Hexie’s From Circles-31 Days of Scraps

They say you can’t fit a square peg in a round hole. However, you can make a hexie from a circle of fabric.

The hexie, or hexagon shaped block is a popular one among quilters.  The problem has always been sewing the things. For a long time our grandmothers used newspaper templates. Later we had fancy cardboard templates, and they worked well. However, the circle hexie is much easier.

This month I’m linking up with The Nester, and blogging about one subject all month. My subject is scraps, and scraps of fabric are perfect for these little hexagons.

Circle Hexies

1. Find or make your template. If you have a circle template great, if not, no worries, you probably have something round in your house you can use as a template.  One of these days I’m going to buy the circle template from WonderArc, it was the first circle template available, and it was designed by Mary Ellen Johnson right here in Oklahoma. Since I don’t have the handy-dandy circle template, yet, I went through my “scraps” for my template .

I used the jar from my “red-neck” water bottle collection. Then I traced around the lid on a scrap of cardboard, to keep my circles all uniform. My scrap cardboard came from a discarded cereal box. You can use the flat part of a canning lid for your template, a bowl, a cup, anything round. Just use the same item for all your pattern pieces.  Your hexie will be about ½ the size of your pattern. My pattern is 3” and makes a 1 1/2” hexie. You can see the markings on the template where my pencil slipped, no problems though.

2.  Next, collect your scrap fabric. You can use a mish-mash of fabric colors and patterns or stick to one color family.

3.  Trace your pattern on your fabric. See the circles?

Tip: A piece of sandpaper under the fabric will make the tracing easier. Yes, that brown you see peeking out at the end is the sandpaper I used.

4.  Next cut them out. I took my fabric and scissors to the couch while I watched, listened really, to one of my favorite shows. In no time at all I had the circles I needed for this tutorial. I’ll add them to my collection and eventually I’ll have a whole quilt. I find it easier to work in batches, you may want to cut all your circles at once. Your choice. Sorry, no picture of me cutting, or the circles, I forgot, but you all know how to cut and you know what a circle looks like. We should be good.

5. Now, fold your circles in half, twice, making a pie wedge shape. Press. You will be making two pressed lines that intersect in the middle of the circle. Finger pressing is fine. I usually do this as I’m sewing rather than all of them at once. You’re wanting to find the center of the circle. The creases didn’t show up too well, but I think you can see them.

6. Thread your needle with the appropriate  colored thread.

7. On the wrong side of the fabric, take a teeny-tiny stitch in the middle of your circle, where the two pressed lines intersect. Can you see that itty-bitty stitch, no more than a couple of threads?

Option: Instead of taking a stitch, put your needle through the middle of the circle, at the intersection from the right side. These knots will need to be cut off after  you’ve joined your hexies together. You don’t want to cut them too soon, your hexie will fall apart. Either way works. I’m lazy and do it from the wrong side. But, if you don’t want to risk your thread showing on the right side, use the other method.

8. With your needle and thread on the wrong side of the fabric, push it through the edge of the circle.  Put this stitch three or four threads from the edge, far enough it won’t ravel out.

9.  Pull slightly on the thread, the fabric will fold over on itself to the middle.

10.Working clockwise,  or counter-clockwise if you’re left-handed, take another stitch at the edge, where the fold and raw edge meet.

11.Pull it to the middle like before.

12.  Continue working  around the circle until you have six sides and all of the edges are folded in. This is how it will look just before you make the last stitch.

13. Make your final fold and stitch. You now have a hexagon, and you didn’t have to worry about the template slipping. Take a couple of stitches to secure the last fold to the others.

14. Make six more and you have a start to a “flower”

1.4  Sew them together as you would any hexie, joining the straight edges.

15. To finish add batting, backing, use your preferred quilting method, bind, and you’re done.

Tip: If you prefer, you can leave the batting out, the folded fabric behind each hexie, is essentially another layer of fabric.

I hope these instructions are helpful. If you try them, please post pictures of your flowers or projects (not everyone makes flowers, that’s just my default with this pattern) in the comments section here, or post a link to your blog, website, or flicker group. Most important, have fun.