Do you really take these 41/2”-ish unfinished hst’s and trim them to 2 1/2? It seems like if you want to yield 8 2” finished hst’s you could start with 2 6” squares.

Well, Mona, that is an excellent idea; however is there a "chart" for making HST bigger than 2.5 inches? How big would you cut the squares for bigger HST???? (I do not figuring out the math!!!)

My comment is more of a question. How do you determine the size of the original squares to make a certain size HST? I just made a wall hanging that used charm squares and I got 8 2" HSTs out of 5" squares. You used a 10" square to get 8 2-1/2" HSTs. There must be a formula.

She trims them DOWN to 2 1/2 inches. She is chopping a lot of the fabric off!

The formula is add 7/8" to the finished size of the HST to get the size of the square you need to cut. Reversing the formula, and using the 'Easy Eight' layer cake method, you are cutting 5 inch squares (cut once diagonally). Subtract 7/8" from the 5 inch, leaves you with a 4 1/8" finished HST. To allow for seam allowance differences, most people trim them to 4 1/2 which gives you a 4" finished HST.

I'm thinking she could have started with a 7 inch square, to get to the 2 1/2 finished HST.

Also the 'finished' size does not include seam allowances. So her final step that said to trim them to 2 1/2" is misleading. You actually trim the HST to 3" to get a 2 1/2" finished block..

Wow, fabulous idea! Thank you for sharing that tip...this would work great for making pillows or a simple table runner. I admit there are some boundaries for the finished sizing, but your tip was for using layer cakes or for a 2-1/2 HST...so I get it. ;) If using yardage you could revert back to the traditional methods or figure out the new sizing on your own. This is just one of SO many options for HST! Brilliant in my opinion! :D Thank you!

I like to make the left/right and top/bottom cuts first. That way if my fabric jiggles when cutting, I still have the seams as a guide for the diagonal cuts. Thanks

Thank you so much for this awesome mini lesson as a newbie I can't wait to try it.