Hexies are everywhere in the quilting world. While certainly not a new idea, the Modern Quilt Movement has breathed new life into this time-honored little patch.
Grandmother's Flower Garden would stand up and cheer, seeing all the innovative ways these six sided scraps are being used. So, when our local Modern Quilt Guild challenged us with this lovely Allison Glass print, I thought a rainbow of hexies would mix nicely with it!
Most quilters are familiar with the English Paper Piecing method of wrapping fabric around hexagon papers, hand basting the fabric from the back side to hold it to the paper. The hexagons are then stitched together by hand. But I wanted to individually applique´my hexagons around Allison's circular rainbow, and I wanted to skip the hand basting. So, here is my no-baste method of making hexagons:
For this method, I use a spray starch alternative. My favorite is a product called 'Flatter'. It has no fabric protectants, no starch, is plant derived and non-toxic. Spray a small amount into a dish and get a paint brush handy. Center a hexagon paper on the wrong side of your hexagon fabric (I cut it into shape by holding the paper on top of the fabric and roughly cut a hexagon shape around it, leaving a good 1/4" seam allowance around the edges of the paper. (First photo.)
Next, using the paint brush, lightly brush 'Flatter' onto the seam allowance of the fabric. Let it soak into the seam allowance of the fabric, making sure the area that will fold over the paper edge is wet. (Center photo.)
Press all six edges over the paper, working around the hexagon one side at a time. (Third photo.)
The first photo, above, shows all six sides crisply pressed toward the back side of the hexie. The second photo shows the hexie from the front side. Press well.
The last step is to pin in place on your background fabric. I found the 'Flatter' spray starch made the fabric crisp enough to remove the paper before stitching to the background. I just pinned in place and hand stitched the folded edge of the hexagon to the background (machine stitching with your favorite method would also be nice). Alternately, you may leave the papers inside for this step; after the hexie is stitched in place, make a slit in the background fabric (underneath the hexie) and slip the paper out.
I'll show you the finished project in my next blog post, so please visit again on Friday!
Thanks for stopping by. Happy sewing and God bless! Maxie
