Scrappy String Half-Square Triangle Tutorial (Foundation Paper-Pieced)

(I hate recipe posts where they tell me a whole bunch of crap before the recipe! Just give them the dadgum recipe, Lisa!)

My tutorial makes two 8 1/2" scrappy string half-square triangles.

You can make it any way you choose so that it looks like I want it to, but I thought this was a pretty fail-safe way to go about it, considering there will be a bunch of different people making blocks for my quilt. Continuity and simplicity are the keys to success here. :o)

Materials
8 1/2" piece of copy paper (x2)

10" x 10" piece of Kona (or similar) solid white fabric, cut to half-square triangles along the diagonal

Scraps of chosen colors of varying lengths and widths. (between 1" - 2 1/2" wide, varied please)

Procedure

1. Cut paper to 8 1/2" square, fold along the diagonal, and open back up again. 
   
   
2. Draw a line 1/4" from the edge of the fold line on both pieces of paper. This will be the guide-line for the white fabric and your first scrap strip (string). Set one paper square aside for the second block.
   
3. Cut the 10" piece of solid white along the diagonal, making two half-square triangles. Set one aside. 
   
   
4. Place the diagonal of the white fabric along the drawn line on the paper, then place a strip of colored fabric (14" long by chosen width), right sides together.  Pin or glue baste, and stitch 1/4" from the line/white/colored fabric edge.
        please make sure that your stitch line goes exactly through the diagonal, like bisecting the 90 degree angle at the upper left and lower right...if that makes sense! I didn't do this right on my second block and you'll see a picture of it below.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   See what I mean? I didn't make sure the first seam of the white-to-aqua strip went all the way from corner to corner. No big deal, I'll still use the block, but I just wanted to warn you to not make the same mistake I did! :o)  Also, another great reason to not trim it...I'm happy to do that. :o)
   
5. Open the strip out and press. 
   
   
   
6. Place second strip (12" by chosen width) along the raw edge of the colored strip, right sides together. Pin or glue baste, then stitch 1/4" seam along the raw edge. Open out and press. 
   
   
   Note: I experienced some shifting unless I put a small amount of glue stick glue on the paper where the newly sewn strip goes. I didn't heat-set it, just pressed it down, but it definitely helps keep that piece in place when you stitch down the next piece. And since it wasn't heat-set, the paper pulls off relatively easily. :o)
   
   
   
   
   
7.  Continue to add strips in the same manner until you get to the end of the paper square.
   
   
8. Look! Isn't it cool? :o)  (Optional) Flip it over, take your ruler and trim around the edges of the paper, so that the block is 8 1/2" x 8 1/2" square. *Please make sure that your first diagonal seam goes from corner to corner before you trim. Don't do what I did! ;o)  If you feel like leaving it untrimmed, please do. I am happy to square it up. :o)
   
   
9. Flip it over and look at your hard work!
   

   
   
10. (optional) Flip it back over and remove the papers. (or leave them, it's okay!)
    
    
11. Please make a second one!
    
    
    you can see even better how my aqua fabric didn't actually bisect the square as I had hoped it would. :o)  But it's okay...if yours does that, too, don't stress about it, I'll still use it! :o)
    

Color Palette

Please use one color per block, using one of the following colors: orange, pink, light-to-medium green, light-to-medium aqua.

Here is my inspiration quilt:

(quilt by blooming poppies)

There you go! Do you have any questions? Please send me an email. :o)

Please note: I would prefer that you not complete this block using fabric foundation piecing because I don't want the added bulk behind the colored strips. Using paper allows you to complete the block to the square specifications, but I can tear it off and there is no bulk. Thank you.