Stop Searching! 25 FREE Patterns to Make Beautiful Half-Square Triangle Quilts
Half square triangles (HST) are one of the most versatile quilt pieces that you can sew! Once you get the hang of this simple technique, a world of amazing quilt designs opens up to you. With a little practice, you’ll master the confidence of cutting and piecing these little triangles and be ready to sew beautiful designs with ease.
Each quilt pattern is completely free, and uses HSTs in different ways. There are several tips and trick for sewing half square triangles; I’m sure you’ll find your favorite technique as you get going. You’ll find over 30 beautiful designs here, giving you plenty of inspiration to practice and transform your fabric into a stunning quilt!
Half Square Triangle (HST) Tips
Here is a helpful post for HST tips and tricks if you prefer to get some useful information before tackling the task.
Pro Tip: If you are looking for a shortcut option, the Accuquilt fabric cutter is a game changer! HST pieces that have been cut using an Accuquilt sew together faster and more accurately than anything else. No rulers or rotary cutter needed!
Most of the quilts below are Accuquilt friendly, which means I wrote the patterns to show how to cut your fabric with the dyes. Each pattern also includes other shortcut methods for sewing half square triangles as well. See all my Accuquilt friendly quilts.
These free quilt patterns (all free, with step-by-step photo tutorials) are an especially great way to use up scraps, coordinating fabric bundles, or fabric yardage.
Coming in 2026! Hourglass Puzzle Quilt
The free quilt pattern for this gorgeous quilt will be released after April of 2026, but it is available now as the October sewing challenge on our new sewing community app, The SewCanShe Sewing Bee Community. I would love for you to join us there!
It’s free to become a member, and it’s the perfect place to find belonging in the sewing world. Among other activities, members are invited to showcase their creations, providing inspiration and fostering a sense of camaraderie. Come see where you fit in!
Level Up Your Quilting!
If you love the patterns on this blog, you'll love the SewCanShe Sewing Bee. This isn't just a group—it's your dedicated space for live workshops, exclusive patterns, premium video content, and the inspiration you need to finally tackle that project. Join the Bee and start making something beautiful!
Friendship Star Mini Quilt
I designed this mini to be the first one in my Monthly Mini Quilts series, and I’m calling it the ‘Friendship Mini’ because there’s a classic mini Friendship Star in the middle.
If you’ve never made a quilt before, this is a great one to start with. All you will need is 16 HST units and 9 squares.
Bear Paw Quilt Pattern
This free quilt pattern with half-square triangles and squares on point is perfect for the fall and winter seasons. The Bear’s Paw quilt mainly uses the Art Square block and HSTs. Sew a few for your next log cabin vacation!
Summer Snowflake
The Summer Snowflake Quilt Pattern combines a pinwheel block and a star block to make a quilt that sparkles and shines! I made a special printable mat (and a short video) to help you layout your quilt blocks perfectly every time.
Big Star HST
How big can a star quilt get? It’s up to you with my free Big Star Quilt Pattern. I used huge 8” half square triangle blocks so the quilt above finished at 64” x 64”. However, this pattern is easy to adjust and make other sizes too. The diagonal lines in this quilt add exciting movement and give you lots of fun shapes to quilt.
Pro Tip: For a different look, use a contrasting print for the background fabric.
Scrappy HSTs
My darling Scrappy HST Baby or Lap Quilt is the perfect use for coordinating scraps that you have left over from a fat quarter project. That’s exactly why I made it!
The finished 34 1/2” x 46” size can easily be quilted on a regular sewing machine, and this design is easy to adjust larger if you want to make it for your bed or sofa; just keep adding blocks.
Giant Star Picnic Quilt
The blocks on the Giant Star quilt, by Laura, are so big that it comes together super fast! Pinwheel in the middle and star points on the outside are a recipe for a perfect picnic quilt.
Five Patch Star
Make a traditional quilt block design look modern with the exciting 5 Patch Star Quilt Pattern. I sewed scrappy half square triangles cut from blue yardage throughout my stash. The Five Patch Star is my favorite picnic quilt!
Bonus: Even though I used my Accuquilt to cut the pieces right sides together (a great time saver), this tutorial shows the 2-at-a-time HST method with a line drawn on half the squares.
Criss Cross by: Nadra Ridgeway
Here’s my Criss Cross mini quilt. I absolutely love it! Nadra’s instructions are excellent so whether you choose soft colors (like she did) or bright ones like mine – I know you’ll love yours too. Finished size is 12½” x 12½”
Spools and Stars
Don’t you love the fabric I used on the Spools and Stars quilt? What colors will you use?
You only have to sew one block to make both the spools and the sawtooth stars which I consider a bonus. I love to play with different blocks to see what other shapes emerge. It finishes at 47” x 57”.
