My first Isosceles Triangle Quilt (Tutorial included)

Every now and then I browse Kate’s sewing blog called See Kate Sew. I think she does adorable work and is super talented. If you click here, you’ll see a blanket she made. I loved the low volume mix of colors, and I am always drawn to hues of blues and whites.

I read that her blanket was made with preprinted fabric from Spoonflower. Since I really do love patchwork quilts, I decided to use her adorable blanket as inspiration for my first triangle quilt. I didn’t want to go the route of preprinted fabric for this project.

How to sew an isosceles triangle quilt without staggering the points.
I’d been wanting to make a triangle quilt for quite some time. I think I am little behind because I started seeing triangle quilts popping up all over the quilting community years ago. (If you know me personally, you have probably noticed I am behind the trends on lots of things though.)

So I started sewing this quilt, lining up my triangles tip to tip, and sewing on my merry way. Until I realized something was wrong. I couldn’t sew my strips of triangles into rows. I had basically no seam allowance to sew into rows. Instead of going about the intelligent way and looking up some tutorials, I decided to experiment with seam allowances between my triangles.

Well, sure enough, with a larger seam allowance between my triangles, I ended up with a nice quarter of an inch seam allowance between rows.

Half way through this project, I did some reading to figure out how triangle quilts were supposed to be sewn. That’s when I put out this tutorial on staggering triangles.

I thought about ripping out all the seams I had already sewn for this quilt. I even took them over to my mom for her to rip some out while watching TV in the evenings. I went on to put this quilt and all the cut triangles in a box and said I’d come back to it in a few months when I was sure what I wanted to do with it.

In the end, I decided to finish this quilt sewing large seams allowances between triangles and not staggering them.

If you are looking for a triangle quilt tutorial where you DON’T HAVE TO STAGGER YOUR TRIANGLES, look no further. Here you go. πŸ™‚

How to sew an isosceles triangle quilt without staggering the points.
Supplies:

Cutting mat
Ruler
Rotary cutter
Sewing scissors
Sewing machine
White thread

Quilt Sense Kaleidoscope Triangle Ruler

Kona Cotton White
Kona Cotton Snow
Kona Cotton Aqua
Kona Cotton Baby Blue
Kona Cotton Frappe

100% Cotton batting

Backing for your quilt. I actually used the same sheets that Kate used on the back of her blanket. I found them on clearance at Target. ($20 for a king size set…score!) If you want something that looks almost exactly the same as the Target plus sign sheets, you can check out this fabric. It’s the first one pictured below.

I included a few others that I thought would be fun for the backing. πŸ™‚ I love that last floral one with the mint background. Wouldn’t it coordinate nicely?

1. Start by cutting your fabric into six inch strips.

Quilt Sense Kaleidoscope Triangle Ruler
2. Cut your strips down into triangles using a Quilt Sense Kaleidoscope Triangle Ruler. I am sure there are other triangle rulers available and other techniques for cutting down triangles, but I am not familiar with them. If you are following my tutorial closely, you may want to use the same triangle ruler as me.

Quilt Sense Kaleidoscope Triangle Ruler. How to sew a triangle quilt.
3. Begin sewing your triangles together.

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! Here is where I sew my triangles a bit differently, but it turns out to be much simpler for me…and maybe you too. To sew your triangles together, line up right sides together end to end. You don’t have to stagger them as noted in many other instructions.

How to sew an isosceles triangle quilt without staggering the points.How to sew an isosceles triangle quilt without staggering the points.
4. Sew a 3/8 of an inch seam allowance. The little line right next to your presser foot…that should be a 3/8 of an inch allowance. Your seam allowance needs to be greater than a quarter of an inch (the standard seam allowance for most projects.)

Sewing triangles with Quilt Sense Kaleidoscope Triangle Ruler.(Please excuse the dust on my machine…didn’t know it was that bad until I took a picture…)

How to sew an isosceles triangle quilt without staggering the points.
5. Iron your seams. I iron down the middle of all my seams for fear of the blue fabric showing through a bit in the white fabric. This way the white seam stays on the white fabric, and the blue seam stays on the blue fabric.

How to sew a triangle quilt.
After ironing, keep adding more triangles. When I used a 3/8s of an inch seam allowance between my triangles, I ended up with a quarter inch seam allowance for sewing the strips of triangles together.

How to sew an isosceles triangle quilt without staggering the points.
Do you see the quarter of an inch above the tip of each triangle? That’s what you use to sew the rows of triangles together.

How to sew an isosceles triangle quilt without staggering the points.
I ended up having trouble with a good consistent seam allowance between my rows after sewing many triangles together. BUT, when I started unfolding the seams I ironed to ensure I was accurately lining up my triangles tip to tip, I solved the problem.

