I think we can all agree that the hexagon is, in fact, the bestagon.
So what if you could make something out of hundreds of tiny hexagons AND it’s a fibercraft?
If you don’t know what I’m talking about, I highly recommend watching this video by CGP Grey!
One might say I surely have enough fiber-related hobbies already, but I simply love to have the skills and knowledge to create things!
The more techniques I know, the more options I have to create whatever I envision.
I have yet to find a more fulfilling feeling than that!
So… without further ado, let’s add to my repertoire of experience! ^^
A Low Threshhold
This might be a good moment to explain what EPP (English Paper Piecing) even is;
It’s a patchwork technique that uses paper templates, around which the fabric gets temporarily attached, to achieve various shapes that are then sewn together. Once this is done the templates are removed.
It’s most often used to make all sorts of homedecor items.
I’ve been wanting to improve my handsewing for over a year at this point, so a technique like EPP, that can only be done by hand, seemed like the perfect thing to pick up.
Since I have been doing simple sewing projects for probably about half my life, I already owned most of the materials I needed to get started on english paper piecing.
Here’s what you need to get started:
- Fabrics (A great way to use scraps!)
- Sewing thread
- Sewing needles
- Sewing clips (they’re technically optional but I wouldn’t want to miss them)
- Paper (I recommend using heavyer paper than regular printer paper if possible)
- Scissors (NEVER use your fabric scissors to cut paper!)
- Fabric fixation marker (This is the only thing I didn’t have yet and it’s optional)
To be honest I didn’t have the patience to sit through a whole tutorial. (again…) Especially since I didn’t like the gluestick-only-technique for preparing the pieces that most were showing, but with about half a tutorial and some aesthetic crafting “Visual diary”-vlogs featuring EPP in mind, I felt ready to give it a try.
This isn’t meant to be a tutorial because I don’t think I should teach something I just tried for the very first time myself but this is the technique I chose:
(Which doesn’t mean I’m not considering writing a little tutorial next time I do it, since the way I did it worked out so well and was extraordinarily easy…^^)
First, I used my cricut to cut out a whole lot of about 5cm large hexagons with a hole in the middle. (The hole makes it easier to remove the paper pieces from the fabric after they’ve been sewn together)
Using a cricut or something similar isn’t necessary though – there’s plenty of free, printable pages of hexies in all sizes out there, that you can simply cut out by hand – I just wanted the most even hexies I could get and spare myself spending hours trying to cut even shapes.
From what I could gather, the shapes used for EPP are usually much larger than the size I chose, but I only really like the look of pieces done using tiny little hexagons, so this is what I went with.
Then, I cut my fabric into squares, a bit larger than my paper hexagons.
I think I cut the fabric to 7x7cm, which turned out to be a bit larger than necessary
To attach my squares to the paper templates, I used a fabric fixation marker (which is basically a temporary gluestick for fabric), to stick the hexagons on my pre-cut fabric.
With the paper attached, I trimmed the edges of the fabric to somewhat match the shape, leaving a boarder of “Eh… looks about right”.
Most tutorials will now have you glue down the edges around the paper template using the fixation stick – I personally think, while this certainly is a quick and simple way, it isn’t the most secure or tidy one.
Instead, I folded the edges around side by side, and using my sewing thread, applied a backstitch through each corner.
And that’s the preparation done already! ^^
Granted, doing the preparation this way is quite a lengthy process in and of itself, but diligence and patience are the most important tools in any crafters toolbox, to achive the best possible results.
From Pieces To Panel
With my hexagons prepared, it was time to decide on their placement within the finished piece.
The most commonly done layout would be, to arrange the hexagons in “flower” shapes – having a circle of hexagons of the same colour/fabric around a single one in a different colour/fabric. But that’s not a style I like the look of very much… Instead, I arranged mine to create a seemingly random pattern, while trying to have the overall piece look balanced in patterns and colours.
I vastly overestimated the amount of hexies I’d need, so I still have a lot of them left.
I wanted my project to be somewhat portable – at least throughout the home – so I kept all the supplies along with a small bowl for scraps on a large tray.
This worked wonderfully and enabled me to still stitch away on my project while I was sick in bed for a few days.
Contrary to the most common way of sewing up “flowers”, and attaching them afterwards, I sewed my hexagons into strips first, then attached the strips to each other edge by edge.
To get the neatest possible corners I could manage to create, I tied and cut the thread after each and every edge and started every single joining seam anew.
I’m still a bit astonished by how invisible the seams turned out!
Separation Anxiety
When the time came to remove the paper templates from the fabric, I must admit I was terrified to ruin it all!
In my self-doubting mind, the now fully assembled piece of fabric was held in shape purely by coincidence and fairy dust, and surely removing the machine-cut templates from within the panel would ruin it all and my seams would all come out to look wonky and horrible!
This was also the moment I was confirmed in my choice to baist the corners in place with thread instead of glue, since it meant that even the edges that weren’t attached to another hexagon stayed in shape after removing the templates. While that’s not necessary for the way I used it going forward, it made the piece look very satisfying.
For removing the paper templates from the sewn up fabric, the holes in the middle were priceless! I could simply insert the tip of my thread scissors into the holes, between the fabric and the paper, and since they already loosened themself quite a bit from moving and bending them around during sewing, lift them out with no effort at all.
The templates can even be re-used!
