Midnight Circus: December Quarter Square Triangle Units

vafibrearts
Dec 2, 2025
4 min read

Hello Friends and Happy December!

The last few weeks have been a mess of alternating weather patterns, bouncing between snow and sun, wind and rain, then back through it all again!

But now that December has arrived, we seem to have settled into snow season, and with lots of time to spare before Winter officially arrives in a few weeks!

Of course, December's arrival also brings us one step closer to completing our Midnight Circus quilts! Let's take a look at the new units!

December Units

Last month was quite a bit of work with so many Flying Goose units to make, so this month, we'll be slowing down a little and making just a few Quarter Square Triangle units!

Quarter Square Triangles are another very common quilting unit, and are sometimes know by another name; Hourglass units. Regardless of what you prefer to call them, these units are made using two triangles each of fabrics A and E, pieced with their right angles meeting in the centre to form a square unit!

To make these units, you can follow instructions for patchwork piecing using templates, or two at a time construction. Test both methods on scrap fabric to decide which you prefer before cutting into your project fabric!

Note that if you are making the small quilt, you will not need to make any units this month.

Pattern Notes

pattern assumes 44" usable width of fabric (WoF)
sew all seams using a ¼” seam allowance
press each seam before sewing the next and before trimming units
read all pattern instructions and notes before beginning to piece
optional printable templates can be downloaded here:

Patchwork Pieced Quarter Square Triangle Units

This method makes one unit at a time using smaller pieces, accommodating the use of fabric scraps and remnants.

Pieces are cut using printable templates.

Cutting Instructions

Cut the pieces that correspond to your chosen quilt size.

Single Quarter Square Triangle Unit:

Fabric A - 2 medium triangles

Fabric E - 2 medium triangles

Small Quilt:

No units required

Medium Quilt:

Fabric A - 8 medium triangles

Fabric E - 8 medium triangles

Large Quilt:

Fabric A - 32 medium triangles

Fabric E - 32 medium triangles

Piecing Instructions

Select one medium triangle each of fabrics A and E. Place them right sides together and sew along one short side to make a large pieced triangle.

Repeat with the remaining medium triangles of fabrics A and E, making two identical large pieced triangles.

Place the two pieced triangles right sides together with the seams aligned. Sew along the long side.

Trim the finished Quarter Square Triangle unit to 4½” square.

For a medium quilt, make 4.

For a large quilt, make 16.

Two at a Time Quarter Square Triangle Unit

This method makes multiple units at a time using large squares of fabric, requires yardage or large fabric remnants.

Pieces are cut using quilting rulers.

Cutting Instructions

Cut the pieces that correspond to your chosen quilt size.

Two Quarter Square Triangle Units:

Fabric A - 1 squares at 5½”

Fabric E - 1 squares at 5½”

Small Quilt:

No units required

Medium Quilt:

Fabric A - 2 squares at 5½”

Fabric E - 2 squares at 5½”

Large Quilt:

Fabric A - 8 squares at 5½”

Fabric E - 8 squares at 5½”

Piecing Instrcutions

Select one square each of fabrics A and E. Draw a 45° diagonal line on the back of one of the squares, running from corner to corner.

Place the two squares right sides together with the drawn line facing up. Sew ¼” to either side of the line.

Cut along the drawn line to separate into two half square triangles.

Trim to 5" square.

Draw a 45° diagonal line on the back of one half square triangle, running from the fabric A corner to the fabric E corner.

Place the two half square triangles right sides together with the seams aligned and the two matching fabrics on opposite sides. Sew ¼” to either side of the line.

Cut along the drawn line to separate into two units.

Trim the finished Quarter Square Triangle units to 4½” square.

For a medium quilt, make 4.

For a large quilt, make 16.

Download the full instructions for both the patchwork pieced and two at a time methods, as well as a few additional tips, here:

Midnight Circus Sample Quilt

Since last month, I haven't made a tonne of progress on the quilting of my Midnight Circus sample, but I have made a little!

I've changed my plan for background quilting to a less complicated, uneven matchstick design and have started quilting it in a few small background areas! I still have a few thread ends to bury, but I'm much happier with this design than the previous one!

Once those areas were quilted, I was ready to add some more blocks to my quilt!

I pieced on the next row of blocks, batting, and backing fabric yesterday and am excited to expand the quilting soon!

The next step will be to fill in the quilting in the sashing areas around the new star block. I might do a little of the quilting on the block itself too, but won't want to get too close to the outer edges, since that will make it difficult to piece the corner and borders on later.

Friends, thank you all so much for joining me for another month of the Midnight Circus!

Please continue sharing updates of your piecing progress with me in the comments below, by email, or by tagging your posts elsewhere with #midnightcircusquilt so I can find them!

I look forward to seeing your Quarter Square Triangles come together and to seeing you again on 06 January for the next unit!