The Secret Behind Anita's Hexagons

September 2015

C&T Publishing  encouraged its authors to mark this National Sewing Month and I got on board. My contribution is a very special Hexagon pattern that's been, unbelievably, under wraps for ten years.

How to Make the Best Use of Fabric

Use my line drawing to turn a 10" square of fabric into 7 hexagons (and 4 half-hexagons) in 10 cuts. Without waste.

It's typical of patterns in my Rotary Cutting Revolution book. Efficient cutting without waste or measuring.

I got together with Rachel Low here in New York at her Pins & Needles shop. Rachel is the C&T author of  Girl's Guide to DIY Fashion   We helped each other to make our how to videos. Have a look at mine, and if you hear a phone ring once, well, rings happen.

These fabric hexagons are suited for English Paper Piecing EPP. After making the video I polished up the pattern and made it available as this free PDF download

My technique-filled class Traditional Blocks Made Simple is on Craftsy. It includes as a bonus the PDF of Rotary Cutting Revolution. Identical to the paperback version complete with 300+ photos and easy to print patterns. All in all, a sweet deal to celebrate National Sewing Month for yourself.

Make it Simpler,
 Anita

It all began many hexagons ago...

Reversible Hexies II

April 24, 2013
My reversible hexagonal quilt,  Vice Versa, debuted in 2002 at the Empire Quilters guild show

I put the quilt away until the 2005 gallery exhibition below

Above: detail of front of Vice Versa quilt

Above: detail of  back of  Vice Versa quilt

Now, over more than a decade later, Quiltmaker Magazine has published my Reversible Hexagon method with their perfect instructions for a reversible table runner in current fabric

I ought to pull out a few other hexagon  projects from the Make It Simpler archives for publication and teaching. I've left some interesting techniques for one-patches sitting around for far too long
Anita

Reversible Hexies

April 22, 2013
The Vice Versa Quilt

Once upon a time, in my charmed life, our quilt group at Riverbank State Park undertook one-patches at my behest. Diamonds, tumblers, triangles, squares; you name it.  By hand, by machine, English paper pieced, foundation pieced, whatever method suited each quilter.

I endeavored to make this manageable for all skill levels. It's one thing to sew hundreds of one-patches together but another to complete a quilt with angular edges.  My thought was to make self-contained diamond one-patches. There'd be a front and a back sewn together and batting enclosed.  Each unit would be individually quilted and joined to others.  I envisioned a sort of quilt-as-you go charm quilt.

I clearly remember the disappointing experimental diamond units I made. They were awful  misshapen little pieces with nary a sharp corner. I stared at them on the counter top completely bummed out until I saw three sad units formed a hexagon. OMG. Rather than continue to pre-quilt individual 60 degree diamonds I sewed hexagons from three diamonds and then pre-quilted that hexagonal unit. From there I went on to make a reversible quilt, my Vice Versa quilt.

Today I opened my project box of spare parts which I'd socked away in 2002

The quilt has been stored with another fragile quilt on top of a dresser 

My telling of this quilt will be continued, but I can tell you now it will end with Peg's table runner in the May/June 2013 issue of Quiltmaker Magazine

Anita