Fig 2 Designtriangleswithandblockscorneron-pointtriangleswithneededsettingFig (^1) Examplesofblocksturnedon-pointwithcornertriangles
66 Joinusatwww.todaysquilter.com
ESSENTIALGUIDE lon-pointsettings
SharonKeightley’sVintageNine-
Patchquiltshowshoweffectivea
classicblockcanbewhenarranged
onpoint.A Nine-Patchblockis easy
tomakeand,whenarrangedon
pointlikethis,producesstronglines
verticallyandhorizontallythrough
thequilt.Thediagonalsashingand
cornerstones,coupledwithcarefully
placeddarksquaresin theNine-
Patchblocks,enhancethelinear
look.Thiselegantquiltappearedin
Issue 38 ofToday’sQuilter
ON-POINT
ARRANGEMENTS
T
here are times in patchwork when we want a block or a
quilt design to be ‘on point’ – that is, turned 45-degrees so
the corners are pointing north, south, east and west. This
sort of on-point arrangement is achieved by adding triangles. Fig 1
shows three blocks treated this way. Any block can be arranged on
point. This not only gives a new look to the block, but increases the
size overall. A whole quilt design can also be presented on point
and in this case, two different triangles are needed – a ‘setting’
triangle, to fill in the edges of the design, and a ‘corner’ triangle,
to fill in at the corners (Fig 2). In this article, we will look at the
maths involved in basic on-point arrangements and also the sewing
techniques needed to achieve them. In a future article we will look
at more complex arrangements, using sashing and pieced triangles.
Single block in
straight format
Multipleblocksturned45 degrees
tobeonpoint
Setting
triangle
Corner
triangle
Setting
square
lock
on int
TRIANGLES
FOR ON-POINT
SETTINGS
As you can see in Fig 1 and Fig 2, triangles
are essential to achieving an on-point setting
because they have to frame the block. As soon
as a block is turned on point, its horizontal
and vertical measurement will change, as the
block is now being measured along its diagonal.
Understanding diagonal measurements is crucial
when planning on-point settings, especially if
you want to design your own quilts. So, when
calculating the cut sizes for setting triangles and
corner triangles, you need to know the diagonal
measurement of the square block or unit.