Create Unique Designs With Hexagon Quilting Patterns

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With the exception of circular and square patterns, hexagon quilting patterns are amongst the easiest design for quilters to make. However, many folks feel that it consumes a lot of time to cut all the pieces. It is true that it takes a lot of time but one can learn some tricks to make the process much more efficient.

Once you decided what size the quilt should be you are going to make in addition to the size of the border the quilt will have, you can measure how wide an area is going to comprise of the hexagon quilting patterns. Take the width and divide it by the size of the hexagon pieces that you will need, and round it up to the nearest hole number. Then repeat the process for the length to calculate a total number you will need for the full quilt.

Even though many hexagon patterns look quite straightforward, it appears to be much more complex to cut out the pieces. The pieces of fabric all have six sides. To start out, cut a strip of fabric of similar width as you need for the size of the hexagon, counting in the border. Then mark the center of the fabric with a line, that will guide you with the subsequent actions you must take.

Mark the first hexagon figure based on your pattern of the quilt. Then, insuring you leave room for the border, continue down the length of the fabric until you reach the end, drawing more hexagons on the fabric. To accelerate the task, you can put several layers of fabric on top of each other so that when you cut one from the hexagon quilting patterns, you can cut several at once.

If you stack eight layers of cloth, and fasten them together securely, you are able to cut eight hexagons at the same time. It's somewhat tricky doing it this way because if the fabric layers shift you will have incorrect shapes in the bottom layers of the fabric. Most of the hexagon quilting patterns will also have patterns for the triangles needed for your quilt, but those triangles will already be cut due to the shape of the hexagons.

Remember that if you are deciding to create a two-sided or reversible quilt, you must cut two of everything. To ensure that the two sides look exactly the same you can stack as many layers of material as you will need. Experts claim that eight layers are the maximum, but if you're a beginner quilter, it might be wiser to cut no more than four layers, cutting more often.


About the Author:
Written by Millicent Alfaro. At www.smartquilting.com you can get quilting advice, as well as advice for quilting software for Macintosj.



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


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