Hexagon Flower Bag

Hi, I’m Julie from Narioka, Australia. After four quilt tutorials for the Moda Bake Shop, I’ve decided to show you a bag pattern. While paper piecing hexagons, this idea came to me. Its a really cute, quirky, fun to make bag. It would make a great hand-stitching project to take away if you are travelling.

Enjoy!

To make this bag you will need

One Charm Pack. (One bag takes 18 squares.)

Half yard of fabric to make lining and handle.

Three inch wide strip of coordinating fabric for handle.

Pre-cut 2 inch hexagon templets.

2.5 inch strip iron on interfacing.

I’ve used Lauren and Jessi Jung’s Flora for the main bag and for a different look, a second bag from the Indian Summer range from Laundry Basket Quilts.

Step 1.

To make this bag you will require 18 charm squares from your pack. Pick them at random or hand select your favourites like I did.

When I sew hexagons, I use pre-cut hexagon templates. Alternatively you can make your own. The ones I have used are two inch {ie. the length of each side measures two inches}.

Step 2.

Place your hexagon template over you first charm square and rotary cut around it allowing slightly more than 1/4 inch. I find 1/4 inch not quite enough. Some people don’t cut off the excess but I prefer to. It may give the bag a better finish if you do cut them off.

Step 3.

Place your first cut hexagon on a stack of five or so charms as a guide. Continue to cut out the remaining hexagons from all eighteen squares.

Step 4.

Lay your hexagon template on the wrong side of your first cut piece and evenly fold the first side down. Using a threaded needle, work your way all the way around the edge using a long basting stitch to hold the sides in place. See below.

You will end up with a pretty pile like this after a little while.

Step 5.

You are now ready to start joining your hexagons together. Place them right sides together and whip stitch along the edge. See image.

Use my pictures as a guide to how to arrange the hexagons.

You can join them in rows or make two hexagon flowers like I did below. I wanted to see what the front and back of the bag would look like so I joined them this way. I wanted the red in the centre front of the bag.

Keep working your way around until all 16 pieces are joined in the shape below.

Step 6.

Placed the two remaining hexagons, right sides together on the hexagon at either end.

Only stitch these two end hexagons on along the two sides as indicated in the photo. Leaving the end opening open to insert the strap into.

Step 7.

You can now fold the bag in half and partially stitch down the sides. Only stitch down three hexagon sides, from where I have indicated below.

Step 8.

After stitching the sides, turn your bag sideways and you will have an opening at the bottom. Lift the bottom hexagon (green) up to meet the two (yellow) hexagons above it. Stitch along these two sides.

This is how it will appear on the finished bag.

Step 9.

You can now snip your basting threads and remove the paper templates. Turn your bag so the correct side of the fabric is facing out. Flip over the top two top hexagons so they face the inside of the bag.

Give the bag a gentle press along the edges.

Step 10.

To make the lining and handles you will need to cut the following pieces.

Bag lining 9 by 19 inches.

Bag straps 2.5 by 14 inches.

Optional – if you want a stiffer handle cut a 2.5 by 14 inch piece of iron on interfacing and fix to wrong side of one of the bag straps.

Step 11.

Press over about 1/2 inch the top edges of the bag lining.

Flatten pressed edge out and sew along side seam as shown.

Lay your bag exterior over lining and mark with a pin the position to sew the opposite side seam. This will make sure your bag lining fits snuggly into the bag exterior.

If necessary, trim excess fabric off the side seams back to about 1/4 inch. Fold each corner as shown and stitch across the corner one inch from the end of the side seam stitching. This will box out the bottom of the lining. Trim off excess back to 1/4 inch.

Step 12.

Fold over the top along the pressed mark.

Insert lining into bag, pin and then slip stitch around the top edge.

Step 13.

Iron on interfacing to wrong side of one bag strap.

Stitch bag straps together, right sides together along the long edge. Check required width against strap opening and stitch along the other side.

Turn strap in the right way, press and then insert the ends into the opening on the bag as shown. Insert about 1/2 an inch. Pin and hand stitch in place and you are finished.

A cute pieced hexagon bag.

Perfect for day or evening.

9 3/4 inches widest x 6.5 inches tall {including strap}

Julie Sebire.

{Narioka}

Cabins in the Hills

Cabins in the Hills Quilt

Made from the range HIDEAWAY by Lauren and Jessi Jung.

By Julie Sebire of “Narioka” Australia.

I’m very pleased to bring you my third Bake Shop project, I think this one is my favourite so far.

You can also visit my blog narioka@blogspot.com

One Hideaway Jelly Roll

38 inches white setting fabric

30 inches red gingham print

35 inches green clock print

70 inches of wide quilt backing (more if you require wider for quilting)

18 inches fabric for binding

Unroll your Jelly Roll and take out the darkest red strips.

