After my post yesterday, bemoaning my lack of time to work on my Charming Girls Quilt Club project, I got more questions about the blue tape on the bed of my sewing machine! What is that tape for? Why do I have blue tape on my Bernina? The blue tape isn't anything special, it is just some painter's tape my husband had out in the garage. I like using it because no matter how long you leave it in place, you can still pull it up easily without damaging the surface of whatever you stuck it on. Ok, I realize you don't want to know the details of the TAPE, but rather my purpose in using it. LOL
You place your two squares for the half square triangles under the needle, ready to sew. Instead of drawing lines down the middle of the square, you use the guide lines on the Angler when you stitch. It is easy to position the Angler perfectly because they give you a little template that you use to get it lines up perfectly in the first place. Once the Angler is positioned, you remove the template. (See the rectangular area around my presser foot and needle? Where the plastic has been cut away? That is where the template was positioned to get every thing lined up).
Notice how the top tip of the square pictured below is lined up with my quarter inch sewing foot? Notice how the bottom tip is lined up with the right hand guide line of the Angler 2? (I put some extra tape there as well to make it show up more). The method is that you stitch along, constantly keeping your eye on that bottom tip and making sure it stays right on the line. You will have perfectly straight stitching lines every time. When you get to the end, just flip your square around 180 degrees and repeat the process for your second stitching line. When you are finished, just cut between your two sewn lines as usual and you will have two half square triangle units. You can still chain stitch tons of them just like you do with other methods.
It really is a fabulous product. I understand that there are other manufacturers with similar products out now, but this is the only one I have ever used.
Below, I have re-posted something from a couple of years ago where I raved about this product.
For my Carrie Nelson class project "Jellystone", I have been making half square triangles. A lot of them. Around 300 to be exact. The method we used in class was the traditional way of drawing a line from corner to corner on a light background square, sewing a quarter inch on each side of the line, then cutting on the line to get your two half square triangles.
That means you have to draw a lot of lines to get 300 half square triangles. I get bored drawing lines, and want to just get to the sewing part. You may notice that my square in the picture above has no line drawn on it, yet the stitching looks pretty good, yes? I am about to share a little secret with you. It is called the Angler Two.
This little gizmo is a miracle. You just line it up and tape it to the throat plate of your sewing machine, and line the corners of your square up with the proper line and sew away. You can use this for making half square triangles, flying geese, snowball blocks, you name it. It is a huge time saver, and I really recommend it. How accurate is it? I will show you.
Here is a finished half square triangle made with the Angler Two attachment. And below is the square lined up with my 2 1/2 inch square ruler:
I LOVE the Angler Two! You still have to trim off your dog ears from all your squares though. If only they would come up way for us to skip that step...
I love my Angler 2 as well...I know several quilters who love it like I do...and others who don't like it at all...but not a week goes by that I don't use mine...and I'd definitely be using it if I were making 300 half-square triangles!
Posted by: sherri | July 30, 2009 at 08:44 AM
That is brilliant! I have never heard of that before, but I could see it would come in handy all of the time. I am totally buying one. Feel free to share any other gadgets you love!
And I am sorry you’ve had such a hectic schedule and can’t relax, I hope you get to soon.
Posted by: Heather | July 30, 2009 at 09:27 AM
I have the Clearly Perfect Angles, but I have not used it yet. Looks like it is a great product.
Posted by: Jocelyn | July 30, 2009 at 09:35 AM
I have the Angler 2 also, and I, too, just love it. I keep it close so I can grab, install and stitch.
Posted by: paula.thequilter | July 30, 2009 at 09:38 AM
Have you ever used the ruler by Quilt in a DAy called the Square up Ruler? It squares up the half square triangle before you press the seam open..
http://www.quiltinaday.com/shoponline/rulers_display.asp?i=2094
Posted by: Vickie E | July 30, 2009 at 10:14 AM
oops this is the correct link...
http://www.quiltinaday.com/shoponline/rulers_display.asp?i=1087&page=
Posted by: Vickie E | July 30, 2009 at 10:24 AM
Now that is a LOT of dog ears.
Thanks for the tip, I will have to buy one on my next LQS trip.
Posted by: Sandy | July 30, 2009 at 11:10 AM
Thanks for posting about that, I'm going to get one of those!
