How to Sew a Scrappy Hexagon Block for Quilting

This is a major scrapbuster for fabric! Scrappy hexagons are a bit tedious, but they will use up your smallest scraps and strips that you can’t bear to just throw away.

Plus, how great is it to have a sewing project you can work on while sitting with the family? I really enjoy have a project I can complete without sitting in front of the sewing machine in my craft space.

( Here’s what I could find left of the fabrics I pictured:  Kona Aqua  |  Kona Baby Blue  |  Kona Frappe  |  Kona White  |  Kona Snow

My favorite places to browse for fabrics?

Modern Violet – great small shop for fun Heather Ross prints.
Fresh Modern Fabrics – large variety of fabrics with many prints.
Sew Organic – excellent experience with customer service & all organic fabrics.
Kiwi Fabric – wide variety of many fabrics. Fast shipping.
Fabric.com – great when buying multiple yards for backing.
Polka Dot Secrets – lots of florals and real pictures of the fabrics.

A hexie quilt (especially a scrappy one like this) is a LOOOOOOONG term project. But this is great for traveling on the road. Perfect for sitting with the family. An enjoyable leisure project. And a beautiful way to see all the scraps from the fabric you’ve picked out through the years.

(If you are looking for some hexagon templates, I created some for you found here.)

Here’s how to sew scrappy hexies for your hexagon quilt.

1. Dig through your scrap bin to find strips or pieces at least a half of an inch wide and a couple inches long. The hexies I’m creating are 2 1/4 inches wide. I keep that in mind as I search for scraps.

2. Sew your scraps together. In my case, I was sewing ‘blocks’ about three inches by three inches. Remember these can look a bit haphazard since you will be trimming them down.

I recommend always taking the time to iron well and press seams. Those habits make everything better when quilting and sewing.

You can see below that I don’t have a perfect square or block, but it’s large enough for at least a quarter of an inch of fabric around my hexie.

3. Trim the scraps to a rough quarter of an inch bigger than your hexie. Obviously, this trim does not need to be perfect. You’ll learn that if you trim the fabric scraps too short, the fabric has a hard time laying flat and perfect. If you leave too much fabric, I get concerned the back of the hexie gets to bulky.

4. Thread a needle. I do not double my thread over since I’m eventually going to be ripping out all this thread anyway. You can see I have a bit of thread looped through my needle and a small knot at the other end.

5. Fold one edge over holding it securely with your thumb.

6. Fold the adjoining edge over and hold the corner nice and tight.

7. Stitch through the fabrics right at the corner. Be sure not to go through the paper hexie template.

8. Loop the thread around a second time right at the corner. This keeps the corner nice and crisp.

9. Continue working your way around each corner of the hexagon.

10. At the last corner, knot off your thread to ensure everything stays in place.

11. And you have finished your first scrappy hexie. Fun. Colorful. And just a bit whimsy.

I recommend stacking your hexies with a bit of a weight on top or holding them in little groups with a clothes pin of sorts. This helps the fabric form natural creases around the outside.

Enjoy digging through the smallest of scraps you have saved!

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