See what I am attempting to explain in the picture below.

In my left hand, see that the seam is unfolded? I found that if I lined up my triangles with the seams unfolded, I had better results. I folded the seam back down, though, when sewing to avoid bulky seams at all the intersections.
How to sew an isosceles triangle quilt without staggering the points.
6. Continue sewing rows of triangles. Then sew those rows together to begin making your quilt top!

This quilt gave me an even greater appreciation for all you quilters out there who can line up your corners flawlessly. πŸ™‚ You all are awesome! For me, I will continue on this artistic journey with flaws and mess ups. Let me know what method(s) you use for sewing together triangles. What’s easiest for you? I really am curious to know! I’m just beginning to learn about quilting and triangles. Please share your wisdom with me!

How to sew an isosceles triangle quilt without staggering the points.
I ended up with a lap or throw size quilt, and I am pleased with the finished project. I haven’t done a lot of work with just solids, and I have found that working with solids is teaching me more about color. This is all such a wonderful learning process for me!

How to sew an isosceles triangle quilt without staggering the points.
Be sure to link to some of your favorite triangle quilts and tutorials in the comments. I’d love to see some more!

Sewing an isosceles triangle quilt. A blue and white triangle quilt.

(Please note there are affiliate links in this post.)

17 thoughts on “My first Isosceles Triangle Quilt (Tutorial included)

  1. I want to make a quilt like this. Roughly how many triangles did you use and what is the layout. I tried counting how many is in each row but I can’t tell how many rows are somewhat folded at the bottom due to how you are holding the finished quilt. I got a triangle ruler a while back and have been looking to use it. I’ve made a couple tumbler quilts in the past and it’s roughly the same concept as a triangle.

  2. How many yards of each fabric and batting is there? Did you have it professionally quilted or did you did you do that yourself?

    Thanks!

        1. Hm. I’d guess about a yard and a half of each color would be plenty. I don’t have specifics, and it’s been so long since I made this quilt.

  3. Make sure the seam allowance is measured from the needle’s position!

    I move mine when piecing (to the middle position; I actually select my piecing stitch. My machine is computerized, so it changes everything for me) and forgot I did this and was only getting a 1/8″ left from the point to the edge of the fabrics haha. I was so frustrated. πŸ˜‚

  4. I really like your tutorial, except that I found it very hard to see clearly because all of the colors are very pale. I found the font colors pretty, but it strained my eyes. The same with the pale fabric colors. They didn’t translate well into a tutorial where it is important to focus in on the details of fabric placement.

    Your technique is simple and your quilt is beautiful, just hard to read.

    Keep up the good work!

    Denise

  5. Thank you for this excellent tutorial as usual…this gives me the courage to start my triangle quilt!! Ive only been quilting for 6 months to carry on my granmas quilt tradition as i found out none of the 40-50 grandchildren are doing this!!! I want to honor her long life in this way!! Thank you again for ALL your tutorials

    1. Hi Elizabeth, good for you to keep the quilting tradition going! It really is a beautiful handicraft. πŸ™‚ I hope you love sewing your triangle quilt!

  6. Hi!
    If I were to not sure a sheet as the backing and buy material so you know how much I would buy? I am very new at quilting and having a hard time finding tutorials for beginners and this one is the best I found!

  7. This is a GORGEOUS quilt! I think it looks like you’d been sewing triangle quilt forever!! ;-D

    1. You are so kind Patricia! I’m glad I finished it, but this was a huge challenge for me. Learning to sew with isosceles triangles was for sure a learning curve, but I’m glad I conquered it.

      Thanks for stopping by! πŸ™‚

    1. Hi Robin! Yay! I’m glad you found a quilt you liked with a tutorial you can follow. Good question you had. I didn’t mention the amount of fabric I started with. I used just under a yard for each color. I ended with a standard sized throw quilt.

      I also recommend checking out another tutorial we have for sewing with isosceles triangles. It is the more ‘standard’ way of sewing with triangles. There are pros and cons to both methods. The biggest difference are the seam allowances. Using a 3/8ths of an inch seam allowance (like mentioned above) for an entire quilt adds up to lot of fabric used just for seams.

      The other tutorial requires taking the time to line up points, but it only uses a quarter of an inch seam allowance. Just something to consider.

      Obviously I have used both methods, and they both work. πŸ™‚ There are just some advantages to each method.

      The other tutorial is found here: https://www.thewillowmarket.com/how-to-sew-with-isosceles-triangles/

      Thanks for stopping by, Robin!

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