Janet's
Hexagon Quilt
Latest photos are at the bottom of the page
1st May 2010: I have decided to make a hand stitched
quilt based around hexagon shapes. The size will be of a single bed that I
can throw over my orange couch in the lounge. Below you can follow my
progress.
Above is the layout I designed of the pieces of the quilt.
The pink and green hexagons are 1 inch wide.
Each shape is cut from cardboard and then the fabric is tacked onto the
shapes. Then the shapes are hand stitched (not machined) together.
Above is the main repeating pattern of the quilt shown from the front. I
will have to repeat the above layout about 4 times to get the width of the
quilt. And repeat about 6 times to get the length of the quilt. So after a
quick calculation their will be about 550 template shapes sewn together for
the whole quilt.
Before cutting the white irregular shaped hexagons from fabric I have hand
stitched a design on each with Running stitch to show traditional quilting
designs. I used 2 strands of orange 6 stranded cotton for the Running
stitch.
12th May 2010: All the pieces above have been
hand sewn together. There is approximate 18 stitches hand stitched per 2.5
cm (1 inch). The cardboard templates have been removed from the inner
segments. Leave the outer edge segments with their cardboard until they are
completely sewn around all their edges. The removed cardboard templates can
be reused. 4 rows of pink flowers made.
The piece in the photo above is 64cm (25 inches) wide. A lot more to go but
I'm enjoying the process. I have decided to add a border down one length
side and Applique some words on it.
20th June 2010:
The hexagon hand sewing is now all completed. 86cm (34 inches) wide and 127
cm (50 inches) long.
30th June 2010:
As much as I love this quilt so far I decided for me it was looking a but
'hard'. Not the colours so much but the repeat pattern. So above you can see
I have now appliqued a butterfly on top of the hexagons. It gives soft lines
to the quilt now that I like better. My butterfly measures when finished. 28
x 23 cms (11 x 9 inches)
I have given the butterfly pattern for you free.
click here
3rd July 2010:
I decided to applique a toadstool to the lower right hand corner of the
quilt.
The toadstool is 18 x 15 cm (7 x 6 inches)
I have given the toadstool pattern for you free.
click here
August 2010: Over winter I have been stitching the applique border
with some needlework on it. But I decided I did not like it so it has been
put to one side.
2011
2nd May 2011:
It is a year later from when I started and summer has gone in New Zealand
and winter is here. So time to get the quilt out and do some more.
1.
2.
3.
back |
1. I laid
the whole quilt front face down and spread green spotted fabric a
lot larger than the front over the back of the quilt front.
2.
The spotted border then made a border around the quilt
front. I hand appliqued the quilt front to the green spotted fabric.
3.
The the green fabric inside the applique area was then
cut away. |
4th May 2011: On each side of the quilt I have
hand appliqued a lady bug,
They are half on the boarder and half off.
I have given the ladybug pattern for you free.
click here
 |
7th May 2011: It
is time now to put some wording around the border of the quilt. I
have decided to hand stitch the wording with Stem stitch and some
Pearl 8 thread in purple. I love the mix of lime green and purple
together. Deciding on what wording to use was like choosing what
picture to use in a tattoo; it is going to be on display for the
rest of it's life.
My stitching is a gift to the eyes of my future family members. I
also like the idea of words of wisdom to leave a tidbit for them to
muse over. So after a search I put together all the letters below.
I wish my children strength and
courage as they go out into the world and may the choices be
theirs while remembering a pile of rocks can be made into a wall or
a bridge.
The process of the lettering was
to print them out onto paper. They are 1 inch high. I had to change
my wording a bit before coming up with wording above so it would all
fit around the edge as equally as possible. |
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The photo above shows the lettering sticky taped to the
fabric. I will now turn the fabric over on a light box and use a
blue water soluble pen to trace the lettering on. The blue ink should
come through to the front of the fabric to follow while stitching. |
9th May 2011: Part of the writing is
now hand stitched with Stem stitch and purple Pearl 8 cotton thread.
9th May 2011: Part of stitching close
up. I have finished stitching all the wording. Now to tack all the
quilt layers together.
7th June2011: I have hand quilted
around the inner edges of the yellow hexagons. Also around the outer
sides of the total hexagon area. I used purple Perle 8 the same as I
used to stitch the words with.
21st June2011: When I hand quilted the
front of the quilt I backed the batting with a very thin layer of
cotton fabric which is not the final backing fabric. Above you can
see the beginnings of the pieced backing fabric. I want the back
totally plain without quilting. So it will be attached to the
front/batting by the future edge that will be binding. The photo
above shows about 1/2 of the total size I have to sew yet of the
back. So the front of the quilt will be totally hand stitched and
the back machine stitched.
16 th August: Well my quilt is compete
now and laying over my couch. It is wonderful to have it finished.
In the photo above you can see I put in the center of one of the
backing blocks, "When this you see remember me. JMD 2011." I hand
stitched all the writing with Chain stitch and 1 strand of 6
stranded cotton. Also note I used yellow fabric to bind the edge of
the whole quilt with.
Click on these photos to see the finished quilt front and back.
I have written a tutorial on the
construction of the quilt blocks used on the back of the quilt.
CLICK HERE
TO SEE
THE FREE TUTORIAL
If you stitch hexagons yourself there is a group to chat and learn
from:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hexagonquilts/
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