So How Did I...?

 

You're probably wondering how did I cut down the long triangles from the template (on the right) to the smaller size on the right. I mean, I'm sure you know how I did it, but let me tell you how I did it EFFICIENTLY. 

Because we all know I don't mind working hard, I just don't like working STUPID.

For this design I'd need over 250 left leaning right triangles. And they had to lean in the correct direction or I couldn't use them. I knew I sure as hell wasn't going to cut them one at a time.

I wanted to cut my traingles 8-1/2" tall, so putting a piece of painter's tape near that line would help me, but I'd need more than that.

I figured I could get two triangles out of a rectangle of fabric, but how big would the rectangle be? 8-1/2" was one dimension, but I needed the other, so I placed two properly cut triangles on my worktable and measured. It was somewhere between 5 inches and 5-1/4 inches. That was good enough for me. So I cut my WOF strips 5-1/4" wide.

Then I taped a 6" ruler to a 2-1/2" one and subcut my strips into two 5-1/4" x 8-1/2" pieces. This meant I had FOUR of each (because WOF = two layers of fabric.)

Next I flipped one piece over so both rectangles were wrong side up. I aligned the edges so one rectangle was perfectly sitting atop the other.

Next I lined up the top and left edges of the fabric with the top edge on the ruler and the 8-1/2" line, which I marked with the blue painter's tape so there would be no confusion. I cut along the long edge of the triangle, pulled the other pieces of fabric out of the way slightly and trimmed the corners.

Then I rotated the ruler, matched up the edges and cut the next piece.

Worked like a charm.

After that all I had to do was sew them up.

You know, "all."

***Now, I because I wanted my triangles leaning to the left, and because I wanted the template to face UP (I find templates slipperier if you turn them upside down), I had to cut my fabric from the wrong side. If I had wanted them facing the other direction, I would have arranged the fabrics right side up.