Posted by: Jeanette | July 30, 2009 at 02:35 PM
Ahh...all you had to say was, "the tape holds down my Angler 2" !! I've had an Angler 2 in it's original package, un-opened for 6 years now. Thought I just had to have it; then I listened to the nay-sayers that didn't like the gadget one bit, and never bothered to check it out for myself to see if I liked it. Now I'm going to listen to you and un-wrap the little helper and go to town. Thanks for a wonderful explanation/tutorial of the
"how-to's".
Posted by: Debbie Myers | July 30, 2009 at 03:23 PM
Ooops, one more question...Do you leave the Angler 2 on your machine all the time when you're sewing? Or do you take it off when you're doing "regular" sewing, only putting it on when when you're sewing mountains of half-square triangles??
Posted by: Debbie Myers | July 30, 2009 at 03:47 PM
Ok I broke down and order one. I thought about it last time you mentioned it, but if you still love it, and Lord know I need help with accuracy.
Here's hoping.
Posted by: Cara | July 30, 2009 at 03:53 PM
I love using the Angler (not sure if mine is a 2, though). It's very old. We really should put our heads together and develop a contraption to snip off the dog ears. All at the same time, of course. I'm imagining a container that you could throw all of them in and shake it like a martini! I think my idea is going to need a little work.
Posted by: Magnolia Bay Quilts | July 30, 2009 at 06:34 PM
I bought an Angler 2 after you mentioned it several months ago. Haven't used it yet, but I think there are some HST on a new quilt I just started (wouldn't want to read the instructions too far ahead, you know).
I think you could sell ice to an Eskimo, as they say. I can't tell you how many pattern books I've purchased used online after you rave about them. And I haven't been disappointed yet!
Posted by: Jane | July 30, 2009 at 07:14 PM
So do you have to tape that on like that each time you want to use it? It seriously won't stay without all that tape? I have looked at this product online but never could decide if I needed it or not.
Posted by: CJ | July 30, 2009 at 07:16 PM
I knew someone once that kept all her little snipped off dog ears in a jar! Why oh, why! Wouldn't our great grandmothers be so jealous of all the neat contraptions we have to use when we quilt. What would we do without our rotary blades for one thing. I have th clearly perfect angles like was mentioned above. I haven't used it yet, but I got it because there was no taping involved.
Thank you for the demo. It's a good refresher for us old timers and there are a lot of new quilters out there that haven't seen some of the tricks of the trade.
Posted by: Jean | July 30, 2009 at 09:16 PM
Okay, I can see the Angler 2 lines now. I have that also but it is sort of a pain to use. When I was using it a lot, I set it up on one machine just for that sewing and used another machine for the "regular" sewing. If I was making lots of HSTs that needed to be true, for sure I'd set it up again. Thanks for the reminder about it.
Posted by: Christine Thomas | July 30, 2009 at 10:47 PM
Brilliant!! I have never seen the Angler 2 before. Thanks for posting about it.
Posted by: Miriam | July 31, 2009 at 03:41 AM
I love my Angler 2, I've been using it for years. Glad to hear I'm not te only one. It really is a great tool. I like the idea of using the painter's tape. I hate the residue left by regular tape. I always learn a little something from you. Thanks.
Posted by: Belva | July 31, 2009 at 04:57 AM
I've looked at the Angler at my LQS several times, but didn't think it was something I would actually use. Your testimonial may encourage me to give it a shot. Who knows? I could turn into a loyal follower. We could start an Angler Club. No boys allowed.
Posted by: Allyson in Alaska | July 31, 2009 at 06:22 PM
I love my Anger 1 and 2. I'll have to use painters tape. I never thought of that.
Posted by: Amanda | August 01, 2009 at 11:07 AM
I like the Angler 2 also. Haven't used it for a long time though...I miss it! Better think of a new project so I can use it!
Posted by: Kathy Wagner | August 01, 2009 at 06:21 PM
Ah, the memories. My mother, who was not a quilter but an avid seamstress, used to use that blue tape for EVERYTHING. She passed away about a year and a half ago, and you wouldn't believe the amount of blue tape I picked off of things: light switches, window frames, sewing equipment, and rooms she meant to paint but never got around to. Trust me, if you leave blue tape on something for a few years, it does indeed become hard to remove. But I get warm fuzzy memories whenever I use it, anyway. :)
Posted by: Pam Kock | August 12, 2009 at 01:02 AM