Cut 41, 2.5 inch squares from these three strips.

It’s traditional in a log cabin quilt to have a red fireplace in the corner or centre of your cabin.

From the remaining 37 strips cut from each one

One 8.5 inch strip

Two 6.5 inch strips

Two 4.5 inch srips

and one 2.5 inch square.

Pop these into little piles like I have above. The top pile is the leftovers.

This next step may seem a little repetitive but it was the best way of explaining the cutting and still getting a good mix of the various fabrics over the quilt.

Cut these next strips from the leftover sections. There will be a complete mix of all the fabrics.

Cut carefully, there will be very little fabric leftover at the end.

Four 8.5 inch strips

Eight 6.5 inch strips

Eight 4,5 inch strips

and four 2.5 inch squares.

Add these to your piles as you go.

Piecing.

To start making your cabin blocks.

Take a red 2.5 inch square and join to a coloured 2.5 inch square (as above).

Repeat this with all 2.5 inch squares.

Its easiest to chain piece all 41 blocks.

Take the two pieces you have just joined and add a 4.5 inch strip. (as above)

Repeat the same step with remaining pieces, chain piecing again.

Make sure you add the 4.5 inch strip to the same side on every cabin block.

Join the next 4.5 inch strip as shown above.

Repeat on all blocks.

Now join a 6.5 inch strip as shown.

Repeat on all blocks.

…and another six inch strip as shown.

Finally, add the 8.5 inch strip as shown. This completes the cabin block.

On a bed or a clear section of floor, layout your blocks as shown. Keep all the red corners (fireplaces) to the one direction.

Section the quilt now into diagonal rows. ie. 1st row has one block, 2nd row has three blocks. etc.

Label the first block in each diagonal row.

You will have nine rows.

We can now begin adding the “hills” around our cabins (white triangle setting pieces).

There are four triangles along each side that are the same size.

The four corner triangles are slightly smaller.

We will do the sides fist.

Cut four, 14 inch squares.

Cross cut these squares into four triangle each, as above.

Add one of these triangles to each end of rows 1,2,3,4 and 6,7,8,and 9 using my photos as a guide to placement. The point of each triangle needs to match up with the cabin block evenly. The triangle will overhang the cabin block at the edge of the quilt, don’t worry, this is intentional.

To make the triangles for the corners.

Cut an 8 inch square.

Cut diagonally once, to makes two triangles.

Repeat. You will have four triangles, one for each corner.

Join a triangle to either end of row five as shown above. Once again, there will be overhang.

Attach the final two triangles to the other corners as shown above.

Finish sewing rows together. The overhanging triangles will give the effect of the cabins being set into the hills, the white fabric completely enclosing the cabin blocks.

You may need even up the edges slightly with your rotary cutter before adding the borders.

I have put two borders on this quilt.

The first border is a 1 inch (1.5 inch cut) red gingham print.

The second border is 3.5 inch (3.75 inch cut) green clock print.

Quilt and bind as desired.

One quilt 65 inches square.

Much too pretty to roll up and take on the tractor to head up the hills!

Julie Sebire
{narioka@blogspot.com}

Wild Rose Postage Stamp Quilt

Wild Rose Postage Stamp Quilt.

By Julie Sebire of “Narioka” Australia.

Hello again, I hope you enjoy making my second project for the Bake Shop as much as I did.

You can also visit me at my blog narioka@blogspot.com.

One Wild Rose Jelly Roll.

Half yard for inner border and pieced back. (cream)

One and a half yards for outer border, binding and pieced back. (blue)

One and half yards backing fabric. (green ticking)

Unroll Jelly Roll. Cut all strips in half where they fold.

You will now have eighty strips.

You will use 72 of these strips for the quilt front, I used the remaining eight strips to make the pieced quilt back.

Before starting to piece this quilt, I did a little colour planning. I laid out the 72 strips in rough colour groups. I wanted to group the colours instead of having them all randomly placed. If you prefer a random look to your quilt just start piecing with your first 24 strips.

Using the Wild Rose range I’ve ended up with mustards and greens on one side (24 strips), lighter coloured prints in the centre (24 strips) and blues and reds on the other side (24 strips).

Arrange one mustard, one green , one blue and one red strip into the centre to help the colours blend across the quilt. Rearrange until you are happy with the spread of colour. (As above).

Take the first 24 strips.

Join together four strips at a time stitching down the long side. Repeat stitching next four strips together until all strips are used. Press .

Rotary cut sections across the strips, 2.5 inches wide, as shown to create your postage stamps.

Take all your four square sections and lay them out (above) to make up 12 blocks of 4 by 4 squares. Try not to have similar prints next to each other.

