Saturday, May 1, 2010

Hexagon Thoughts :: Week Five :: Hexagon Piecing 101 Video

For those visual learners (like me) out there, here's the Hexagon Piecing 101 video!


Please look past my dry hands and raspy, early morning voice. My allergies have been terrible this spring. 

Let me know if you find this kind of thing helpful. I love actually seeing something done in addition to reading instructions and looking at photos. If you do find it helpful and would like to see additional videos, please comment and let me know what you'd like to see.

I also wanted to add (again) that I use size 9 betweens hand quilting needles and 100% cotton hand quilting thread in light brown for piecing.

If you are making a hexagon project and would like to swap scraps with other fellow hexagon addicts, please visit the discussions at the flickr group. There are some great swap ideas being proposed and we'd love for you to join us!

24 comments:

The One and Only said...

I love this video. It really shows what you are saying...would love to see more videos!! Have a great weekend.!

~Laurie~ said...

GREAT job with the video - I am a visual learner also and this was perfect! Thank you so much!

Mary Carole said...

Great Job!! I am such a visual learner, so thrilled you made these videos. I beg you to make more. :-) While I like picture and written tutorials, I never feel like I get the complete technique and lesson. In fact, most things that I do make I just figured out how to do them on my own. I'm not the best at follow other people directions...oops! But both of these videos are so spot on that I am not questioning anything from them...yay!

Thank you for taking the time to put them together!

~ MC

Halfway Crafter said...

Melanie you are going to be in trouble soon! I have been able to admire your hexagon project without feeling the need to actually create one myself... but the more you keep posting about it the more I think it would be great project to complete! I have enough other projects on the go that need finishing without starting a mega huge project like this one!
Oh well, I will just have to console myself with admiring your beautiful work! ;-)

andie said...

Okay! Great job here!! Just attached three hexies together so I did it 2 times following your video. I did better the second time so practice makes perfect I guess. Do you sew them together in a line or into a flower or what process is easiest in sewing them all together? Does every hexie have to have every one of it's edges sewn to another? Thanks!

Siobhán said...

Thank you, thank you, thank you!! I just found your blog this week and have been stalking you since. I used to be an avid quilter 10+ years ago and fell away from it. I'm ever so slowly getting back into it with hexagon piecing, so your PDF hexagon sheet and videos have been invaluable. I'm a visual learner, and as Mary Carole said, it's soooo much easier to figure out what to do when I'm seeing it rather than reading it. So far I'm just basting my hexies but I'm prepared for the next step now. Thanks!

venus said...

Woohoo! Nice! Thanks, Melanie!

Jane said...

Enjoyed your video and thanks for making it. Yes, I too have been sucked into the vortex that is hand sewn hexagons! Joined the swap as well.

Ingrid said...

A great video, thank you very much!

I think it´s very interesting that most quilters in Germany do their hexagons in another way. The way you do it, we call the " english method". With this method you stich with your thread through the paper. So you can see the thread on the right side of the fabric. And when you have sewn together all your flowers or hexagons you must remove this thread.
In Germany we use another technique: we fold down the fabric in the same way as you do, but then we fix it with a herringbone stitch that does not go through the paper. What I like most with this technique, is that you can leave the thread in your quilt.

Do you know this technique?

Ingrid from Germany

Melanie said...

Hi, Ingrid! Thank you for your comment.

I have tried the method you mention, but I'm not familiar with the herringbone stitch. I'll have to do some research.

After trying both methods, I found that I preferred the English method because the papers seem to stay in place much better for me. I sew my hexagons together in strips and then attach the strips to one another. When the hexagons are basted only on the back, I found that they fell out very easily when I bent and manipulated the rows in order to align my edges accurately.

It's funny that you mentioned removing the basting stitches because I hear often that people don't want to have to remove the stitches. I actually filmed a short video of how I remove my stitches because it only takes seconds per hexagon. I'll post it soon. Since I do not tie knots in the basting stitches, they come out quite easily.

Again, thank you for your kind comment. I think it's great to have options and I'm off to see about the herringbone stitch!

Melanie

Ingrid said...

Thank you, Melanie,

I don´t know, if ´herringbone stitch´ is the really correct name of the stitch that I use. Unfortunately I don´t have my own blog, so I can´t show you a photo. But maybe I´ll send you a photo via email. To my shame I have to admit,that first I have to ask my 12-year old son, how to send a photo via email.

Ingrid from Germany

Valerie said...

Thanks, Melanie --- the videos are great! And the double-knot technique at the end; I'll be sure to give it a go when I start piecing.

Melanie said...

Yes, Ingrid, please send me a photo. My email address is just below the header on the right. :-)

Angela Nash said...

Great video!! And I love the knot tip at the end - I always forget about that nice way to make a knot.

Anonymous said...

I would love to see a series of short videos on the entire process of your hexagon quilt. How you know how many to make, choosing colors, how you will layout & quilt. Great video!

Maura said...

love it.

Audie said...

Thanks for the videos! It is really really helpful to actually watch it happen...

Coffeebean's Dailies said...

Hi Melanie,

I'm so happy to see this tutorial video. You did a great job and visually seeing what you did really helps! I posted an em to you a little while ago to see if I could join as I started my hexagons years ago but want to tell you that I also did the whip stitch. Sometimes too close and then I found my pace. However, what I learned from yours was the end bit, so thank you and please keep more videos coming!

Annabelle said...

Brilliant!! Thank you so much!! It was great to see (clearly) and hear (clearly - can't even tell you had the allergy issue) how someone piecing went. There are great tutes out there but few video with great sound and look. Thanks again.

Lisa said...

Great video, I'm a visual learner as well and this really helps. Any videos you'd like to post will be welcome. I won't be joining in on the piece along, but it will come in handy for the Grandmother's Flower Garden I'll be working on. Thanks!

Heather said...

LOVE this video - thanks so much for sharing it! I'm a bit late to the hexagon quilt along, but finally getting to the sewing-them-together phase, and this helps me immensely! I love this project!!!

tiff said...

this is so wonderful! i'm totally new to this style of quilting (and, frankly, all quilting). could you make some tutorials on how you started? picked and used the english paper? those would be my suggestions because you do such a great job teaching. :) blessings!

Anonymous said...

I love and needed this Video, thank you thank you!!!

Anonymous said...

I loved the tutorial. I had never tried paper piecing before (I admit I was a little daunted by it for some reason) your video showed me just how easy it could be. I had been looking for inspiration for a baby quilt for my new granddaughter and hexagon flowers kept catching my eye. I had never worked with hexagons before and I discarded the idea of making the flowers, until I saw your video.

Thanks to your video the quilt is almost done (just need to quilt & bind it!) Thank you so much for making this clear, easy to follow video. I never realized how fun, relaxing and addictive making hexagons could be! Great ideas on storage too.