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English Paper Piecing

Tea Party EPP & Embroidery Mini-Quilt Stitch-Along 2022

     Anne      2 Comments

 

I can hardly believe that this lovely mini-quilt project is now coming to a close! What a fun time it has been. In 2021, I had the joy of discovering – and falling in love with – English paper piecing (EPP). I made a little hexie flower each month with Mollie Johanson’s super cute embroidery patterns (found here on her Wild Olive blog). It was so enjoyable having a mini-embroidery to work on each month and anticipating what new design Mollie would come up with.

I knew I wanted to continue in 2022, and decided to create my own patterns to share with whoever might be interested. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure if people would actually be interested in participating, or would prefer just seeing the progress on Instagram. I had this vague idea of combining the embroideries with EPP and turning them into a mini-quilt, but having never really quilted before I wasn’t *too* sure how I’d eventually go about it.

As more and more new followers showed interest in the project and began to stitch my little patterns, I became really excited (and scared!) to actually put the project together. But – no surprise there – mini-quilts are such fun to make, and hand-quilting is very addictive! I gathered lots of inspiration and had recourse to some fabulous tutorials by Emma of Vintage Sewing Box and Sarah from Pretty Fabrics & Trims (both of which I highly recommend checking out!).

 

The Finished Mini-Quilt

 

For my first mini-quilt, I am so happy with how it turned out. I wanted to challenge myself to use only fabric I already had on hand. Luckily I found the perfect cotton floral prints to go with the embroideries. EPP is wonderful for using up pretty fabric scraps!

It is entirely stitched by hand; from the embroideries to assembling the EPP hexies together, appliquéing, hand-quilting, and hand-binding. Very relaxing to do actually, and lots of fun coming up with ideas for the hand-quilting. I’m not yet very equipped for it in terms of threads and needles, so I just used embroidery floss and cotton perle, and an embroidery needle. I just worked a simple running stitch around each embroidery, and around the hexie panel and over the background fabric. To bind it, I used the seam allowance from the backing fabric, creating a lovely floral border that matched the hexies.

 

Stitch-along combining EPP & embroidery

This project has been a free stitch-along for email subscribers since January 2022. I’ve been sending out a mini-embroidery pattern each month, all “Tea Party” themed. Yesterday, I sent out the complete instructions for making the mini-quilt. It’s not too late if you’d like to join in the fun and get all the patterns too! Simply subscribe here to my newsletter, and everything shall be sent to you. (Be sure to check your spam folder and complete all the steps until you get a confirmation that you’re subscribed).

The project will remain free for the remainder of 2022! After that, it will be available for sale in my Etsy shop. New freebies will be offered for 2023!

May’s Rosy Teapot, June’s Strawberry Basket, and July’s Piece of Cake

I really hope that you’ve enjoyed this Tea Party stitch-along and that you have fun putting the mini-quilt together! Of course, if EPP and mini-quilts are not as much your thing, you can definitely use the patterns to make something else. Many of the designs look really lovely just on their own, too.

Thank you so, so much to everyone who has participated in or shown enthusiasm for this project! It was such a pleasure to share little stitcheries with you. I love seeing your work, so don’t hesitate to tag me on Instagram or email me with photos! 😊

 

You Might Also Like:

english paper piecing: how to cut and baste shapes
English Paper Piecing Basics: Cutting & Basting
How to Turn Embroideries into EPP hexies
Basket Weave Stitch Tutorial: Simple & Pretty

Fondly,

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How to Turn Embroideries into EPP hexies

     Anne      2 Comments

I’ve written about the wonders of EPP (English Paper Piecing) before, but since we are now half-way through our lovely EPP Mini-Quilt Tea Party, I thought it would be a good time to give specific instructions for that project. So in this blog post, I’ll be sharing how I turned July’s Piece of Cake into a hexie for the mini-quilt. You’ll be able to refer to this tutorial to turn all your mini-embroideries into hexies.