Friendship Star
The Friendship Star Block is a beloved favorite the world over! Sew a throw sized Friendship Star Quilt using this popular layout. The original design uses only 4 different fabrics, but you can use scrappy triangles to make it even more fun.
Mini HST Heart
Show love any time of the year with a darling HST Heart Quilt wall hanging. This pattern is also so easy to customize and make larger or smaller depending on the size of half square triangles that you sew. I love scrappy quilts like this! Tag me on Instagram @sewcanshe to show me what you did with your scrappy heart!
Child’s Play Baby Quilt
Play with half square triangles in a fun way as you sew up the Child’s Play Baby Quilt Pattern. Everything you need to know to make this 42” square baby quilt is included in the blog post.
Fat Quarter Fancy Star Quilt
My Fat Quarter Fancy Star Quilt Pattern is perfect for 16 fat quarters or a pile of scraps! It is made up of simple 4-patch blocks with squares and half square triangles. Plus, in this pattern, I’ll show you 3 amazingly different ways to arrange your blocks – all with stars! With a simple 4” border, this queen size quilt is 88” x 88”. You can leave the border off if you like for a quilt that is 80” x 80”.
Adalee’s Garden
Adalee’s Garden uses small panels and Shoofly Blocks in a precious design. Half Square Triangles add the colorful elements in an interesting way. I hope you enjoy sewing this beautiful quilt. The quilt finishes at 55″ square.
Charm Square Spools
What do you get when you combine black and white HSTs with a charm square bundle? The Charm Square Spool Quilt! This amazing quilt will turn out scrappy looking whether you use a charm square bundle or simply cut a bunch of 5” squares from your scrap bin. Finished quilt size: 71” x 71”.
Bonus: If you use the precut charm squares you won’t need a square ruler! (But I love having them in lots of sizes anyway.)
Tumbling Pineapples
Have you ever seen a scrappy pineapple? My Pineapple Fruit Quilt has bright summer pineapples made from leftover fabric scraps. I love how this turned out, and so do my friends! You can use what ever colors of scraps you like for your scrappy hst quilt. Tag me on Instagram @sewcanshe to show me how you made your pineapples.
Little Trees
Scrappy HSTs turn into a forest of trees in my Little Trees Quilt. It’s a great beginner quilt, and you can gift or display it for any occasion regardless of the colors you use!
This quilt pattern uses big blocks for fast piecing; I love a good shortcut and sometimes you just need to get it finished.
Fussy Cut Stars
Fussy Cut Stars quilt is a sweet design; I would sew it into a darling baby shower gift. Friendship Stars frame out small print elements and make for a fun and exciting project by Riley Blake Designs. The finished quilt is 55″ square.
Note: Fussy cut means you pick a specific graphic on your fabric and cut it out (even if it’s right smack in the middle of your material). That way you can make it into a focal point in each quilt block.
Four Modern HST Quilt Designs
Note: This quilt design is a Four-in-One; it’s like a BoGo but better!
You’ll love how quickly you finish making these Modern HST Quilts. The diagonal seams will be easy when you sew the hst units two at a time. You can easily adapt this pattern to make quilts in different sizes too. My pattern is written for a 60″ square quilt using 12.5″ half square triangle blocks.
Sailing Away
My oldest son loves sailboats, and I had so much fun with the ocean part of this quilt. I’m excited to share it with you!
Sew an adorable modern baby quilt with sailboat blocks and a gorgeous ocean pieced with quarter square triangles! This easy baby quilt pattern includes tips for sewing fast and easy HSTs and quarter square triangles.
Kitchen Sink Quilt Pattern
The Kitchen Sink Quilt Pattern was a block-of-the-month quilt, and now all of the blocks are available! Get the first part of the Kitchen Sink Quilt Pattern and enjoy sewing a new block as often as you like.
Le Buddies!
When I took Nikki to her first quilt retreat, I tossed this to her and cheerfully declared, “Le Buddies! It’s my new car quilt.” It really is a perfect size for a car-ride lap quilt, and we had a lot of fun at our retreat.
Here is the free pattern to add a border and stars to any panel to make it into a usable (and fun) quilt.
Helpful HST Articles You’ll Also Love:
- How to print foundation paper for perfectly accurate HST’s (free printable)
- How to sew half square triangles two at a time using the drawn line shortcut method
- How to make Flying Geese (another shortcut method)
More from SewCanShe:
35 Fabulous Fat Quarter Quilt Patterns: All Free
3 Yard Magic: 30 Easy 3-Yard Quilts to Sew with Free Patterns!
45 Easy Quilt Patterns That Are Perfect For Beginners: All Free
Disclosure: some of my posts contain affiliate links. If you purchase something through one of those links I may receive a small commission, so thank you for supporting SewCanShe when you shop! All of the opinions are my own and I only suggest products that I actually use. 🙂