Ever since I got into quilting, I have dreamed of making a hexagon quilt. I thought it took some fancy machine work with impossible Y shaped seams. I was half right. You CAN do it that way, or you can hand sew them all together.
There’s a process called English Paper Piecing, EPP or Foundation Piecing (it gos by any of these names), where you take the pattern you want to make and have the pieces cut out of paper. You then cut out fabric larger than each piece, pin the paper to it, fold over the fabric and baste stitch (like my orange stitches shown in all of these photos). When you have enough pieces for your project or block, you then whip stitch them all together and take out the paper pieces. After all of this tedious work, you have yourself a quilt top.
There are loads of proper tutorials all over the internet. Heidi posted a tutorial and template for mini hexies this past week, and there’s a bunch on Pinterest. Plus if you search YouTube, I bet you’ll find some great instructions. Also, if you just want to start small but have an even bigger impact you could try something like Rebecca’s patchwork tote bag! (her IG feed totally made me want to start this project!)
This type of project is perfect for downtime, like watching TV, waiting at the DMV or when being a passenger on a road trip. I myself started it because I am being forced to rest a bit more. Plus it’s a quilt that I don’t have to sit at a sewing machine all day to make. My poor back needs a break from that.
I will admit now, I am NOT a strong hand sewer, and I am seriously not looking forward to whip stitching all of these together. For now I try not to think about it and just dream of what the finished quilt will look like… If I ever finish it!
I want to make a 70″ square lap quilt, and by my calculations, it is going to take 800+ hexagons to make. That’s a lot! I am able to finish around 30 a night, so if I work on it every night then it will take me a month. That’s a scary number to me btw, so I may just call it quits at 400 because I am also dreaming up a quilt that is just half hexies and the rest is solid colored gray. I guess I’ll decided when I get to the halfway point.
I’m happy I went with the 3″ size too! Because if I had done the normal 1″ size, it would have taken 2500+ hexies to finish a quilt. SCARY!!
Have any of you made one of these? Or are making one? Any helpful hints?
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I really love the limited color pallet and the huge hexies. I like that little pop of color on one of the hexagons, I hope to see more of those.
I want to do something with giant hexies and I also want to do something with teeny tiny ones. I love the potential variations!
That looks like something tedious that I would really enjoy! I love hand sewing!
My grandmother would make these really huge elaborate quilts completely by hand it just blows my mind. I can’t wait to see how yours progresses because the whole thing is just really amazing and intriguing to me. I wish I had the patience.
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I love seeing this project so much. I have a whole bin of hexes in my basement that were Ryan’s grandmother’s WIP progress. It’s what she did with all of her quilting scraps.
It’s been on my list for years to work on them but I’ve been too scared, you are getting me more brave.
Thank you!!
Hand sewing has always scared me. I can whip up anything and everything on my machine quickly and perfectly. However hand sewing usually takes so much time and I have arthritis, so it usually makes my hands hurt. The process of basting and then whip stitching these all together is easy peasy! You should totally try!!!! Plus, half the work is already done for you. :)
That is incredible! I love the combo of fabrics you’ve used. I love to sew, but don’t think I’d ever have the patience for this.
Thank you! It’s kinda one of those mindless tasks thats calming to me. I usually only work on it at night while listening and kinda watching tv. After the first two days basting, my hands kinda took over, and I think its all muscle memory now. If you can sew, you can do this!!!
What a gorgeous combination of patterns…will love seeing the finished 800 hexagon product!
Thank you! I’m actually pretty close to having all the hexagons finished. It’s crazy!