Stich the 4 x4 blocks together to form two large pieces: 4 squares high, 24 squares long.

This completes one third of the postage stamp piecing.

Repeat with the remaining two thirds of the fabrics.

You should now have six 4 x 24 square sections. (Two in reds and blues, two in the lights, and two in the mustards and greens). Join together using the picture above as a guide.

I have put two borders on this quilt. I used a cream one inch inner border (cut 1.5 inch wide strips) and a blue three inch outer border (cut 3.5 inch wide strips). I’ve also bound the quilt in the same blue fabric from the Wild Rose range.

My quilt back I just made up as I went along from what fabric pieces I had left over and the length of 44″ green ticking from the Wild Rose fabric range.

I cut the ticking length ways slightly off centre and then made an insert 15 inches wide to make the backing the same width as the quilt.

The insert consists of

* A strip, 2 squares wide by 26 squares long made from the eight strips originally held aside at the start.

* Border both sides with a one inch strip of cream (cut 1.5 inches wide).

* Border each side again with 3.5 inch strips of blue (cut 4 inches wide).

* Border each side again with 2 inches of the cream (cut 2.5 inches wide).

* Stitch ticking to both sides of insert.

I find pieced backings are a great way to use scraps and be creative. They almost give you the effect of two quilts in one!

Quilt as desired.

One 56″ square quilt, perfect for wrapping around you out on the porch!

Happy making!

Julie Sebire

{narioka.blogspot.com}

Cobblestone Road Quilt and Pebbles Doll Quilt

by Julie Sebire of Narioka.

Welcome to my first Moda Bake Shop tutorial.

Cobblestone Road Quilt and matching Pebbles doll quilt, made using Honey Buns from the very pretty Hunky Dory collection.

2 honey buns

2.5 yards backing 

20 inches binding

20 inches of two co-ordinating fabrics for pieced backs (optional).

2 yards batting.

Note:  Save any unused strips and off-cuts as you go.  With careful cutting there will be enough fabric left over to make the Pebbles doll quilt too.

Step 1:

From the first honey bun separate the strips into seven groups of five strips each.  There will be five strips left over, just put aside.   Try to vary the colours in each group then join them together sewing from selvedge to selvedge.  See image below.

Step 2:

Take your second Honey Bun and two of the leftover strips from step one.  From each strip cut ten, 3.5 inch long pieces.

Step 3:

The 3.5 inch long pieces will make up 84 of these rectangle blocks.  One color for the centre and four pieces of another fabric for the border.  Join the two sides to the center piece first.  Then add the top and bottom pieces.  See below.

Step 4:

Arrange the rectangle blocks in rows of fourteen, mixing the colors as you go.  There will be six rows.  

Step 5:

Using the finished quilt image below as a guide, lay out the seven rows of complete strips and six rows of rectangles, alternating between the two.  You may need to rearrange rows until you are satisfied with the position of various colors.  

Step 6:

Starting from the top.  Sew your first row of strips to the first row of rectangles.  Start close to one side.  The rows of strips will be wider than the row of rectangles.  After joining each row of strips onto rectangles, square up the edges making the rows of strips the same length as the rectangle rows, see below.   

Tip:  Its much safer to trim off the excess than cut your rows to an exact size before joining them together.   There are a lot of seams using narrow pre-cuts so you will find a slight error in seam width can make quite a difference over a complete quilt.    

Step 7:

Once all your rows are together, your quilt top is complete.   Fabric from a regular 44 inch bolt of fabric can be used for backing as the quilt top will be almost the same width.  If you are sending your quilt to be professionally quilted, your backing may be required to be wider than the quilt top.  To alleviate this problem I insert a pieced section into the backing, alternatively you can use a wider quilt backing.  You may not need to do this if you are quilting by hand or on a domestic machine.   See pieced back below.  It adds a little extra interest to the quilt too.

Step 8:

You can now baste, quilt and bind your quilt.  You will have enough scrap fabric left over to make the following matching doll quilt.

Pebbles doll quilt.

Step 9:

Gather all unused strips and off-cuts from the previous quilt.   Before you start, lay out your pieces roughly to see if you need to incorporate any additional fabric from a co-ordinating fabric to increase the size.   With  careful cutting, there should be enough scraps to make a reasonable sized doll quilt.  

Join left-over sections of strips together, see image below.  

Step 10:

Cut across these strips in 1.5 inch widths.

Step 11:

Arrange different strips and sew together.  Make as many blocks like this as your scraps will allow, then join blocks together to make the small dolls quilt top.  

Step 12:

Baste, quilt and bind.

One quilt, single bed topper, 42.5 x 65.5 inches.

One matching doll quilt from leftover scraps, 20.5 x 16.5 inches.

A lovely quilt for a little girl and her favorite doll.