English Paper Piecing

Anyone that knows me knows how much I love making hexagons!  I use them to make Christmas stockings as well as quilts.  I just love being able to sit and hand sew and watch the design come together before my eyes.

This process of sewing hexagons together is done by a technique called English Paper Piecing which dates back as far as the 18th Century!  There is an awesome article here that explains the origin of this method.  In short this process of sewing hexagons together is done by a technique called English Paper Piecing (or Foundation Piecing) where fabric scraps are folded  over and around pieces of paper then sewn together.  Apparently back in the day paper was scarce so quilters used letters and newspaper clippings... and back then they kept the paper in the finished quilt so imagine what wonderful pieces of history are preserved in some of these quilts!

Today it's easy to just buy the paper templates.  They are available in a variety of shapes and sizes, the most popular being the hexagon.  I order my paper from from Paper Pieces along with templates to use with the actual fabric.  Here's how I go about doing my thing with hexi's....

First step is to cut all the fabric scraps to a size that will fold nicely around the paper template.  It's important to leave a quarter inch seam allowance around all the edges so that the template be fully covered.  You can just guestimate, but I like using these awesome acrylic templates - just trace on the fabric then cut and you are guaranteed the right size!  Here's a stack of my already cut hexis.

Next, fold the fabric over the paper and pin it in place.

Now it's time to baste!  Using a loose running stitch, I secure the fabric to the paper piece.  Once this basting is done, remove the pins.

I love to take a moment to sit back and admire all the lovely little hexi's that I have created.  And if you're a bit crazy like me, you'd organise them by colour because they are just so pretty to look at this way!

Now it's time to put the masterpiece together!  I start selecting the hexi's I want to use and then begin hand stitching them together using a whip stitch.  This is such a fun part!!  I work as I go with no set plan at the beginning of how it will eventually turn out.  I just choose the colour combinations as I go..  That's why it's so great to start with a container full of hexis ready to go!

Slowly the project begins to take shape.  Soon I have enough to make a stocking front!

From here the world is my oyster!  There are so many things to make from piecing hexis together.  Here are some of my Christmas stockings:

 You can also find for sale here on my Etsy shop

And of course quilts!  Here is a quilt I made entirely by this technique.. it took a while but it was well worth it!

I especially love combining the old and the new in general and in this case using an age-old quilting technique with modern, trendy fabric.  I love how this quilt turned out using seven hexagons to form what is called a 'Grandmother's Flower Garden' block separated by turquoise chevron fabric!

There you have it folks, one of my favourite quilting techniques!