😍 Have you seen the gorgeous palettes being shared on Instagram with #begoniaquilt? Visions of spring are coming early this year! If you haven’t started yet, it’s not too late to join in on the fun.

Grab whatever you need to get in the zone and find your Triangle Groove – This month we begin making our HSTs.

Most of the HST fabric combos for Begonia are in increments of 8, making it a great opportunity to use the 8-at-a-Time HST assembly method. Or as I like to abbrev it: 8aaT. However, four of the combos are not in an increment of 8, yielding a total of (16) extra HSTs. When this happens, go ahead and set those extra pieces aside for another project or to piece into your quilt back.

This month we only need (4) of the Fabric 1+8 HSTs. Even though we will be using more Fabric 1+8 HSTs in coming months, they are all in increments of 8 so you will still end up with 4 extra at the end.

Below is a quick little tutorial covering the basic steps for making HSTs 8aaT. If you need a little more help, there are countless online tutorials for this method – Share your favorites with everyone in the comments below!

8-at-a-Time Half-Square Triangles

Step 1: Pair 7.75″ Squares for the fabric combos needed. On the wrong side of the top square, draw a diagonal line from corner to corner in both directions.

Step 2: Sew a scant* 1/4″ seam on both sides of both diagonal lines.

Step 3: Cut the squares in half horizontally and vertically.

Step 4: Then cut the squares along the marked diagonal lines.

Step 5: Press seams open, or to the side of the darker fabric.

Step 6: Trim to 3.5″x 3.5″.

*A scant 1/4″ seam is when you sew slightly inside the 1/4″ line. I like to do this when I’m going to be trimming my pieces to size because it gives a little extra wiggle room.
If you want even more wiggle room for trimming, you could sew 3/16″ or 1/8″ seams. As long as your HSTs end up 3.5″x 3.5″, it won’t matter what size your seams are.