I’ve wanted to make a quilt with hexagons for some time. I did a trial run with seven hexagons made out of scraps a few years ago to see how the seams would work, and it surprisingly didn’t look like a big jumbled mess. Since then the idea has been rattling around in my noggin’. I finally decided that I would made a quilt for my bedside table with the hexagons. In addition to the hexagons I also wanted to try sewing it such that I didn’t use bias tape or any other type of edging.
I measured my bedside table and roughly sketched the design I wanted. Then I figured out the size of hexagons I would need to make up the final correct size. In Powerpoint I used the hexagon tool to make a hexagon of the correct size which I printed out for my template.
I went through my Rubbermaid bins of fabric to find a bunch of fabric I thought went well together. As with a lot of what I do, I didn’t have a set idea, but I went with what felt right. When we were younger my dad wore dress shirts every day to work. There was a factory in a small town on our way to visiting relatives that we would stop in at so my father could buy dress shirts. Recently they stopped making shirts at the site, but my parents picked me up a big box of shirting cotton. What lovely stuff – fine grain, smooth and so many beautiful stripes, plaids and solids. I used some of these fabrics with the addition of a nice floral. I cut out a bunch of hexagons and then moved them around until I found an arrangement I liked.
The key to sewing up the hexagons is to mark on the back of the fabric points between which you will sew. I used a ¼” seam allowance, so I would mark that out and then I knew I had to sew between where the two seams were marked.
The next step was to iron it so that all the seams lay in the same direction. I didn’t want it bunching up, or if it were going to bunch up, I wanted it all doing it the same way. I ironed it so that all the seams faced one way and then I quickly hemmed them all down. That way they wouldn’t move when I started sewing through them. I have some neon pink and yellow thread that I use for my hemming. It is too poor quality to use on my machine as it snaps, but its great for hemming since its so visible. The only problem with it is if little bits get sewn in I end up with dots of neon here and there.
The next step was to hem the top to the batting and the backing.
Of course I had to quilt it. I didn’t do all the seams, but most of them. I think its called in the ditch (where you sew right between the two pieces in the seam). I made sure not to sew right up to the edge, but ¼” back.
Now remember how I said I wanted to avoid bias tape? Well, here is where the really fussy work began. I traced all around the edge of the top.
Then I cut along that edge. Pushing back the top I marked my ¼” seam allowance on the batting.
Next step was to cut that ¼” of batting away, and start hemming the backing up around the batting.
Then I folded the top ¼” under and hemmed it to the bottom.
After all that hemming it was simple to sew around the edge. I also went back and hand quilted the last little edges between where I had machine quilted and the actual edge.
Here is the final look.
I’m pretty happy with it. Fussy, but it was worth it, and it now graces my bedside table.