 

If you’re new around here (hello! welcome!) and wondering what the mini-quilt project is all about, you can have a look at this post and subscribe to my newsletter. Each month, I send out a free mini-embroidery design to turn into hexies to make an EPP mini-quilt. So far, we’ve just been embroidering the designs each month, but now is a good time to start turning them into hexies.

embroidered piece of cake on an epp hexie

If you already know how to do that, then you can skip this entire post and just enjoy the July pattern. You will find it along with the updated hexie template in today’s newsletter, and the one thing you really want to pay attention to is the orientation of the hexie. One of the corners should be facing up, as illustrated in the template.

If you’re new to EPP, then I’ll walk you through creating your own hexies in this post. You can also have a look at my previous posts on the subject for more info on EPP:

stitching a hexie flower english paper piecing
english paper piecing: how to cut and baste shapes

Note: Obviously, turning your embroideries into hexies and making the mini-quilt is totally optional. If you prefer to use the embroidery patterns for something else, please do so (as long as it’s for personal use, of course)!

 

From Embroidery to EPP Hexie Tutorial:

First, the embroidery. If you’re a newsletter subscriber, then you’ve been getting a small embroidery pattern in your inbox each month. If you haven’t gotten them for some reason or you’re a new subscriber, please get in touch and I’ll happily send them to you.

1. Each embroidery is designed to fit nicely around a 1 3/8″ hexagon, and fits inside a 3” hoop. I’ve been stitching each of mine on a 4” x 4” piece of cotton muslin, using a 3” hoop. Follow the instructions provided with your pattern to embroider the design.

embroidered piece of cake in pale blue hoop

2. When you’re done stitching, pop the embroidery out of the hoop, and give it a light press with the iron. It doesn’t need to be perfect, just flatten the big hoop mark to work comfortably.

embroidered piece of cake

3. Next, you’ll need to download and print the “Hexie Template” I’ve provided in today’s newsletter. If your printer allows, print directly on cardstock paper. If not, print on normal paper and then trace over on cardstock. Cut out your hexagons, making sure they are all the same size. The sides should be 1 3/8″ long, but feel free to make them bigger or smaller to fit around your embroideries as you prefer.

hexie template page and single cut hexie from cardstock

4. Punch a hole into each of them, to make it easier to remove them from the fabric later on.

hole puncher beside cardstock hexie

5. Then, place your embroidery on the wrong side, and place the hexie shape on top. Make sure that it is oriented correctly, with one of the corners facing up. I like to use a small piece of tape or a pin to hold the hexie in place. I don’t recommend glue basting because of the embroidery!

hexie shape placed over embroidery on wrong side
piece of tape placed over hexie shape

6. Hold up the embroidery to the light to make sure it is nice and centered over the hexie.

embroidery held against a window to see hexie shape through it

7. When you’re satisfied with the position, turn the embroidery on the wrong side again, and mark a ¼” seam allowance all around the hexagon shape.

seam allowance drawn on fabric wrong side around the hexie shape

8. Cut along your seam allowance line, and you should end up with this!

seam allowance cut aroun hexie shape

9. Now, let’s baste the fabric around the shape. To do this, fold one side of the seam allowance down along one of the edges, holding it in place at the corner.

one side seam allowance folded down

10. Fold the next side down, allowing the SA to fold over the previous one at the corner. Hold in place.

seam allowance folded down in place at corner

11. With a hand-sewing needle and matching thread (I’m using a contrasting thread for the photos), take a stitch through all the fabric layers, but not the cardstock. If you didn’t knot your thread, leave a little tail. Make 2 or 3 stitches, securing the fold down.

needle going through fabric at seam allowance fold
a few stitches made to secure fold down

12. Moving to the next corner, fold the seam allowances the same way as before, and drag your thread over the side to reach the corner. Again, make 2-3 stitches to secure the fold down.

13. Repeat these steps to secure the remaining seam allowances, until your hexie looks like this:

hexie fully basted

Don’t pull the paper out yet, but you can remove the pin or piece of tape. If the tape is too hard to remove without messing up the hexie, just leave it in for now and it will be removed later.

14. Flip the hexie to the good side and admire your lovely work!

finished hexie from the good side, showing embroidered cake

You can follow this tutorial to turn all your mini Tea Party embroideries into hexies, and by the end of the year you will have a total of 12.

