Sunday, May 31, 2020

A big hexie squirrel

About a month ago I made a squirrel - that is a little (or sometimes big) project that just insists on getting done, right NOW. I knew that this would be my May DrEAMi (Drop Everything And Make it), a link up that's always a lot of fun, and hosted by Sandra at mmm! quilts.

The Big Hexie Experiment


Big Hexie Experiment
I bought the Better Homes & Gardens "Handwork happiness" magazine a while back (see Related links). I was intrigued by the way that the little table mat "Hex Marks the Spot" was finished.

Last year my lovely neighbour made me some large 2" hexie templates. Then, in the fall, I was gifted some very bright scraps by a quilting friend.  With all of these supplies, I thought that I would try the finishing technique of this project.  
Handwork happiness magazine

2" hexies













Since I was gifted both the templates and the fabric, I gave this one to my lovely neighbour. She loves orange so it was perfect for her.


I've made small hexie projects in the past, and the hardest part is the finishing of the pieced. In this project, the seam allowance of the hexies on the edge of the piece are ironed to the outside. The batting, which is the same size and shape as the top (with its edges ironed out), is place on the bottom. You then put the hexie top face up and then place your backing on top of your top, facing right side down. At this point, you very carefully sew ¼" along the edge, leaving an opening a couple of inches wide. You flip the fabric inside out and then stitch the little opening. This technique is sometimes called the pillowcase technique for finishing a quilt. In Related links, I have linked to a YouTube video to explains the technique.

My lovely neighbour sent me these pictures after I had forgotten to take some of the finished cosy.
Being useful as a wine cosy :-)

Finished hexie cosy









The back of the cosy










What I learned
  • The technique worked very well. 
  • I did have a bit of a problem pulling the edges of the hexies to the outside since I must have sewn parts of it down when I sewed the hexies together. Next time, I'll try to be more careful with my starting or finishing stitches.
  • I also had to trim the edges to ¼" since my edges under the hexies are not very consistent.
  • As I wrote this post, I realised that I hadn't taken a picture of the finished hexie cosy. Oh well....but as usual, my neighbour came through. 😊
Related links
Linking parties
I'm linking up to Sandra's DrEAMi! link up as well other fun linky parties, Slow Sunday Stitching, Oh Scrap!, Can I Get A Whoop Whoop?, Finished or Not Friday, Put Your Foot Down, Colour & Inspiration Tuesday, Monday Making,


Have a great week and stay safe, healthy and sane😊

14 comments:

  1. I love how you arranged those fabrics and fussy cut the center hexie. The finishing technique really highlights the unique edge of the shape of a hexie project. I bet that was a challenge to turn it all right side out, but so worthwhile!

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    1. Hi Janine Marie, yes it was a challenge but I really like the way that it came out. Thanks!

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  2. Your hexie mat look great and is a lovely gft for your neighbour. My friend Kim (who blogs at Sarah Lizzies) has made some lovely quilts using that technique. I keep meaning to try it myself :)

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    1. Thanks Janine - yes, Kim does amazing stuff with hexies. I've missed not playing with them but there are so many other projects going on right now!

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  3. What a fun little DrEAMi project! I made Christmas ornaments similar to these but without the centre hexie, so they looked like wreaths. The pressing under of those edges is tricky! I love the in-use shot :-) Thank you for linking up with DrEAMi!

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    1. Thanks Sandra. Those Christmas ornaments would be cool! I'm glad that I got to link up - I often miss it :-(

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  4. Great little project and looks like your neighbor has already put it to good use :) Thanks for sharing at the Chameleon's Colour & Inspiration party.

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    1. Thanks Dione - I'm glad to see that it's being used! Thanks for the linking party. It's always such fun.

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  5. You are so much more patient than I am when it comes to hexies. I LOVE the idea of a hexie cosy. That is something even I can finish. The orange one is so pretty and a very lovely gift.

    -Soma

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    1. Thanks Soma, using bigger templates than usual and only making a cosy sure made this project more manageable! Thanks for dropping by!

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  6. It is quite beautiful. Thank you.

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    1. Hey lovely neighbour - you are quite welcome :-)

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  7. That's a pretty clever idea, I may have to try it myself. Thank you for sharing.

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    1. Thanks Denise. It was a fun little project - and manageable among everything else that is going on!

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