The Beauty of Hexagon Quilting Patterns

For folks who practice quilting, hexagon quilting patterns are definitely the tried and trusted and easiest to create, not counting squares and circles. The drawback is that many people find that cutting out the fabric takes a lot of time. It is true that it consumes a lot of time but one can learn some tricks to make that process a little faster.

The width of the quilt is important in the overall size of the quilt, including the size of the border. First calculate this width. Whatever the width, divide it by the size of the hexagon being used and round the answer up to discover how many you require for the width. Then repeat the process for the length to determine a total number you will need for the full quilt.

Even though many hexagon patterns look quite easy, it looks to be far more complicated to cut out the hexagons. The pieces of fabric all have six sides. To start out, cut a strip of cloth of similar width as you need for the size of the hexagon, plus the border. Then mark the center of the cloth with a straight line, that will guide you with the subsequent actions you need to take.

Mark the first hexagon based on your pattern. Then, insuring you leave space for the border, continue along the length of the fabric until you reach the end, drawing more hexagons on the material. To accelerate the process of cutting, place many layers of fabric on top of one another so that when you cut the hexagons you cut several in one go.

With one cut you can cut eight hexagon pieces in one go when you securely stack eight layers of cloth on top of each other. It's somewhat tricky doing it in this manner because if the fabric layers move you will end up having incorrect shapes in the lower layers of the cloth. The best benefit of hexagon quilting is that while you're cutting out the hexagons, you are also creating cut out triangles that are often used in most quilting patterns.

Take into account that if you're planning to create a double sided or reversible quilt, you will have to cut double of everything. If you want both sides to look the same, cutting from the hexagon quilting patterns can be done by putting even more cloth layers together. Many people say that you can cut up to eight layers of cloth without the risk of messing it up, but if you're just starting out it's probably better to stick to a maximum of four layers.

Article Source: http://www.myaddirectory.com

Written by Adrian Leech. At www.smartquilting.com you can get information on quilting, as well as ideas for quilting techniges.

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