To my surprise, removing the paper didn’t change anything at all, except for removing the extra thickness and stiffness from the paper itself.
This image is from the piece with the templates still in place, because I forgot to take a picture of it with them removed ^^’
I’m really glad I chose to go with such tiny hexies!
It was a lot of work for a really small piece of fabric in the end, but I think it looks incredible this way and was more than worth its work!
I’m also really happy with the fabrics I used
Making (For) Use
It would not be a project of mine, if I just made a pretty piece of fabric and called it done.
This piece of patchwork was made for a specific purpose right from the start and was made to the specific measurements I needed to turn it into the intended finished object.
And for said purpose, it needed to be cut…
I must admit it was quite hard to cut into something I had just taken days to diligently make. Especially, since cutting it into a rectangle meant cutting through some of the exact seams that took so long to stitch.
However, I believe something just gets even more precious, if it has a use, that lets it be enjoyed on a regular basis instead of just collecting dust in a corner.
The use that my first EPP trial now serves is a pouch for my kindle!
I don’t like to have it in a case, because I prefer it to be as light weight as possible when I use it.
But throwing an e-reader into a bag without any protection is just asking for damage – especially if you like to carry around sharp objects like knitting needles!
Sewing this up would’ve been really quick and easy on a sewing machine, but since I wanted to practice my hand sewing, I used a heat erasable pen to draw some guidelines on all the pieces, so I could folow them when sewing and end up with even seams.
The pouch itself is a simple rectangle that’s a bit larger than my kindle and consists of the EPP-panel, heavy canvas for the back and cotton for the lining.
I’d include the measurements but the pouch ended up a super snug fit that only fits perfectly because I got super lucky with the thickness of my seams, so I can’t recommend following my exact pattern for this…
If you want to make a similar pouch, just take the measurments of your e-reader and add a few centimeters on each side to account for its thickness, the thickness of the fabric and seam allowance.
Take into account that seams take up a bit of space themselves because of the seam allowances between the layers of the pouch – the thicker the fabric you use the more space they’ll take up.
Adding 2-3cm to the measurments of the e-reader, including a 0,5cm seam allowance should work well for thin devices.
The sewing up of the pouch is as simple as can be;
– Sew the outer fabric pieces together along the sides and bottom edge with right sides facing.
– Do the same for the lining leaving a turning gap in the bottom seam
– Turn the outer layer pouch right side out, put it into the lining (so that the right sides face each other) and sew along the top edge
– Turn through the gap, then close it
Again, this isn’t meant as a tutorial but I hope these notes are enough to recreate my pouch, should someone want to ^^
I’m a bit proud of the way I did the closure on this pouch.
It’s hilariously simple but it works perfectly and is both secure and convenient to use.
How did I make it?
I simply attached a hairtie to the middle of the top of the outer-fabric piece used for the back side of the pouch, using a few stitches to secure it onto the seam allowance for extra stability, then trapped it between the layers when attaching the lining to the outer bag.
Then, I added a large button to the front, so that the hairtie lays relaxed once it’s looped around the button, but has to stretch in order to be taken off.
This is how it turned out ^^
I used a hairtie because I happened to have a fresh pack of ones in a colour that matched the natural colour scheme of my bag and I find it was easier and ended up neater looking, than using elastic meant for sewing, that’s not a loop the right size, shape and colour already.
Again, it’s a very snug fit for the device but it works great and has kept my kindle safe so far.
I used canvas for the backside because it’s very thick and sturdy and I wanted the most protection possible and for the bag to keep its shape well. On top of that, I added some thin, iron-on interfacing to the EPP and canvas sides – I’m not willing to take any risks when it comes to the safety of my kindle, so the more layers between my precious portal to magical worlds and stray needles, the better! XD
Off To New Crafty Corners
As I mentioned, I vastly overestimated the amount of hexagons I’d need to make my first little project, so I still have a lot of already prepared ones left.
I also kept the paper templates I used already, since they’re reusable.
It’s safe to say my future has the shape of a polygon! ^^
I already have a second, also quite simple project planned to use up the leftover hexagons from this time and I’m already contemplating colour palettes and sewing patterns for something I’d like to make for someone dear to me, but that one will have to wait till I restock fabrics.
Writing of sewing patterns: that’s what I’m currently working on!
After hand stitching so many stitches that aren’t meant to be seen, I’m really craving doing some embroidery again and since I’m not the type of crafter to put my work in a frame or box, I needed a pattern to make use of what I wanted to stitch in the end.
However, I wasn’t able to find one that was quite what I wanted, so I ended up drafting one myself and am currently testing it.
It’ll take a while for it to appear on the blog (if it even ends up working out the way I’m hoping it will at all), but I’m excited to keep stitching on! ^^
And speaking of making things for others… I’m dying to ramble and hype about something I made, which isn’t only a whole new craft, but required months of practice in all sorts of techniques and simultaneously improved my skills in a ton of related skills – including embroidery!
Buuuut it’s too precious to risk getting lost in the mail, since it took so long and some of my friends know about this page so till I can finally hand it to them, I have to stay hush so I don’t spoil the surprise.
In the meantime, I’ll just be here rambling about my passion and whatever my bouncy-ball of a brain decides has to be sent into the void. ^^
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my rambling!
May your days be filled with the greatness of the bestagon
Have a wonderful week!
Snowdrop