How to prepare the triangles for the Strudel quilt

Knowing how to prepare the triangles for the Strudel quilt is a pretty important part of the pattern, so I’m sharing a video tutorial that walks you through the process step-by-step. It’s not a difficult process by any means, but I do explain why it’s important to do it the way I show you, so I hope you watch it!

I know it’s been a while since I released my Strudel quilt pattern, but since I’ve finally got a bit more time on my hands now that the kids are all at school I wanted to create some video tutorials to accompany my patterns for anyone who might appreciate a bit of hand-holding through the making process.

I haven’t delved into the whole quilt-along/sew-along scenario yet – and to be honest, I’m not sure I want to. What do you think about sew-alongs? I’ve never actually participated in one myself. Everywhere I look there’s some form of a sew-along happening and I think we might all be a bit sew-along’ed out, maybe? Or is that just me? Tell me what you think in the comments – I’m keen to hear other opinions on the positives and negatives of sew-alongs.

How to prepare triangles for the Strudel quilt

One main thing to remember!

There is one main thing to remember when preparing the Strudel triangles. And this one thing WILL actually impact your finished quilt, so listen up!

The one thing to remember is to cut your triangles so that one side of each triangle is cut along the lengthwise grain of the fabric SO THAT IT DOESN’T STRETCH.

Because of the angles in triangles there will be at least two sides of each triangle (depending on how you cut it) that are cut on the bias and therefore stretchy. This stretch is something that quilters overcome by using starch and not playing around too much with the fabric once it has been cut. Unfortunately, no amount of starch will prevent your triangles from stretching in the Strudel quilt because of the way it is pieced together. (In saying that, please don’t NOT use starch – I highly recommend it, but don’t expect it to save you if you don’t follow these instructions!)

In the Strudel quilt, incorrectly piecing the triangles into the quilt top will cause problems with the finished quilt top – specifically, the left and right sides of the finished quilt will stretch which will then lead to problems when basting and quilting the finished top.

By ensuring one side of each triangle is cut on the lengthwise (non-stretchy) grain of the fabric, this straight, non-stretchy edge will make up the left and right sides of the finished quilt once it has been strip-pieced together and the lack of stretch in the edge of each triangle will ensure that the sides of your quilt stay nice and straight.

Also, consider fabric direction…

As I said above, the triangles in the Strudel quilt form the left and right sides of the quilt top when it is pieced together. Because of this it is important to consider whether the fabric you are using is directional or non-directional.

If the fabric is directional, you will need to consider how you cut your triangles from your fabric.

For example, if you lay your directional fabric right side up in front of you (so that the pattern travels correctly across to the right and down), you will need to make sure that the straight side of the triangle is to your left when cutting triangles for the left side of the quilt.

To cut the triangles for the right side, simply rotate the triangle template so that the straight side is to your right and continue.

This is explained in the video, but I thought it wise to mention it here too.