Last week, Nancy Devine had us looking at older quilted pieces for making QUILTsocial Rewind Redo Wall Pouch with fresh eyes. This week, I’m looking at a classic shape in a different way. If you love hexagons but aren’t quite as enthusiastic about all that hand piecing, Ana Buzzalino has an alternative you may want to try!
There’s something irresistible about a hexagon quilt, especially when beautiful floral fabrics are involved. Ana’s Making Hexagon Quilt Blocks by Machine from ANPTmag Issue 59 shows how to piece hexagon blocks by machine rather than using traditional English paper piecing. Inspired by Kaffe Fassett’s lush floral fabrics, Ana takes us through preparing, cutting, and sewing the hexagons together so we can enjoy that wonderful honeycomb geometry with the help of our sewing machine.
skill level Intermediate
time A rewarding quilting technique to explore when you want the look of traditional hexagons with machine piecing
ideal for Quilters who love hexagons, colorful floral fabrics, geometric designs, and learning alternatives to English paper piecing
you will practice preparing hexagon pieces, accurate cutting, machine piecing hexagons, matching seams, working with floral prints, and assembling hexagon quilt blocks
finished size This tutorial focuses on creating the hexagon quilt blocks rather than a specified finished quilt size.
Making Hexagon Quilt Blocks by Machine by Ana Buzzalino was featured in ANPTmag Issue 59; photo by Ana Buzzalino for ANPTmag
Ana’s Making Hexagon Quilt Blocks by Machine appeared in ANPTmag Issue 59, themed Inspired by Gardens.
Issue 59 brought the garden indoors with projects inspired by blooms, leaves, gardens, and meadows. Quilting, embroidery, knitting, appliqué, double knitting, intarsia, and lace all found their place among the flowers. Quilters could explore appliquéd blooms, stained-glass effects, curved piecing, and Ana’s machine-pieced hexagons, while embroidered projects captured lush gardens and wonderfully realistic flowers. The whole issue was about creating beauty with needle and thread and enjoying that refreshing feeling of making something inspired by the natural world.
Ana’s tutorial includes the materials list, photographs, and instructions for preparing, cutting, and piecing the hexagon quilt blocks. The big difference, of course, is that these hexagons are sewn by machine rather than assembled using English paper piecing.
That makes this such an interesting technique to add to your quilting repertoire. Hexagons have a wonderfully traditional look, but changing the construction method can make them feel like an entirely new adventure. And with bold floral fabrics filling each shape, the blocks practically become a garden of their own!
Get Making Hexagon Quilt Blocks by Machine here
https://www.aneedlepullingthread.com/product/making-hexagon-quilt-blocks-by-machine/
Get ANPTmag Issue 59 in print here
https://www.aneedlepullingthread.com/product/issue-59/
Get ANPTmag Issue 59 in digital here
https://www.aneedlepullingthread.com/product/issue-59-digital-version/
Explore your fabric options for making hexagon quilt blocks by machine; photo by Ana Buzzalino for ANPTmag
Have you ever machine pieced hexagons, or has English paper piecing always been your preferred way to make them? Let me know!
Join me next week to find out which inspiring ANPTmag quilting project I’ll share with you!