That’s all there is to it for now, until we start sewing them together! I will have another tutorial post with instructions for that at a later time. I hope this one was helpful and that you have a fun time turning the embroideries into little hexies. It’s such a fun part of the process!

Thank you again so much for your participation in this project, and I can’t wait to see all your lovely hexies! Be sure to tag me on Instagram (@northernbelle.atelier) and use the hashtag #northernbellesal to see everyone else’s too!

And if you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe to my newsletter so you can join the Tea Party and never miss an update. Happy stitching!

Fondly,

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English Paper Piecing Basics: Cutting & Basting

     Anne      3 Comments

A year ago almost to the day, I discovered the wonderful world of English Paper Piecing (EPP). A relaxing and easy way to join fabrics together, EPP is a very creative form of hand-sewing. I published a post on the subject last November, in which I showed you how to make a hexie flower with embroidery. In today’s post, I will cover the basics of EPP in more details and show you all about cutting and basting various shapes.

 

Learn the basics of english paper piecing

 

If you’re here following my Tea Party Mini-Quilt stitch-along, this will be a good post to refer to if you’re new to EPP and aren’t sure how to get started. 😊 I will be turning February’s embroidery pattern into a little hexagon as part of this tutorial.

 

What is English Paper Piecing?

an epp hexie flower with a pink house embroidered in the center, embroidery floss and pretty fabrics around the flower
Embroidery following the 2021 February House pattern from Mollie Johanson of Wild Olive.

 

English Paper Piecing – commonly known as EPP – is a method of creating and assembling various shapes using fabric and paper. Often done entirely by hand, EPP allows you to arrange shapes one by one to create different designs. It’s often used in quilting and appliqué, or combined with embroidery to create a variety of lovely projects. It’s a really great way to use up small fabric scraps. With EPP, you begin by basting fabric to cardstock shapes, and then hand-sew them along the edges to create your design. The most shape commonto use is the hexagon, and “hexie flowers” are often made up of 7 hexagons pieced together. The hexagon is the best shape to start learning EPP, because its shape ensures clean edges when basting and piecing.

 

Materials & Tools

flat lay showing materials for epp: mini-iron, teacup pincushion, pink paper scissors, sewing shears, paper puncher, rose-patterned fabric squares, cardstock hexagons, embroidered cherries, pins, and thread

First, you’ll need basic hand-sewing supplies: a pair of sewing shears, some snips, pins, and a needle and thread. I like to use a small, sharp hand-sewing needle, and polyester or all-purpose thread. I also recommend using a thimble.

For fabric, you’ll want something woven and lightweight: quilting cotton is the best for this, but cotton and linen blends can also work. EPP is perfect for showing off pretty fabric prints and using up scraps. Of course, you use plain fabric too!

You’ll also want:

  • Cardstock paper or pre-cut cardstock shapes
  • Paper scissors
  • Iron and ironing board (if you have a mini-iron, it’s really handy for this!)
  • Paper hole puncher
  • Optional: washable glue stick

 

Cutting Your Shapes

If you’ve never done EPP before, I recommend starting with hexagon shapes, about 1” to 1 1/4” in size. However, many other shapes can be used for EPP, so I will also show you how to cut and baste different ones.

various shapes cut out of cardstock paper, with paper template beside, and teacup pincushion and pink paper scissors

Cut your shapes out of cardstock paper, exactly to size, without any allowance. You can follow a template like I’m doing above, or make up your own. You can also buy pre-cut cardstock shapes if you prefer!

 

Once the pieces are cut, I like to “true” them up to make sure they will fit nicely against each other. Simply arrange your shapes how you want them to be sewn together, and make sure that all the edges are well-aligned. Trim off a little excess paper if need be, so they will fit perfectly.

