me that that should be the top (or bottom if inverted) of the triangle (so that all of the triangles can have the lengthwise grain going the same way). I think I get it now. That doesn't mean all of the points will line up perfectly, but at least they won't get cut off by a fourth of an inch! I did four large pyramids today (each composed of 9 equilateral triangles) and two were fairly close and two were spot on.

I know it is kind of hard to tell from the fabrics (the pattern calls for "similar" batik colors that blend) but that is actually a good thing since the points will be less noticeable (at least some of them will). This is the pattern (mentioned on several previous threads). Each diamond is made up of small triangles. You make large triangles from small triangles, then sew them into rows to make the diamonds.
Attachment 81542
I pre washed all of the fabrics because some are batiks and some are wovens (all are Jinny Beyer though). These are the fabrics. Three Jinny Beyer batik lines and her Renaissance line.
Attachment 81543Attachment 81544
Also pretreated all fabrics with Retayne and Synthrapol (was especially concerned about the reds and the very dark colors). I was amazed at how uneven some of them became after washing (due to shrinkage) and was very glad I did this. Now I am using a lot of Best Press on them and the finished large triangles seem to be fairly stiff. I am storing them in a plastic container and handling them as little as possible so as not to stretch them.

Thank you so much for all of your suggestions. This is going to take forever but at least I have a much better idea of what I am doing now!:icon_woohoo:

PS this is my first experience with triangles like this. I have mostly done D9P and fusible appliqué w/ blanket stitching around it (and, of course, EPP hexagons, which are SO much fun!). The pattern said "intermediate" and I didn't realize I wasn't quite up to intermediate standards. Oh well, live and learn. This is for my son and his fiancee who are going to be married July 9, 2015 (one year from today). :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ozziepuppy

Yes, I can tell I am now doing it the right way. It would probably be easier if all of the points were there on each small triangle (that is what confused me), but I do want to leave that squared off point because it tells me that that should be the top (or bottom if inverted) of the triangle (so that all of the triangles can have the lengthwise grain going the same way). I think I get it now. That doesn't mean all of the points will line up perfectly, but at least they won't get cut off by a fourth of an inch! I did four large pyramids today (each composed of 9 equilateral triangles) and two were fairly close and two were spot on.

I know it is kind of hard to tell from the fabrics (the pattern calls for "similar" batik colors that blend) but that is actually a good thing since the points will be less noticeable (at least some of them will). This is the pattern (mentioned on several previous threads). Each diamond is made up of small triangles. You make large triangles from small triangles, then sew them into rows to make the diamonds.
Attachment 81542
I pre washed all of the fabrics because some are batiks and some are wovens (all are Jinny Beyer though). These are the fabrics. Three Jinny Beyer batik lines and her Renaissance line.
Attachment 81543Attachment 81544
Also pretreated all fabrics with Retayne and Synthrapol (was especially concerned about the reds and the very dark colors). I was amazed at how uneven some of them became after washing (due to shrinkage) and was very glad I did this. Now I am using a lot of Best Press on them and the finished large triangles seem to be fairly stiff. I am storing them in a plastic container and handling them as little as possible so as not to stretch them.

Thank you so much for all of your suggestions. This is going to take forever but at least I have a much better idea of what I am doing now!:icon_woohoo:

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Oh so you are going to do that one! When I first posted it someone did see triangles in the triangles. I can't wait to see it!

Those are beautiful batiks. From the pic, the triangles look like one large pc. of fabric. What a challenge you have ahead of you. It will be worth the work, though. It should get easier as you go along. Looking forward to seeing the finished quilt. JCY

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ozziepuppy

Yes, I can tell I am now doing it the right way. It would probably be easier if all of the points were there on each small triangle (that is what confused me), but I do want to leave that squared off point because it tells me that that should be the top (or bottom if inverted) of the triangle (so that all of the triangles can have the lengthwise grain going the same way). I think I get it now. That doesn't mean all of the points will line up perfectly, but at least they won't get cut off by a fourth of an inch! I did four large pyramids today (each composed of 9 equilateral triangles) and two were fairly close and two were spot on.

I know it is kind of hard to tell from the fabrics (the pattern calls for "similar" batik colors that blend) but that is actually a good thing since the points will be less noticeable (at least some of them will). This is the pattern (mentioned on several previous threads). Each diamond is made up of small triangles. You make large triangles from small triangles, then sew them into rows to make the diamonds.
Attachment 81542
I pre washed all of the fabrics because some are batiks and some are wovens (all are Jinny Beyer though). These are the fabrics. Three Jinny Beyer batik lines and her Renaissance line.
Attachment 81543Attachment 81544
Also pretreated all fabrics with Retayne and Synthrapol (was especially concerned about the reds and the very dark colors). I was amazed at how uneven some of them became after washing (due to shrinkage) and was very glad I did this. Now I am using a lot of Best Press on them and the finished large triangles seem to be fairly stiff. I am storing them in a plastic container and handling them as little as possible so as not to stretch them.

Thank you so much for all of your suggestions. This is going to take forever but at least I have a much better idea of what I am doing now!:icon_woohoo:

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This is a beautiful quilt!!! It looks like you figured it out:) I just cut the top point....like you said, helps me line up the top and bottom. Triangles can be tricky, but once you got it you are good!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by quiltsRfun

When I use that template I don't cut off the points. Then I line up the points when sewing them together. Also, if you press the seams open you can use the points to line up the next triangle and the rows.

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Pressing the seams open and then using the dog ears to line things up is EXTREMELY helpful! I can hardly believe what a difference that makes! THANK YOU! I have now finished four diamonds and today I am working on four more. I showed DH the four that had already been finished last night. Two diamonds had been done with the dog ears (and pressing seams open) and two had not (the first two). He is not one for high praise and tells it like it is. He glanced at them and without hesitation said, "Those two are better," pointing to the two with the pressed-open seams. And he did not even have his glasses on, LOL.

Continuing on today, I decided to work with blue:

This is the front. Hard to see the dog ears, but they are there.

Attachment 81672

Back of the same unit:

Attachment 81673

This is very time-consuming but it is fun. Thanks for all of your help, everyone!

I am so excited to see this finished. Absolutely love that quilt and your fabric choices are right on!

It's Jinny Beyer, you can't go wrong with her stuff. :)