Hexie Love

Hello again! Wow, two posts in two days! (See? I'm trying hard!) This last few weeks I've been working hard on a little hexagon project, which you will see next week, I promise! As I was basting these hexies, I remembered that I haven't shown you the last hexie project I completed, a while back. It's just a small piece, 10.5" x 12.5", with no intended purpose.. it's "just because." After all, not everything needs to serve a purpose, right? Sometimes you just want to have fun working on something. In this case, I just wanted to play with this colour combination- turquoise, yellow green and purpley blue. It's  quilted with Aurifil 50 wt. thread, in a light lime green, colour #1231 which ties the colours together nicely. Straight lines passing through all the hexagon points secures them well. 

As you can see, these hexies are not sewn together in the usual way - what's known as EPP - English Paper Piecing. This technique is referred to as "modern hexagons." They are carefully applied to the background with tiny dots of glue on the back at each point, leaving a narrow space between each hexagon as they are positioned, then the quilting passes through each one to secure them in place. I love using Aleene's Fabric Fusion Permanent Fabric Adhesive for this job. It's a permanent washable nontoxic adhesive that dries clear and is flexible. It works well as the "nozzle" has a very fine tip, perfect for tiny dots of glue. Trust me, you don't want gobs of glue oozing out from behind your hexagons.

The hexies are "sized" by the measurement of one straight side - these are 3/4." The diameter, from point to point is double the side's measurement, so in this case, 1.5." You can purchase the papers, or as I do, punch your own. I have three punch sizes - 1/2", 3/4" and 1."  I like to use a paper that is not too heavy, but stiff enough to give me good sharp edges and points when the hexie is pressed. I've been using file cards (recipe cards.) With careful placement, I can get eight 3/4" hexies from one 4x6 card.



The fabric is cut larger than the paper so you have "seam allowance" to turn to the back and thread baste. Nicole at Modern Handcraft has an excellent tutorial on basting the hexagons here, just scroll down to the last video. (This one to the left shows how simply the basting is done, no knots, no double stitches needed for security. This basting is very quick and easy to pull out once the hexie is pressed and the paper removed.)
Once my hexies are all made, I give them a good pressing using Best Press, for good sharp edges and points, then the papers are removed (you can re-use them if you're careful). There is no magic foolproof method for placing them, just care, patience, and a good eye to keep the spacing fairly even. I do use a ruler edge, or a length of masking tape to keep the first row straight.
As I said, I'm finishing up another little hexie project (with smaller hexies!) and I hope to soon get to a much larger hexie project - the fabrics are all gathered and waiting... I need more hours in my day!
Have you done a hexagon project yet? Warning.. they are addictive...

Piece!
Linda

"My 2019 new years resolution is to finish all my craft projects from 2018 that I should have done in 2017, after I started them in 2016 after buying the supplies for them in 2015 with the patterns I found in 2014."  ~ Willowlane Designs.