3D Hexagon Project - Instructions - Part 1 of 3

Welcome to a

 3D Hexagon - Easy Y Seams

 Table Runner Project 

Part 1 of 3

By Paco Rich

This project is set up so that the most novice quilter may be able to follow along. We are all here to learn something new. It is important that you read through every part, as I feel every piece of information mentioned in this project will help make your learning experience a great one. I am here to help you learn, so please ask me questions!!! **Click on any image to see them larger...
If you're looking for a printable, slightly different version of this table runner, click here...

This project is broken up into 3 sections: supplies, cutting directions & assembly.

Throughout this project, we will become comfortable with picking our fabrics. We will learn two ways to cut half hexagons. We will learn one way to cut diamonds. We will go through the steps for piecing together 3D Hexagons using the Easy Y Seams method. We will learn one way to nest your seams to line up points and reduce the bulkiness at your points. By the end of this project, you will have finished a table runner top measuring about 10" wide by 34" long. You will also leave with the skills needed to tackle any Y Seam you come across, such as tumbling blocks and six pointed stars. 

Basic Supplies:
Sewing Machine
Sewing Notions - scissors, straight pins
Cutting Mat 
Rotary Cutter - New blade - because life is easier!
Fine Point Fabric Marking Tool - I like the FriXion pens
Thread - best if it matches one of your fabrics - I tend to pick thread that matches my light fabric.
Starch - use your favorite brand - we will be sewing on biased edges, so I recommend you starch your fabric before you cut. **see below on Starching the Fabric...

Rulers: 
It is not necessary to have a special 60° equilateral ruler to cut a 60° angle, but cutting accurately is an important step. This project gives you an excuse to buy a cool new ruler (Shop Local!) or use the cool 60° triangle ruler you bought long ago. I have written this tutorial based off the Creative Grids 60° Equilateral Triangle Ruler.

60° Triangle Ruler with 1/4" increment markings

Important: There are many triangle shape rulers out there. If you are going to use a triangle ruler, the triangle ruler must be a 60° ruler. I just learned of a Tri Recs ruler, which has two 63° angles and it will not work. If you have a triangle ruler and you are unsure, send me a picture and we will figure it out together. :-)

Update: Since starting this project two weeks ago, I have learned there is an enormous amount of different kinds of 60° equalateral triangle rulers out there! AND they all have different measurement increments! Who knew! As long as you know it is a 60° triangle ruler, you should be able to use it, you will first have to measure to find the right horizontal line to use. Pictured below are just a few!

If you are like me and don't have easy access to purchase a 60° triangle ruler right away, a square/rectangle ruler that has a 60° line on it will work just as well.

This ruler has a 30° line, a 45° line, and a 60° line.

As there are 2 different rulers we can use to cut our shapes, I will cover both techniques next week... 

A 24" long ruler to help you cut out long strips.
A ruler that has a 3" line - your 24" long ruler may have this...

Fabric Supplies: 
You will need 3 different fabrics - a dark, a medium and a light. The 3 fabrics can be all of one color (ie: all green) OR you can have one focus fabric with two coordinating colors, OR you could even pick 3 scrappy colors, as long as one is dark, one is medium and one is light.

Use your smartphone to take a picture of all 3 fabrics together. Change the photo to a black and white photo (some phones remove the color) and you will see the tone. If all three fabrics look the same in the black and white photo, you will have trouble achieving the Wow! 3D look. **If you need me to change your photo to black and white, upload it to the group page and I will be happy to do that for you! Your fabric selection experience will help others. :-)

Examples:

Notice how the coral and green are almost the same tone in the black and white photo? If you look at the pieced runners above, you will notice the green/coral grape runner does not give off a strong Wow! 3D feel as compared to the other two. You want to look for fabrics that have a nice balance between dark, medium, and light.

The grey in the photo was almost the same as my other fabric once I changed it to a black and white photo, so I opted to leave it out.

Fabrics can be different colors and still have the same tone. You want to avoid fabrics with the same tone as you will not get the "Wow! 3D" look. Here is an example:

Check out the two blocks in the middle row. I have green, brown and white fabric in the first one and green, brown and yellow in the second. They are different colors, but they just don't give you that same "Wow! 3D" look as the blocks in the top and bottom rows. 

When the photo is changed to black and white, you are able to see why, the green and brown for the middle rows are the same tone... I would consider switching out one of the dark fabrics for a medium fabric.

How Much Fabric:
From each of the three fabrics you will need at least: 
14" x WOF - This includes fabric for the triangles in between the hexagons.

Extra fabric for binding and backing is needed. 
Backing: at least 14" x WOF. 
Binding using 2.5" half fold method: at least 8" x WOF.

