Hexagons Tutorial

I am sorely tempted to just show the pictures (I was very careful and took a pic at EVERY step. :)  I think my tendency is to write too much which probably confuses rather than clarifies....but that's what I do best right? hehehe  So here goes:

Your basic Hexagon.  My template is called "Quilt Sense" and included 3 nested hexagons and a 60 degree triangle our of plexiglas.  Manufacturer's Website  You can use any size hexagon you want.  These end up (after the sewing) as 1 inch on a side....which are very tiny. :)

Take your first hexagon and mark as shown here on the right.  Those are the points where the 1/4 seam allowances meet up.  This is the secret to doing these by machine.  (The traditional method is to piece them by hand.)  You will always start and stop on points like that....never sew to the edge.  If you are worried about your estimation of this 1/4 inch, you can mark each hexagon.  I only marked the first one (and picked out a few stitches occasionally when I over shot the end mark.)

An alternate idea would be to put a piece of tape on your machine to mark the edge of the hexagon when you are supposed to stop.  After the first one you will always know where to start.  You only have to do the stopping.

I also back stitched 1 stitch on start and stop so it would hold together and not pull apart while I was getting the next pieces in to position.

Doing hexagons on the machine is very thread intensive as you take the work off the machine every time to re-orient it.  I am sure that you can chain quilt some of the steps and then put bigger pieces together, but since this is my first project with these I did them all separate.  I use cheap cone thread (1000 won at Dongdaemun) so the waste of a little thread was not too worrisome to me this time.

I didn't worry too much if I missed the mark by small amounts since my final project is going to be quilted, is fairly small and not subject to the stresses of fort building.

So this is what you should have so far.  The reason you have to stop and start 1/4 from the edge is so you can get the layers you DON'T want out of the way.

So with the "pink" folded out of the way, line up your next hexagon.  Turn it so you can see the end of the last line you sewed and start there, sewing down to your marked or estimated stopping point.

When you start adding more and more hexagons, there are more pieces that need to be kept out of the way, but just go slow and make sure you are only sewing through 2 fabrics at any given time and it WILL work. :) I promise.

See how the stitching lines make a corner where they meet up on the palm tree? That is what you want every time.  If you look really closely at the palm tree pic you can see the shadow of the pink fabric that is folded back out of the way.

Now open it up and it will look something like this....and you can probably guess which seam you need to sew next.  It is just the exact same process.  Line up the two floral prints along the edge.  Make sure the palm tree fabric is out of the way.  Start where the previous stitching ends and end where you estimate your seam allowance. :)

In the pic on the left, you can see how the palm tree will be folded in half if I hold the two floral hexagons lined up and flat.

When you open it out this is what you will see.  With "normal" quilting shapes like squares and triangles you have right angles that you can sew off the end.  When they go together they make right angles.  These Hexagons come together not in a 90 degree angle but a 120 degree one.  Whenever you have a quilt block that can't be neatly divided in to squares you can use this technique.  (Even some 90 degree angles can use this technique if you need it.)  One very well known traditional block that uses this technique is "Lone Star" . If you read down in the article it talks about how "difficult" this is and one of the reasons is THIS thing we just did.  Not difficult, more like "tricky."

Now you keep adding in rows or circles until your work reaches the desired size, or you use up your hexagons. :) It will probably curl up and not look like much at this stage. Just wait until you give it a good pressing. On mine, I pressed the seams in the directions they seemed to prefer. When you are planning to machine quilt it is less worrisome where you place your seam allowances. If you are planning to hand quilt you may wish to press the corners open to spread some of the bulk.

When the place mats were completely constructed I pressed the piece out with the seam allowances up so I could see what they were doing. Once they were behaving, I turned it over and gave it a good hot steam press and everything turned out smooth and even.


In a few days I'll take pics of the place mats and their finishing process. But until then, feel free to get started. We will swap hexagons at the April Meeting. (In my I Spy placemats I have about 120 different fabrics. The more the merrier.) k.

