How to Make Hexagons

Tutorial Tuesday 

Today I am going to do a brief tutorial on how I make hexagons!

The Templates – 1 inch

1. I like to print my hexagons from EQ7. Here is how...

    a.  Go to new… Quilt… one patch.
    b.  I make sure the length of the patch is 1” and I add rows, width and length until the quilt measures 5.00 x 8.66 ".

    c.  Print your quilt using 1.6 for all your borders.

2.  Once I have  my printed sheet, I print the templates on hard card stock or heavy paper. I used to cut out more than one sheet at a time, but I found they weren’t very accurate so now I just cut one sheet at a time. Great TV work.

3.     After the hexagon templates have been cut out I punch a single hole in the middle (or as close to the middle as I can get). This helps when I am taking the templates out and is also an aide in basting.

Basting

1.     I usually cut my fabric on my Accuquilt Go! Using die #55011, I use the center die (3”). But if I were using fabric squares, I would use a 3-inch square and trim to fit the shape.

2.     I place my template
on the fabric and starting from the right side, I pull my knotted thread through the center of the template, (right through the punched hole,) and back through to the right side at the middle of the top edge of my template.

3.     I fold my first edge of fabric over, and the first right edge of fabric over and make a stitch on the first corner from right to left. (Of course you lefties would go to the left…) then fold next edges over to form corner and stitch again from right to left.

4.     Continue until you make the last corner and tie off!

5.     Your hexagon is basted. I have rarely needed to sew through the hexagon to baste it, and I just cut the knot at the center of the right side of my hexagon when I am ready to remove the papers. This single little stitch helps keep the template from shifting and I rarely need to pin.

Sewing hexagons together

1. Place 2 hexagons, right sides together.

2. Bury thread knot between the template and the seam allowance to make it easier to sew another hexagon to the corner.

3. using a matching thread, whip stitch the two edges together, keeping your threads tight so they are almost invisible.

Picture shows whip stitching, loosely stitched using a contrasting thread
so you could easily see the stitching.

When hexigons' are whip stitched together in matching thread and stitched tightly, the finished hexigons' should look somewhat like this