At my guild meeting this month Emma from Quilties taught us how to make foldover hexagons. I've seen them around lately and thought it would be fun to write up a tutorial on how to make them since I haven't seen one posted.
At the meeting Emma suggested pressing at least two at a time this helps reduce burning because by the time you finish pressing the second one the first has cooled enough to touch.
I hope you like this tutorial! Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by! I'm linking up with TGIFF and Finish It Up Friday.
This is the size of template I used. You can find a hexagon template maker here and just print it on card stock or other heavy paper. It's great for charm squares - the large one just fits. The large size is 2 1/2" on each edge and the smaller template is cut from the center with a 1 5/8" side. |
So you cut out one of each size for the number of hexagons you'd like. I did nine of each size. To do this trace your template onto the wrong side of the fabric and then cut just inside the line. |
Once you have them all cut out then you're ready for the pressing stage. Use the template to help you center your smaller hexagon inside the larger one. Place them WRONG sides together. |
At the meeting Emma suggested pressing at least two at a time this helps reduce burning because by the time you finish pressing the second one the first has cooled enough to touch.
Now press the first side in touching the edge of the outer hexagon to the edge of the inner hexagon butting them up but not overlapping. |
Repeat those steps with side two. Fold over the second side until it just butts up but doesn't overlap the inner hexagon. Make sure to make a nice crisp corner. |
Fold over again making sure not to fold the inner layer at all. |
Then you'll place a pin at the corner to help hold the fold in place. Catch as little as you can with the pin to help it stay flat. |
Continue all around the hexagon until it is all folded and pinned. You can give it an extra press here with more starch and steam if you need to. |
Then sew around the inner edge with your machine keeping fairly close to the edge. I did about a 1/16" seam pivoting at the folds. |
That's all you need to do to complete the hexagons. They are now completely finished with no raw edges hanging out. The pink one on the right is flipped over so you can see the back side. |
I made a cushion cover with mine doing a bit of echo quilting around the outside of the hexagons. |
Here's a bit of a closeup of the pillow. You can see the top stitching really well on the navy one in the bottom left. |
Finish off with an envelope backing and you're good to go. |
These are lovely! I've seen them recently but thanks so much for taking the time to show us how to make them. One question, just to make sure I'm interpreting correctly, the smaller one is not actually the 'inside' of the larger one? Because it has to be a little larger than the 'hole' to overlap. Am I thinking correctly?
ReplyDeleteNo, the smaller one is the inside of the larger one. I thought the same thing you did when I first heard this. The second fold is where it overlaps and encloses the smaller one. Does that make sense?
DeleteYes, thank you! (I think on second look it was perfectly clear and that I just read it too fast!) Thanks for the follow up!
DeleteGreat tutorial, thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tutorial! These look really cool and I'll definitely be pinning it for future reference!
ReplyDeleteGreat tutorial! They would make beautiful coasters too!
ReplyDeleteThis is a fabulous tutorial, Julie! Your pillow looks fresh and fun! Great job!
ReplyDeleteI have always wondered how this was done. Thanks so much for sharing :-)
ReplyDeleteGreat tutorial Julie! Thank you so much for taking the time to put this together for us. :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tutorial, Julie! I'll definitely be trying this in one of my next projects!
ReplyDeletewow those look awesome. I love the echoing of the quilting on the pillow, great job.
ReplyDeleteInteresting technique. I haven't seen it yet. Thank you for sharing! Looking good!
ReplyDeleteLove the tutorial - that is so cool! Please link to hexie weekend so you can share that great pillow.
ReplyDelete