Oh RATZ!

My vacation put me a little behind and I have two or three swaps I  need to finish by the end of the month. I had planned a sewing Saturday, but I forgot that I'll be in meetings all day, so I decided I had better tackle the easiest one first.  This is for a needle book swap in the RATZ swap - "Rapid And Tiny Zakka" swap.  I haven't done much zakka style sewing, so I must have decided it was time.  This is a variation of my hexie needlebook.  I used some Heather Ross FFA III and a little flower sugar.  My partner asked for pink.

I added a scissor pocket in the back with a velcro scissor latch so the scissor won't fall out.  I'm hoping the other two pockets will hold small spools of thread. 

I hadn't done a button closure on the hexie needlebooks before either, but it seemed to make sense with the scissor pocket in the back.  I bought 100 hair elastics at the dollar store right before Christmas.  They come in really handy for the elastic button loops.


So, there's one swap item nearly complete.  I hope she likes it.

Hexie Care Package

I have recently made a new online friend.  We are in a couple of bees together, and in one of the intro threads, I mentioned that I am from Seattle.  My new friend mentioned that she was also from the Northwest, and in fact was spending the summer there while her husband is deployed.  Oh boy, did that bring back memories.  I did that at least 2 summers, when my children were small.

In our correspondence, we agreed to meet if I make it to Seattle this summer, which I fully intend to do  (sister is more than ready to get Grandma's treadle machine out of her garage - how I will transport it to Florida, I'm not exactly sure, although my new friend offered to drive it part of the way - is that cool, or what?)

Sadly, my friend's sewing machine has been in the shop almost the whole time she has been there, and she is suffering a bit from its predicament.  I suggested hexies, and said I would make her a Hexie Care Package.  I used the leftovers of my Little Apples quilt.  I used Kelly's tutorial to make the little pouch.  Easy peasy.  LOVE how neat and tidy the zipper looks using Kelly's method.

 

And inside is everything you might need to make hexies and keep your hands busy, including a  Little Apples hexie needlebook.

Pins and needles and scissors, oh my!  (I watched a PBS special on Judy Garland  last night, so that was just bursting to come out!)

 Sure hope she likes it.

 

No-Baste Appliqued Hexagon Needlebook Tutorial

Angela, of My Three Sons, has this great tutorial on her blog to make hexi needlebooks.  They are so cute and fun, I thought I'd try it.  Thanks, Angela, for such a great idea!

First I made these three...

Then I made three more...

Then I made this one to send off in a swap before work one morning.  Twenty minutes flat, If that long...

So I thought I'd share my super quick, no baste method.

Angela says she uses a 1-1/2 inch hexi template.  These are 2-3/4 inches on the Outer Hexie with the seam allowance (the length down one side) and 2-3/8 inches finished so they are about twice the size of Angela's creation.   I'll try to post a pdf template tomorrow.  I thought about putting a pocket with a flap in the back for a pair of embroidery scissors, but I haven't done that yet.  Maybe the next one...

Angela used super cute fabric for her outside hexie.  I didn't have any super cute fabric, but I did have a yard of Sew Now, Sew Wow! so I decided to use some of the motifs as appliques.

Applique is easiest if the fabric is stabilized....  And that is how I came up with this no-baste variation on Angela's great idea.


You will need:

A scrap of fabric big enough to cut 2 of the outer template
2 pieces of felt
A 3/4-inch "D" Ring
A piece of Interfacing
Your applique motif
A scrap of Heat N Bond or other double-sided fusible
A hot iron

This tutorial uses two sizes of hexi templates.  Mine are 2-3/8 inches along one side for the Inner Hexie and 2-3/4 inches along one side for the Outer Hexie.

Choose a piece of fabric for the outer hexie that is big enough for your Outer Hexie template.  I chose a scrap of yellow Kona cotton.  Cut out the template along the inside of the line.

Cut 2 pieces of interfacing using the Inner Hexie template

Fold one piece of felt so it is just big enough to cut 2 of the Inner Hexie pieces from it and cut them out along the inside of the line.

Fold the other piece of felt so that the side of the hexie template with the two lines marked perpendicular to the edge is about 3/4 of an inch away from the fold.  Pin in place so it doesn't squirm around.

Cut 2 lines perpendicular to the fold being careful not to cut into the template pattern.

 
Leaving the center of the fold intact, cut out the Inner Hexie pattern.

Choose an applique motif and cut LOOSELY around the image leaving at least 1/4 inch all the way around.

Now that you have all your pieces, head to your ironing board.

Iron the interfacing onto the inside of your Outer Hexie fabric.

Fold the seam allowance of the Outer Hexie inward along the edge of the interfacing.  When pressed in place, the interfacing gives just enough stabilization that you don't need to baste.

Press all 6 sides in place for both outer hexie pieces, folding along the edge of the interfacing and pressing a crisp fold.

 Turn it over and press it nice and flat with good crisp edges.
 

Cut a piece of Heat N Bond slightly smaller than your applique motif- just a fraction so it doesn't leave a mess on your iron and ironing board.

Fuse them together.

Peel off the paper backing and fuse the applique motif onto the outside of one of your Outer Hexie pieces.

Head to the sewing machine.

Set your machine up to applique.  Since this project is probably not going to be washed, a raw edge, straight stitch applique could work very well.  I thought I might carry mine around in my purse, however, so I am going to choose a narrow zig zag stitch to help prevent fraying.

For this project, I set my stitch length at 1.0 and my zig zag at a width of 3.0.  I don't have to adjust my tension to applique cotton on my machine, but you may want to check your tension.  For an attractive applique, you want to make sure that the bobbin thread does not pull up to the top of the fabric.  If your machine has a needle-down function, select it now.

I want to stitch right along the outer edge of my applique motif.  The interfacing and the Heat N Bond stabilize the Kona enough that I don't have any trouble with puckering.  This is easy peasy.

When you come to the corners, leave the needle down and turn the corner. I turn my project clockwise when I sew, so for an outside corner, the needle should be down on the right side of the fabric, or the outer corner of the motif.  For an inside corner, the needle should be down on the left, or the inner corner of the motif.  This way, the stitches overlap slightly and give good coverage without a lot of extra bulk or lumpiness.  Trim your threads and make sure the edges of your Outer Hexie are still crisp.  If not, a quick press on the ironing board will make the next part easy.

Layer your inside "lining" together with your outer hexie.

Line up your edges as closely as possible.  Pin if you are so inclined.  I don't pin because I find that the bulk of the felt tends to distort the way the two pieces match up and makes it harder instead of easier.

Stitch closely around the edge of the Outer Hexi with the applique motif.  My applique was perfectly sized so I did not sew over the applique when joining the Outer Hexi to the felt lining.  I sew about 1/8 inch from the edge.

Repeat for the Outer Hexie back.

Scrunch up the middle felt piece and stuff it inside the D-ring...

So it looks like this {this is the part I always forget.  I don't know how many of these I've had to take apart because I've forgotten the D-ring - look at the pink needlebook above... notice something missing?  Yes, I fixed it before I sent it off, but as I said, it was before work and I didn't have time to take another picture...  dumbness memorialized for all time =(  }.

We're on the home stretch now...  Select your needle down feature again, layer your three parts together as shown and...

Sew together along the edge with the D-ring.

When you get to the corner, leave the needle down, turn it around and stitch back over where you just sewed.  This forms the "hinge" on your little book, so you want it to be good and sturdy.

Voila!  One no-baste hexi needlebook.

Thanks, Angela for a great idea.