Prize for the "March Challenge"

We didn't get a chance to vote on the wall hangings for the March Challenge largely because many people were still working on them.  That was fine by me (as issuer of the challenge) since so many people were excited to be trying it, especially those who have little experience but a great desire to try. :) Also, I wasn't finished with the prize! heh.

So here it is.  After the April Meeting, we will post individual pictures of each finished wall hanging.  The voting will be by "comment" meaning that the one with the most comments will receive the tote bag.  You should recognize the block pocket on the front of the bag: this is the sample I made for our first ever activity.  If you want to do this with your own block (on a purchased plain tote bag) check on my personal blog for the tutorial.  (You can find a link to my blog in the "Places We like to Go" but it does make me wonder why no one has added any of their own links, whether personal blogs or resources they like....sigh!)  I will edit on a link to the instructions when I have done them.  (I didn't take pics, but it is pretty easy.)

I found a place in Dongdaemun with tote bags....the guy had "unbleached" which is a sort of off-white but is 100% cotton so can be dyed, and these black ones (which are not 100% cotton, but since my block was black.....)

So I hope everyone is busy doing something that makes them happy today.  I am. k.

March Meeting - Applique': the aftermath

Sorry I am so slow with the blog updates (I typed bog! Feels a little bit like that today.) I am going to try to make a bit of a tutorial to remind all of you how we did our machine applique' and to remind you that you need to finish your blocks so we can make one last wall hanging to go in our box to LDS Humanitarian Aid. (If you didn't finish yours there is still time. I just got the "prize" supplies and will be making it this week!)

Step 1: Choose your fabric. You need two pieces. ;)

Step 2: Iron on your Paper Backed Fusible Web.

• Your Fusible Web should be slightly smaller than your fabric (but bigger than your intended design.
• The product should be laid on the Back/Wrong Side of the fabric you want your SHAPE to be out of.  The other piece of fabric is the BACKGROUND for your block.
• Make sure the Paper side is up.  The Adhesive side is slightly rougher and a little shinier.  If you put your iron down on the adhesive you will cry and then curse profusely when you try to clean it off.  It is worth it to check several times before you start to press it! :)
• The Fusible Web should come with instructions, which you should follow.  If it doesn't, typically you need a hot iron and you want to move it slowly and evenly until the product is completely fused.
• Let it COOL before trying anything else with it.
• There are many brands of this type of product available. For quilting, choose lightweight. The heavyweight products are very stiff and will be a bit harder to work with later and won't be soft.

Step 3:  Draw your Shape on the paper attached to your fabric.

• Remember it will be backwards because you are drawing on the wrong side of your fabric.  This obviously won't matter if you are drawing circles. hehehe
• Corners and Points are harder than smooth rounded shapes for both hand and machine applique.
• You can use templates or freehand.  You can also use shapes cut directly from a large print.

Step 4: Trim your Shape.

• Do not add a Seam Allowance.
• Use very sharp Scissors.

Step 5: Peel the Paper Off.

• This can be tricky, so be patient.
• Make sure that ONLY the paper is coming off.  If the adhesive is sticking to the paper not the fabric, try pressing it again.

• This is one of the steps when points are tricky; your fabric may start to fray if you aren't careful.  A little fraying is ok, since we will be sewing over the edge.
• If you can tell your shape is trouble, you might leave a peel tab to trim off afterward so the fraying doesn't reach in to your shape.

Step 6: Place Your Trimmed Shape(s)

• Remember the seam allowance on your block.  It is okay for your shapes to run off the edge of your block when it is in your quilt, but only if you MEANT to do it that way.  
• Lay out your pieces and look at them from a distance.  
• If you want the shape in the center, measure.  It will make you crazy later if it isn't just the way you want it. :)

Step 7: Press your Piece(s) in Place

• Use a Press Cloth to keep your Iron Safe.  (Ignore the pic here. hehe)
• Follow the same instructions you did when you pressed the paper on.