2 paper hexagons, 2 triangles and a diamond are arranged against each other to align the edges

 

Once you are satisfied with the fit, punch a hole through each piece with a paper puncher. This is to make it easier to remove the paper later.

paper shapes punched with hole puncher, pins, stork scissors, and rose-patterned fabric squares

 

Cutting your Fabric

Now we are ready to cut the fabric that will cover the shapes! To do this, place your shape on the wrong side of the fabric of your choice. If using patterned fabric, you can do what’s called “fussy cutting” to show off pretty prints. This means that you are cutting around a specific motif on your fabric. If you’re turning an embroidery into a hexie for example, you’ll want to center it over your cardstock hexagon.

embroidered cherries next to cardstock hexagon

 

Pin in place, or dab a bit of washable glue stick to hold the cardstock to the fabric. I prefer to avoid using glue, so I pin mine. I do use a little piece of washi tape to stick to the cardstock and center the embroidery properly, but it will be removed later. For smaller pieces, I simply hold them in place with my hand while I cut the fabric.

embroidered cherries pinned to cardstock hexie, ready for cutting
hexie pinned to embroidery seen from wrong side ready for cutting
cardstock shapes placed on wrong side of fabric for cutting

 

Leave a ¼” seam allowance when you cut the fabric around your shapes. Don’t remove the pins yet!

hexagon has been cut from fabric with seam allowance, threaded needle beside
cardstock triangle over cut fabric ready for basting
You can trim some of the excess SA at the points by snipping straight across – but make sure you leave enough for basting.

 

Basting Your Shapes

The next step in the EPP process is to baste the fabric seam allowances to the cardstock shapes. If you’re working with hexagons, these are very easy to do, which is why I recommend starting with them.

First, thread a hand-sewing needle and keep it close by.

Working with the paper side facing you, fold one side of the seam allowance against the paper at one of the corners. Hold it in place and fold the next side down, creating a nice, clean corner.

hand folding one side of the seam allowance down on a hexie shape
hand folding seam allowance down to form clean corner on hexie

Bring your needle through the fold, leaving a short tail, and take three stitches to secure the fold in place and save you from having to make a knot. Only stitch through the fabric.

Then, move on to the next corner, folding the seam allowances the same way as before. Carry the needle over and again take two or three stitches to secure the fold down. Again, you only need to go through the fabric when basting these corners. Take out the pin(s) when you feel the cardstock shape is secure.

hand holding hexagon, while needle goes through the fold to secure corner for basting
hand holding hexagon for basting the seam allowances

Repeat until all the seam allowances have been basted and your hexagon looks like this:

basted hexagon seen from the back
finished hexagon seen from good side showing cherry embroidery

How to Baste Other Shapes

For shapes such as triangles and diamonds, the idea is the same: leave ¼” SA when cutting your fabric, and then fold them inwards around the shape.

basted epp shapes seen from wrong side

 

For very small pieces, it is easier to use glue to baste, but if you’re stubborn like me and don’t want to use glue, I recommend pressing down the seam allowances with an iron. If you have one of those mini-irons, they’re really handy for this! A regular iron will also work, but you’ll want to use a knitting needle or something to hold the fabric down instead of your fingers. I also recommend running some basting stitches across like this, if you find that it’s not holding its shape too well.

 

small triangle seam allowances pressed back ready for basting
basting stitches going across small triangle seam allowances to hold them in place

If one of the shape’s edges is longer than 1 ¼”, you’ll want to baste through the paper as well as the fabric. Instead of carrying your thread from one corner to the next, take a stitch through the fabric and paper around the half-way point. Repeat as many times as needed if you’re basting a very long edge.

hand holding bigger triangle while needle goes through paper and fabric to baste long edge
basted triangle with long edge seen from the good side

Preparing to Assemble the Pieces

You’ll notice that these triangles and diamonds aren’t as neat and clean as the hexagons, and still have excess SA showing at the corners. That’s totally normal, and it’ll be dealt with when you sew the pieces together. For now, you can just ignore them, or iron/glue them to the wrong side. Don’t cut them away though, unless you really have too much excess.

basted shapes with rose-patterned fabric seen from good side

 

Here’s what the piecing could look like, following the template pictured earlier, which is part of my Mini-Quilt stitch-along:

finished epp pieces against each other for piecing, stork scissors, pins, rose-patterned fabric squares

 

Stay tuned for my next EPP tutorial…

You can use your EPP shapes however you’d like; turn them into flowers or other motifs, use them for appliqué, or turn them into a mini-quilt! There are so many possibilities. I will have a future post showing you how to sew them together, but if you’re interested in hexagons and would like to make a “hexie flower”, you can find that post here.

