Seven easy quilt blocks made with half-square triangles

Half-square triangles (aka HSTs) are a popular quilt unit for a good reason.

They are fun and easy to make, they can be made in many different sizes and they can be used in hundreds of different designs – both traditional and modern.

Here are seven easy quilt blocks that feature half-square triangles. Click the links to see how to make them for yourself.

Pinwheel

This classic quilt block has been popular for many years. It is normally made with just two fabrics and four half-square triangle units.

It is easy to adapt this block to different sizes. It can be use in quilts alone or along with other quilt blocks.

See how to make a pinwheel quilt block.

Shoofly

Shoofly is a traditional block that uses half-square triangles along with squares.

It can be made with the same sized pieces, such as in my Nine Patch Sampler quilt or with different sized pieces, such as this 5” version of the block.

See how to make a shoofly quilt block.

Churn dash

Churn dash is a quilt block that also goes by the name “monkey wrench”.

It is similar to the shoofly block, but it has additional bars that surround the centre square.

If you are flexible with the size of the pieces, it is easy to adjust it to any size block. This 5” churn dash block is a good example.

See how to make a churn dash quilt block.

Alaska homestead

Alaska homestead is made with the same pieces as a churn dash block, but with a different colour layout.

This three fabric block looks more complicated than it actually is.

See how to make an Alaska homestead block.

Cake stand

The cake stand quilt block has lots of different half-square triangles in different sizes.

This block can be fun to embellish with embroidery or appliqué for lots of different occasions.

See how to make a cake stand quilt block.

Friendship star

Friendship star is one of the easiest star quilt blocks to make. It is made with half-square triangles and squares. In fact, it has the same components as the shoofly block, but they are arranged differently.

This versatile block can be used in many quilt design, either alone or with other blocks.

See how to make a friendship star quilt block.

Greek cross

Greek cross is a quilt block that uses half-square triangles in pairs with squares to make arrow shapes.

This is another block that looks more complicated than it is. When you break it down, it is not hard to make.

See how to make the Greek cross quilt block.

More quilting resources

How to make half-square triangles

If you want to make your own half-square triangles, I have tutorials for six different methods.

Quilt blocks

Like quilt block tutorials? Check out my quilt block directory with over 60 block tutorials.