Something to think about: If you have a focus fabric and want to fussy cut a particular section, plan on having more focus fabric.

• Looking for variations on color/fabric selections?? Check out my 3D Hexagon ~ Tumbling Blocks Board on Pinterest.

Starching the Fabric - optional, but highly recommended:
Because 60° Triangles, Diamonds and Hexagons are sewn on biased edges, it is highly recommended that you starch your fabric before you cut. The starch will help adhere the fibers in your fabric together so that when you are working with the pieces, the fraying and stretching of the cut pieces will be reduced.

Leave the fabric folded in half, with the selvages together. 

Lay it on the board and spray with starch. Give the fabric a second or two to absorb the starch. Press, not iron, by lifting the iron up and moving to a new area on the fabric. Repeat until fabric is pressed dry.

After starching one side, flip the fabric over and repeat for the other side. Repeat until all 3 fabrics are starched.

Please, if you have any questions, feel free to contact me. Fabric selection plays a large part in making this project look Wow! 3D!


Click here to go to
Part 2: Cutting Directions

3D Hexagon Project - Instructions Part 2 of 3

Welcome to

 3D Hexagon - Easy Y Seams

 Table Runner Project 

Part 2 of 3

By Paco Rich

It is important that you read through every part, as I feel every piece of information mentioned here will help make your learning experience a great one. I am here to help you learn, so please ask me questions!!! **Click on images to see them larger...

After picking your fabrics, you want to make sure you cut them accurately. Click here to go to the 3D Hexagon - Easy Y Seam Project - Instructions Part 1 of 3: Fabric Requirements/Supply List.

Cutting Directions:

Because most standard quilting fabric is 42" to 44" wide, you will be able to make two 3D Hexagons from one strip of fabric from each of your three fabrics. Five 3D Hexagons from two strips of fabric from each of your three fabrics. **If using Batik/Bali fabric, you should be able to make three 3D Hexagons from one strip of fabric from each of your three fabrics.

For three hexagons, we will cut 2 strips of fabric measuring 3" wide from each of the three selected fabrics.

How you cut your strips is up to you, but accuracy is important.

• To see how I cut my Strips Of Fabric - Click here.

Or

• Bonnie Hunter has a nice tutorial on how to cut strips, check it out by clicking here - Making The Best Cut with Bonnie Hunter

You want end up with a total of 6 strips of fabric that measure 3" wide: 2 darks, 2 mediums, and 2 lights.

Making Half Hexagons, 60° Diamonds and Triangles (reverse direction in steps below if cutting lefthanded) 

As mentioned in the supply list, we will learn two ways to cut half hexies. The first method I show will be using the triangle ruler, the second method will be the 60° line on a square/rectangle ruler. Choose one of these methods. If you fall in love with making the 3D Hexagons, I highly recommend you invest in a 60° triangle ruler. There is less fabric waste and it makes cutting easy and accurate.

Half Hexies - Method #1- with a 60° triangle ruler (6 half hexies from 3 fabrics - 18 half hexies total)

First, lets check your 60° ruler, not all triangle rulers are created equal.

Place your square ruler on the horizontal line of your triangle ruler. You want to find the line that measures 6 5/8" across. That is the line you will use in place of my 5 1/2" line in the directions below. If you are unsure, contact me and I will help you figure out which line to use. 

Lay out your strip (still folded in half) on your mat. You want the selvages to your left and the fold to your right.

You want to lay your 60° triangle ruler on top of your strip, as close to the selvage end (without being over the selvage), lining up the 5 1/2" line with the bottom of your strip and the 2 1/2" line with the top of your strip.

I placed a piece of yellow painters tape on the back side of the ruler so I can see the numbers easier.

Use your rotary cutter and cut on both sides of the ruler. You now have 2 half hexies.

Rotate (not flip) your ruler to where it is upside-down and line up your ruler on the remaining strip. Line up these 2 points; the 5 1/2" line along the top of your fabric, AND line up the left edge of your ruler with the fabric edge from your previous cut. Cut on the right side of your ruler. You now have 4 half hexies.

Rotate your ruler once again right-side-up and line up your ruler on the remaining strip: line up these 2 points; the 5 1/2" line, AND line up the left edge of your ruler with the fabric edge from your previous cut. Cut on the right side of your ruler. You now have 6 half hexies. **Save the leftover pieces from the end of the strip (pictured in the right of the photo below), we will use them below for cutting the diamonds.

Repeat the half hexie - method #1 steps with the other strips fabric. You will end up with a total of 18 half hexies - 6 from each fabric.

Half Hexies - Method #2- with the 60° line on a square/rectangle ruler (6 half hexies from 3 fabrics - 18 half hexies total)
Cut out 6 rectangles that measure 6 5/8" x 3". If you leave your 3" strip folded in half, you can cut 2 rectangles at a time.

