Hexalong - templates

You can join this Hexalong at any time and make any kind of hexagon project or follow the posts for this project.  The starter post is here.  For this project (and most hexie projects) you will need templates to cut and sew your hexies and other shapes.  You have a few options here.  I make all my hexies and EPP (English Paper Piecing) templates using incompetech and I will show you how to do that in a minute.  However, you have other options.

Template Options

1.   There is a set of printable templates for the Candied Hexagon quilt which you can find here and here.

2.   Kerry Dear, who designed Candied Hexagons used the Marti Mitchell template set H.

3.   I will be using incompetech printable graph paper.  The advantages of this are (i) you can print as many sheets as you need; (ii) you can vary the size of the templates to suit your fabric selections; (iii) you can make more shapes than are possible just using a ready-made template set.  Here is the incompetech pdf I have made and will be using for my project.  If you wish to use this, make sure you select your printer to print landscape and do not re-size to fit your paper.


To make your own incompetech pdf.  

1.   Go to the incompetech equilateral graph paper generator here.   Select your paper size.  For this, I select "other" and swap the dimensions of A4 paper (standard UK printer paper) so that the pdf generates in landscape as you can fit more triangles on this way.  However you can also create a regular portrait pdf by just picking one of the paper size options already there.

2.   Reduce "minimum border" to zero.

3.   I set triangle side length to 0.625 inches.  0.5 inches will give you large hexagons with 3" long sides but the patterns on my fabric called for a slightly larger hexagon so, with a bit of trial and error, I settled on 0.625 inches.  You can set this measurement to whatever size suits your project.

4.   Click "dowload pdf" and send it to print - choosing "landscape" in your printing options if you have created a landscape pdf and do not select any option which adjusts the size to fit your paper.

5.   Take your printed sheet and draw a hexagon on it by drawing along the lines on the paper.  Your hexagon needs to be six triangles long on each side.  Cut this hexagon out and hold it against your fabrics to see whether the scale works with the fabrics you have chosen.  This will be your key template and shows the size of each finished hexagon.  We will cut these up into segments to make different types of pieced hexagons.

6.   Too big or too small, generate a new pdf with different dimensions until you get the size you feel is right for your project.  If you want to machine piece this project, you may prefer to choose bigger hexagons which machine piece more easily.

7.   Once you have decided on your ideal large hexagon shape, print a few out and cut out the hexagons.  These hexagons are now the starting point for all your pieced hexagon blocks.

8.   Here is a photo to show you how cutting each hexagon into smaller shapes gives you quite a variety of pieced hexagon blocks.

In the next post, I will be showing you how to master the basic steps of English Paper Piecing.  As the hexalong goes along, I will also be talking about EPP with curved seams if anyone is brave enough to try that - and it's no harder than EPP with straight seams so you may as well - in for a penny, in for a pound, eh?