If you’d like to participate in the Tea Party Mini-Quilt stitch-along, you can sign-up for my newsletter right here! I send out a free mini embroidery pattern each month this year, and turn the embroideries into hexagons that will eventually become a mini-quilt to hang on the wall. Of course, you can also use the embroidery patterns for any personal project you’d like!

I hope you enjoyed this post and that you’ll give EPP a try if you haven’t already. Cutting and basting is only the beginning, sewing everything together is so much fun. Warning though, it’s incredibly addictive, and you won’t be able to stop!

 

Fondly,

introduction to epp: cutting & basting
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Introducing: EPP Mini-Quilt Project for 2022

     Anne      4 Comments

I have something so exciting to announce!

 

I’ve decided to embark on a mini year-long project combining English paper piecing and embroidery, and I’m going to share all the fun with you! How would you like to receive an embroidery pattern every month this year, straight in your inbox?

In 2021, I had the immense joy of discovering English paper piecing. Each month, I made what is called a “hexie flower”, featuring Mollie’s cute house embroidery patterns from the Wild Olive Kawaii Crossing series. I wrote at length on this already in this post here, showing you how I make my hexie flowers.

It was so pleasant to have a new pattern to look forward to each month, and to create something in keeping with the same theme over the course of the year. I loved it so much in fact, that I’ve decided to do it again! The project will be a bit different this year; still combining EPP and embroidery, but instead of making separate hexagon flowers, I will turn the embroidered hexies into a mini-quilt. And of course, I will be using my own embroidery patterns this time!

 

Here’s what I have in mind for the mini-quilt piecing:

mini-quilt template for english paper piecing with months of the year written in 12 different hexagons

 

Embroidery Patterns

The theme will be “Tea Party”, so think pretty pastels, delicate teacups, and delectable little treats…A celebration of all things soft and lovely. The embroideries will be quite small, designed to fit 1 ¼ ” hexies. Each month, I will send out the pattern to my subscribers, and you can choose to turn them into a mini-quilt like me, or use them for something else entirely!

embroidered teacup in a fabric hexagon with pins and a thimble beside it

Here is the design for January, a lacy, romantic little teacup featuring a darling bullion knot rose and polka dots. It was such fun to design and stitch up, and I really hope others will enjoy it too. The downloadable pattern includes thread suggestions and simple instructions. Previous knowledge of embroidery is recommended, but it is beginner-friendly. You can find a tutorial for every stitch I used in the Stitch Library.

close-up of an embroidered teacup with bullion knot rose and polka dots

 

The mini-patterns will be available in each month’s first newsletter (except this month) as a thank-you to my subscribers. For now, these monthly patterns will only be available via the newsletter, but new subscribers are most welcome to join in! You can subscribe to my newsletter right here, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

I look forward to seeing your beautiful creations, and I hope you will enjoy this little project. You can tag me on Instagram @northernbelle.atelier or reach out if you have any questions.

 

Here’s to a fun year-long tea party!!

 

Fondly,

Super Cute Hexie Flowers: Easy English Paper Piecing Project

     Anne

Hello dear friend, I have a really fun post for you this week! I’m going to show you how to make a super cute hexie flower with the easy English paper piecing method.

 

how to stitch a hexie flower with english paper piecing

 

What is English Paper Piecing (EPP)?

English Paper Piecing (or EPP) is a way to create and assemble various shapes using fabric and paper. Often done entirely by hand, EPP allows you to arrange shapes one by one to create different designs. The method is often used for quilting, but the possibilities with EPP crafts are nearly endless. The most famous shape to make is the hexagon, and that’s what we’ll be working with today!