Step 8: Admire your Handiwork.

Step 9: Experiment with Stitches and Thread

• Use a scrap to try lots of types of stitches and threads.  I don't recommend experimenting on your first ever block. :)
• Everyone's machine is different, as are their preferences.  Find a stitch/thread combination that appeals to you.  If you are hand stitching, look for interesting embroidery stitches that can enhance your work. 
• Match, Contrast, Use invisible thread....the choice is up to you.  (Monofilament "invisible" thread can be tricky so be sure to practice.  I have found that some brands are better than others for my tastes.  My favorite?  Sadly it is a cone thread that had the label on the plastic packaging.  I have no idea what brand it is.  Luckily it is a very full cone so it should last me a while.)
• The general idea is to cover the "raw" but fused edge of the shapes to give it strength, help it look tidy, etc.  If you are making a quilt that will be washed a LOT, this is obviously more essential than if you are making a seasonal wall hanging that will never be washed and spends most of the year packed carefully away.
• But you can still choose to be "edgy."  Many current art quilting techniques are using raw edges in interesting ways, so maybe you don't want to cover the "raw" edge....

I will try to take some pics of stitching (or you could and submit them....hehehe) to finish out our little tutorial.  Thanks to the hands of Ruth, Amber, Karen and Joanna for starring...and thanks to Joanna for taking the pics at our meeting. k.

Whole Cloth from February

Ruth

At our March meeting I was amazed at how great the whole cloth samples are turning out (that people brought to show.....post yours if you didn't bring it.)

Ruth and Liz are tied for ambition. Liz plans to dye her stars to work with her baby quilt/wall hanging project. I have all the supplies, but it will have to be on a kid free day if all of you want to try it. :) Ruth chose the tiniest design with the most motifs. Looking forward to seeing it when it is finished. (And then we will have to have a binding class I guess, eh?)

Liz

I think Nicole F (I feel like I am back in grade school, but with more than one Nicole what are we to do? hehehe) has a future in the soothing art of hand quilting. Not that I am surprised that Nicole can produce perfectly even, amazing stitches....

Amber

And Amber gets the prize for most enthusiastic as she both completed her chosen design AND requested additional fabric/batting so she could do more!?!? I am glad that everyone seemed to either enjoy the whole cloth adventures, or at least see the point. (Yes, yes I know some of you have decided to be machine quilters based on your experiences last month, but knowing that is useful too.)

Nicole F.

Watch this space for more amazing things to come! k.

Speaking of I-Spy

Kimberly talked about "I-spy" quilt blocks at today's meeting and I just came across this cute I-spy book for babies on a blog called "Obsessively Stitching." I thought you all might like it as much as I did.

March Meeting - Applique'

The March meeting will be on March 15th at my house.  Bring at least 2 pieces of your fabric (you don't need huge pieces...) a needle, thread to match and scissors.  We may also need 1 extra iron and if you want to try one of the machine applique' styles (like if you hated the hand quilting we did last time, hehehe) you should bring your machine (with thread to match of course.)  I have paper-backed fusible web for everyone to try ($1/1000 won donation to the group fund.)  Think about Shapes.

Remember you should bring your Challenge Wall-Hanging.  Don't worry if you don't have it all quilted and bound....since we haven't learned binding yet.  There is a good tutorial here: Connecting Threads on YouTube  In case you wanted to learn more about possible stitching methods, here is a blog with great info and pics: turningturning.com (watch for the group of pics of other styles!)

And now that you are here, sign in to the blog (with the sign-in information I sent you earlier by email) and either add yourself as an author or post as "Cursed Quilt."

We are cursed, by the way.  Amanda S says she can't make it because, dang it, her ultrasound is scheduled for the same morning.  Maybe she will show up late and share her news.....here's to hoping we only have HAPPY reasons people will miss the meeting this month.  (No vomiting, ER visits, car trouble, NO crisis of any kind!)  My kids are getting their sick out of the way now. :) k.