FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT USING CATS TEMPLATES
1. Why do my half-square triangles have a notch out of the corner?
It can be caused by cutting too much away when de-dog-earing, but is usually caused by strips that are too wide, which is the result of sewing very scant ¼” seams. Unless this notch is very large, the unit should still be usable. Sew “normal” ¼” seams to fix this issue.
2. Can I use template gripper dots on the underside of the CATS Template?
Anything that goes underneath the template makes it more difficult to butt against the thread in the seam. The thread actually does help to keep the template from wanting to shift as you are cutting, so I don’t think these are necessary.
3. What if my fabric is already cut into strips? Can I still use CATS Templates?
In order to deal with the bias correctly, just make sure that your strips are 1” wider than the finished size you are trying to make. In other words, if you are making 3” finished half-square triangles (3 ½” unfinished), your fabric strips need to be 4” wide. You’ll have to mark lots of short parallel diagonal lines and sew short seams--not as time efficient as using a more square or rectangular fabric sandwich, but doable.
If you don’t care where the bias falls, the strips need to be about as wide as the “line spacing” measurement printed on the bottom of each template. Then you’d sew seams ¼” from each edge, making a tube of fabric, and use templates to cut. Be warned that your half-square triangle units will have bias edges, which can be unwieldy, but spray starch will often tame the bias somewhat. Different quilters have different standards of what is acceptable piecing, but personally, I can’t recommend using straight grain strips like this.
4. Should I press seams open or to the side?
The recommended method would be to press the seams to the side, usually to the darker fabric side. It is fast and produces an accurate finished unit. No pre-washing or special fabric preparation is required. Be careful not to stretch each half and not to press so that a pleat (extra overlapping of fabric) is formed. Treat the bias gently.
Photo of pressing with extra fabric (bad)
Photo of pressing correctly (good)
5. My half-square triangles are way too big!!
I’ve had 2 people call me to complain about this, and they were not using the correct size template. Remember that the seam allowances are built in, so that is an extra ½”. The unit is not finished until it has seams all the way around. At least if they are cut too big, a person can always cut them down another ½” using the correct size template.
6. How do I figure out what size to use?
If you are adapting a pattern calling for half-square triangles (click to learn more about adapting other patterns), you must learn “the rule of 7/8”. To get a 2” finished-in-your-quilt-top size unit, you must allow 7/8” extra. The bias seam will subtract 3/8” from the 7/8” allowance, leaving ½” extra, which will be lost when the unit is sewn into the block or quilt top.
If you are still unsure which size to use, cut and sew a sample block. That has saved many headaches for me, and of course I learned that the hard way, after cutting flying geese too small for an entire king-sized quilt!
7. How do I achieve a scrappy look?
If you wish to achieve a scrappy look, it’s easy to cut many fabrics into similar sizes, pair them up, then mark/sew/cut.
The CATS technique works best with larger pieces of fabric, so if using scraps, consider using larger squares and rectangles rather than skinny strips.
If using strips left over from other projects, remember that seams sewn on the straight grain will give bias edged half-square triangles, which can be difficult to keep from stretching. If you don’t care where the bias falls, you can use a CATS Template next to ANY straight seam. It’s a great way to use up scraps.
I can more readily recommend using strips that are at least an inch wider than the finished half-square triangle size, marking diagonal lines and sewing bias seams. It is not as time efficient, but the resulting units will be on the straight grain and will behave ever so much better!Many scraps have a 45 degree cut, such as mitered border scraps.
These are very easy to mark parallel to the miter cut, then sew and cut.
Money back Guarantee.
You'll love CATS or return it for a full refund.
Try CATS. The new, innovative technique you'll love working with!
