This week is MY week of hexagons. I have cut up 3 different hexagon quilts, one of them is for a custom order you will see in this post. Very scrappy. Two more to come soon, one will be a new pattern.
I’ve been asked for a tutorial and pattern details for this hexagon quilt that uses half hexies. This will be a LONG post, so let’s get right to it. No history this time.
I am NOT in to spending money on rulers I don’t use. I’ve made that mistake before, maybe more than once. Now I only buy rulers I know I’m going to use and this baby below is one of my favorite rulers.
And it’s essentially multiple rulers in one, which I think we will agree is a big uber plus. With this ruler you can make 4 different size hexagons and 4 different size equilateral triangles. There is also some other shapes (a jewel) that I haven’t even explored yet.
I’m too stuck on the hexies.
Find the ruler here. You will need it for this pattern.
Time out from the tutorial for just a second. I just discovered True Grips. They keep your ruler from slipping. Mine tends to slip sometimes towards the end of what I’m cutting and it drives me bananas, so I gave these a try. They are not expensive. So far so good. And no more slipping has occurred.
Ok, now back to the tutorial.
In this tutorial we are going to be using the 8.5″ hexagons. Big, big, jumbo hexies!
For that size, you will cut a strip of fabric that is 4.5″ x WOF (width of fabric).
With your selvedge on your left, line up the solid line that runs down the middle of the Hex n More ruler with the bottom edge of your fabric. Line the top of your fabric with the top of the ruler.
Note the little notches. Don’t forget to cut those. They’ll come in handy when we start piecing.
Now, flip your fabric upside down AND over so that the part of the fabric you just cut is now on your left. Line up the ruler exactly the way you did before, except this time along with the top and bottom, you will line up the left side.
Make the cut on the right. See the picture below for reference.
You can get 4 half hexies in a single WOF strip 42/44″ long.
The graph below will tell you how many 4.5″ strips you need to cut to get the size quilt you want. There are 5 different size quilts to choose from.
Remember to cut each strip of fabric into 4 half hexies.
For layout purposes only, think of your hexagons as a whole instead of halves.
For example, if you were making the crib size hexagon quilt, pick up two matching half hexies and lay them on your design wall as one. The crib size needs 5 hexagons across. Notice also, that when you lay them out that you also stagger them. Like the image below.
You will have holes along the top and bottom once all your hexagons are laid out in the correct number of rows across and down. Fill these holes with half hexies that you should have leftover.
With all your hexies laid out correctly, once again think of them as half hexies. You will piece them by rows just as you piece a regular patchwork quilt. One half hexie at a time.
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Piecing half hexies is a little awkward at first, but once you find your rhythm it’s just like any other quilt.
Remember those notches? Here is where they come into play and make your piecing a thousand times easier.
If you have ever pieced an equilateral triangle quilt without notches you know what I’m referring to. If not, consider yourself lucky that you didn’t have to learn the hard way.
Place the half hexie on your right on top of the hexie on your left like the pic above. Lining up the two sides you want to sew together.
Match your notches up.
You have three straight lines to match up: where your seam will be, the top notch to the top of your left hexie and your bottom notch to the bottom of your left hexie. Note the pictures.
Sew along the straight edge where the arrow is below.
You should end up with a piece that looks like the image below.
Finish all your rows the same way.
Alternate the direction you press your seams in per row.
Then, piece your rows together. I like to start from the bottom and work my way up to the top. I pin the seams to make sure they match up.
So your top and bottom edge of your quilt should be nice and straight, your sides however, will be ziggity zaggity. Feel free to keep your quilt just like that. However if you want straight edges, continue on with this tutorial.
Lay your quilt top on your cutting mat. You want it nice and flat around the edges. Sitting with ease. Line up your ruler so that you all your inner points line up with the edge of the ruler.
Trim them off. On a bigger quilt, I can usually cut three at a time without my quilt starting to slant. When your quilt slants you could end up with a curvy edge and we don’t want that (for this quilt anyways).
You should be looking at a finished quilt top.
I hope that you enjoyed making this quilt!