For cutting one pair of rectangles at a time, line up the corner of your ruler with the bottom right corner of your fabric, at the same time, line up the 60° line on your ruler with the bottom edge of your rectangle fabric.

Look at how small the space (red bracket) is in the above picture. If your space is larger than what is pictured, try the 30° line on your ruler.

Measure twice! Cut once.

Lift up your ruler. Flip (not rotate) your two fabric pieces horizontally. Line up your ruler the same as before, with the corner of your ruler on the corner of your rectangle and at the same time, line your 60° line on your ruler up with the bottom of your fabric. Measure twice! Cut once!

You have cut correctly if the long side of your half hexie measures 6 5/8" and the top short side measures 3 3/16".

Repeat with the remaining two pairs of rectangles. You will end up with 6 half hexies.

Repeat the steps for cutting half hexies - method #2 with the other two strips of fabric. You will end up with a total of 18 half hexies - 6 of each fabric.

Diamonds- (3 diamonds from 3 fabrics - 9 diamonds total)
If you have pieces of your strip left over from cutting your half hexies, let us start with those pieces. 

Take your square ruler and line up the 3" line (red arrow) with the left edge of the strip.

Measure twice! Cut once. You now have 2 diamonds.

You can see if the remaining strip piece will give you one more diamond. **I like to save as much fabric as I can and create little waste.** Unfold the piece and line up the 3" line of the ruler with the left edge of the fabric. With this particular fabric, I cannot get another diamond. There is a large chunk of fabric missing on the bottom tip of my diamond point. This is why I had you cut a second 3" strip.

Those using Batik/Bali fabric, you should be able to get your 3rd diamond.

If you didn't have any fabric left over from cutting half hexies, let us continue on with the second 3" strip of fabric.

Lay your second 3" strip of fabric on your mat.

Lay your ruler on your strip and line up the 5 1/2" line or the 60° line with the bottom of your strip, and the left edge of your ruler as close to the selvage side of your fabric strip (without the ruler over the selvage). You only want to cut off the selvage side of the ruler.

Now using your square ruler you want to line up your 3" line with the left edge of your fabric strip. *For an easier angle to cut, move your strip at an angle, like pictured below*. Cut. You have 2 diamonds.

Since we only need one more diamond, you want to unfold the strip so you only cut one diamond. Follow the same steps as the picture above. The rest of the strip can be used as the binding or used to make a pieced backing.

Repeat the steps above for making diamonds from the other two fabrics. You will end up with 9 diamonds, 3 of each fabric.

You now have 3 diamonds, one for each pair of half hexagons.

If you've been able to follow along, we now have cut the pieces for our 3D Hexagons.

3D Hexagon Layout -
Let's take a peek and see what they look like!!!
Start with the two dark half hexies and place them like so... **As a way to keep it all straight in my head, I always start with a dark and work my way around to medium and light. 

Two medium half hexies...

Two light half hexies...

Now the diamonds. Starting with the dark diamond, you want to place the diamond across from its like colored half hexies.

You have it in the right spot when the wide angle of the diamond is between the medium and light half hexies.

Medium diamond...

And the light diamond...

Yay! A beautiful sight!

Triangles - Triangle cutting directions will be included with Part 3, so don't toss your leftover fabric. 

One last step to tackle over the course of this week:
Figure out your seam size. Most people use a 1/4" seam, others use what is comfortable for them. As long as all your seams are the same size throughout this whole project, it will work out just fine for this 3D Hexagon Table Runner Project.

Pictured: One set of pieces for one 3D Hexagon.

Now that you know your seam size, separate one group of cut pieces that will make one 3D Hexagon. We will need to mark our start and stop points. I am asking that you mark at least one whole set so that you can train your eyes to see your start and stop points and how they line up with your machine. If you feel more comfortable marking all your pieces for all three of your 3D Hexagons, please do so.

For one 3D Hexagon set of pieces, I want you to mark on the back of each piece - the part where your seams will intersect. Here is an example if your seams are 1/4":

Line up the 1/4" line on the ruler with the edge of your fabric piece. If your seams are 3/8", line up the 3/8" line on the ruler with the edge of your fabric...

Mark a short line near both of the edges. Rotate the fabric and repeat for all sides of the shape. Some felt more comfortable drawing the whole line...

If you are anything like me, I don't like to draw on every piece of fabric. I like to chain piece and spend my time sewing!! I will show you how to line your pieces up and sew without marking the fabric! Yahoo!

Now, we will sew!

Please, if you have any questions, feel free to contact me. Cutting accurately is important!

Click here to go to

Part 3: Easy Y Seam Assembling Directions.