I discovered EPP earlier this year and instantly loved it. It’s absolutely perfect for using pretty fabric scraps and the hand-stitching involved is simple and relaxing. I was utterly amazed at how neat and pretty seams look when joined with EPP! So much less aggravating than trying to sew tiny pieces of fabric at the sewing machine. (I do have to say that the sewing machine and I don’t get along very well when I try to sew small things.)

 

finished hexie flowers and basted hexagons, as well as a pile of square fabric scraps, snips, and pins

 

If you follow me over on Instagram, you might have seen that I’ve been making a new hexie flower in EPP style each month. I love embroidering Mollie Johanson’s designs (which you can find on her blog Wild Olive, and also on her Etsy shop) and she’s been releasing the cutest little house patterns every month. Those patterns are completely free to download, and she even offers matching wallpapers and a cross-stitch chart for free as well!

It’s been tons of fun to turn these adorable houses into hexie flowers every month, so today I’m going to share my process with you! I will be turning the October Corn Shock House pattern into a decorative hexie flower. EPP is very addictive though, be warned, and so are Mollie’s patterns!

 

Materials to Make Your Hexie Flower

 

materials needed for epp hexie flower: fabric, embroidery, various scissors, cardstock paper, pencil and ruler
  • Wild Olive Kawaii Crossing embroidery pattern (I linked the one for October, which is the one I’m using for this tutorial, but feel free to use any other one! Her website is full of them.)
  • Embroidery floss (DMC colours are listed on each Kawaii Crossing pattern)
  • Scrap fabric in white/off-white colour for the embroidery
  • Small embroidery hoop (3”)
  • Needles: 1 embroidery needle, 1 hand-sewing needle
  • Pins
  • Scissors: embroidery snips, sewing shears, and paper scissors
  • Cardstock paper (enough to cut 7 hexagons 1 ¼” long)
  • A pencil and ruler
  • Fabric scraps to match your embroidery (I like to use 2 different fabrics)
  • Sewing thread to match your fabric

Optional: A piece of felt for backing

 

The Embroidery

 

1. First, let’s print the pattern! When you download the Kawaii Crossing house pattern of your choice, you will notice that they include 3 pages. We only need the first page since we are making a really small embroidery. Scale the page to 75% using your printer’s settings and print.

2. Transfer the pattern onto a piece of off-white fabric (I normally use scraps of cotton muslin). If you’re not sure how to transfer the pattern, you can check out this post.

3. Embroider the pattern following the DMC recommendations, or change up some colours to suit your fabric choice. For this October pattern for example, I made the scarecrow orange instead of the original purple. I like to embroider these patterns with the satin stitch as much as possible, and add the little details with straight stitches, or a backstitch. To see how to embroider the faces, Mollie put out a really helpful YouTube tutorial on how to do it!

embroidered October corn shack house design onto cotton muslin scrap fabric

 

Preparing the Hexagons

 

Next, we will cut out some cardstock to make our hexagons. I like to use 1 ¼” size hexagons (2.8″ wide). You can use a template to trace these out or make your own with graph paper.

4. Trace and cut out 7 hexagons for one hexie flower (I’m making more here in preparation for my next project).

sheet of cardstock paper with hexagon shapes traced on it, ruler, pencil and scissors laying beside it, and a few hexagons already cut

 

5. Gather up your pretty fabrics, and turning them to the wrong side, pin the hexagon shapes in place. Make sure they are centered however you want if using patterned fabric. Cut around the hexagon, leaving a good ¼” seam allowance. I like to use 2 different fabrics to make 3 hexagons of each. Since the shapes are big enough, I prefer to use pins to hold the paper onto the fabric and avoid using glue, but there’s a glue pen you can use for EPP if you find that easier.

a cut fabric hexagon held in place with pin to cardstock hexagon shape

 

6. Do the same with your piece of embroidery. Center a cardstock hexagon on the wrong side of the fabric, and pin in place. This one usually takes a bit more fiddling to get well-centered. Cut around the hexagon with a ¼” SA. Don’t take the pins out yet!

embroidery piece cut into hexie shape held to cardstock shape with pin

 

You should now have 7 cut out hexagons looking like this:

7 cut hexagons in fabric held to cardstock with pin

 

7. The next step is to baste each hexagon around its cardstock shape. Working from the wrong side (cardstock facing you), fold down one side of the hexagon’s seam allowance around the cardstock. Hold it in place with one hand while you fold the next side to create a nice sharp corner.

hexie being held up with one side of the seam allowance folded towards the cardstock
hexie being held up with seam allowance folded on two sides to create folded corner

 

8. Thread a hand-sewing needle with matching thread and stitch this corner in place, going through the fabric only. I usually take 2-3 small stitches just to anchor the fold in place.

needle going through the fold at hexie corner to stitch it in place

 

9. Once your corner is secure, drag your thread to the next corner and fold the seam allowances in the same way. Stitch in place, again just taking 2-3 stitches to secure the fold. Continue this way until all the seam allowances are folded and secured to the wrong side. Remove the pin.

view of basted corner & sides of the hexagon
fully basted hexagon

 

10. Repeat these steps for the remaining hexagons, until you have 7 happy little hexies looking like this:

7 basted hexies seen from the good side of the fabric

 

Making the Hexie Flower

 

Now we are ready to assemble our hexagons into a flower shape!

The embroidered hexagon will be the center, and then you can arrange the remaining ones in the order that you prefer. I like to alternate between my two different colours.

hexagons arranged to form hexie flower shape

 

11. To assemble them together, I like to start by attaching the top hexagon to the center one. Place them good side together and grab your needle and thread. This is where the really fun part comes in! Instead of sewing along one side with a seam allowance, you will sew the hexagons by whipstitching them together at the very edge.

top hexie and center hexie will be attached together

 

12. Start at one corner and anchor your thread (use a knot if you like), then run a whipstitch along the edge, again going only through the fabric. You should be going through the fold on either side without catching the cardstock. The whipstitch is my favourite stitch for this, but you could also use the ladder stitch or the slipstitch.

two hexies held good sides together, needle going through the folds along one edge with a whipstitch

 

Unfold the two hexies and tada, they’re attached and the stitching is barely visible! (I’m using white thread for all my hexagons because I’ve used the same thread for all the hexie flowers in this collection, but I do recommend using matching thread).

the two hexagons seen from the good side, sewn together along one edge

 

I find this method of handstitching so much more calming and easier than the traditional way! The cardstock makes everything nice and sturdy, the stitches run smoothly and aaaahhh it just looks so neat! It’s longer than machine-sewing, but it’s so pleasant to do.

 

13. Attach the remaining 5 hexagons to the center one in the same way, good sides together, stitching along the edge through the fabric folds.

hexie flower with arrows around center hexie to show which edges to sew
close-up view of hexie center attached to the 6 sides hexies

 

14. Then, all we have to do is attach the remaining hexagon sides.

hexie flower showing directions of edges to sew with arrows

 

To do this, you will have to fold your hexie flower a little, and pinch the corner closest to the center to be able to get your two hexies good sides together.

hexie flower folded along one edge to hold to hexies against each other

 

And that’s it! You just made a hexie flower! 😊 It might need a little pressing after all that folding to get it nice and flat.

finished hexie flower with stork embroidery scissors and pile of square scrap fabric held with piece of cord

 

Since I’ve been making these just for myself as wall decorations, I leave the back unfinished and I also leave the cardstock paper in for some extra sturdiness. If you want to use your hexie flower on a quilt or as an appliqué on something else, you can remove each piece of cardstock and it will keep its shape! If you also want to use it as a decoration but would prefer to finish the back, I recommend cutting out a piece of felt of the same size and shape, and whipstiching it all around. That way the back is all nice and neat, and felt doesn’t fray so you don’t need to worry about enclosing seams or leaving seam allowance.

I sincerely hope that you’ve enjoyed this tutorial and that you’ll want to give EPP and hexie-flower making a try! It’s been so therapeutic to do this year and I’ve been really excited to share the many joys of it with you all.

Happy English Paper Piecing!

 

Fondly,

how to make fabric hexagons english paper piecing basics
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