Hexagon Alphabet - putting it all together

So, all blocks have been stitched, and it's time to put it all together, and get your top ready for quilting.

The directions on how to cut and measure are a bit involved but I'll try it anyway. The lack of fixed measurements is because you might have used another size hexagon than I did. I used the 0.5" hexies but if you used the o.75", the 1" or one of the even larger sizes, fixed measurements will be wildly off.
To make this easier to do for yourself, copy the directions, but instead of the words in parentheses, write the actual measurements you arrive at, measurements that are consistent with the size of hexagon you chose to use.

Cut two strips of fabric which is (height of letter block) x (two hexagons width + 0.5")
Join one to each side of your filler-blocks.

Join the blocks into rows, making sure, on the last row, that the strip on the side of your filler-block goes towards the letters, making an extra space between letters and fillers.

(Picture above is a mock-up and the rows are not yet joined on it)

Measure the longest row; that's the TUVW row
Measure the shortest row; that's the KLMN row
Divide the difference in length with two

To the width arrived at, add (two widths of your hexagon + o.5" seam-allowance)

Add a strip (height of letter block) x (the above measurement) to each side of each row.
Yes. You will waste some fabric, but this is the fastest way to do it.
If you don't want to waste any fabric, measure carefully and add strips to either side of each row, according to your measurements.
Find the centre on each strip (folding in half is great)

Join the strips, so that the centre of one row matches the centre of the next row.

 Since I have made the letters individually, it is a bear (downright impossible) to press half-way decently in the joins between blocks and in the joins between rows.
I pressed to either side to ease the bulk of the 'bad' joins.

Trim the sides. I aimed at having 1" (= one width of hexagon) on the side of the blocks on the longest row (TUVW)

I then added the same width of Background-fabric border to the top and the bottom, giving a (fairly) uniform space all around the letters. And finally, a wider border, made with my focus-fabric, all the way around.

Layer, baste, quilt-as-desired, bind AND (and this is important) SIGN the quilt. You never know which quilt will end up becoming a family heir-loom, so sign every one of them :-)

Hexagon Alphabet - filler blocks

And here are the last block/s.
You need two filler blocks, so make two of the same.

Printing-table here.

And I know I promised you to show you how to join the blocks into a quilt (wall-hanging) and when I wrote that, I had more time on my hands than was comfortable.

... since then, life has exploded with loads and loads of work, so I haven't actually stitched together my own (yet). I might find the time to do so during the next week, but I probably won't.

HOWever, there will (still) be a picture with the mock-up of the quilt, and some sort of a write-up next week.

The Letter Z - Hexagon

Check the Letter F to see how you avoid stitching this letter up mirror-image.

Printing table here.

The Letter Y - Hexagon

Printing table here.

The Letter X - Hexagon

Printing table here.

The Letter W - Hexagon

Printing table here.

The Letter V - Hexagon

Printing table here

The Letter U - Hexagon

Printing table here.

The Letter T - Hexagon

Printing table here.

The Letter S - Hexagon

Check the Letter F to see how you avoid stitching this letter up mirror-image.

Printing table here.

The Letter R - Hexagon

Check the Letter F to see how you avoid stitching this letter up mirror-image.

Printing table here.

Ohio Star

We have already had this block, in the 6" format on this blog
Until I have time to write a printing-table and a new block which works with the other ones in this series, see the Ohio Star post from July 2009.

And if you do not have Collection 2 (which is sold out), use 2" QST from the downloadable QST 00B collection, and 2" squares from any number of (other) downloadable collections.

The Letter Q - Hexagon

Check the Letter F to see how you avoid stitching this letter up mirror-image.

Printing table here.

And yes, it is the right letter, and yes, it is a reversed p, BUT, I tried to make an O with 4 hexagons on the bottom, and it simply did not 'read' as a Q, this one, however, reads like a q at least :-)

Confederate Rose

As was the case last week, this week's block on Barbara Brackman's Civil War Sampler, isn't really Inklingoable.
BUT, it is possible to fake and fudge your way through it.

Print the 2.5" QSTriangles as directed in the printing-table.
Note that you must use Layout 2 and must (!) use the size I have given. You will have a good deal of waste, but it cannot be helped if you want to use Inklingo as part of constructing the 'weird shape' you need.

From the fabric you have printed with the 2.5" QST, cut 4 squares, each with two adjacent QSTriangles.

Draw a new stitching-line, 0.25" from either of the two stitching-lines already on the two-triangle unit.
Cut another 0.25" away from the newly drafted stitching-line.
See the picture on the right. Red line is new stitching-line, green line is new cutting-line. If you have trouble seeing it, click on the picture to enlarge it.

Add these four 5-edged shapes to the 2.25" central square (cut 2.75")
Be careful NOT to stitch into the seam-allowances. Sew only from cross-hair to cross-hair (or the equivalent). That is the 'joy' of Y-seams or inset seams, but it is possible to do, even on the machine, even for me (!), but only if one does not sew into the seam-allowance but stops exactly at the corner.

Add the 1" (finished width) strips to the centre.
Strictly speaking, to make the relationship between the pieces exactly the same as is found in Brackman's block, you now need to cut the strips 1.4" for a finished width of 0.9". I have opted to make mine 1" finished (and printable with the 1" Log Cabin collection), and to print them 5" long. They need to be trimmed, BUT, if you print these, align the centre of each log with the centre seam on the 'messed with' shapes that border the centre square. That way, you can also align the 1.875" HST you need to add to the corners with the centres of both ... centre and strips, and can wait to trim until the block is actually finished.

For the 8" block, use Barbara Brackman's directions.
Printing table.

The Letter P - Hexagon

Check the Letter F to see how you avoid stitching this letter up mirror-image.

Printing table here.

Kentucky Crossroads

Block 36 on Barbara Brackman's Civil War Sampler quilt isn't Inklingoable.
Sad, but true.

If you have Collection 2, you can print the QST for the 6" size block (you will need to print the 4" QST), but if you don't own that collection, the only thing you could print - for either size - is the 1.5" (finished) square you use in the 6" block

For the 8" block, follow Brackman's directions.

For the 6" block

The below measurements are with seam-allowances (!)

Cut a square, 5.25"
Cut twice on the diagonal to make 4 QST.
Cut 4 strips, each 2 x 4"
Cut a square, 2"

Join a strip to each side of the square.
Join a triangle to each side of the two remaining strips.
Join long-strip-with-square to the two with-triangle units.

Trim to 6.5" (unfinished) for a finished size of 6".

Enjoy !

The Letter O - Hexagon

Printing-table here

Star of the West

Week 35 of Barbara Brackman's Civil War Sampler is called 'Star of the West' ... or Clay's Choice ... or Harry's Star. It's an easy block to make, and looks good in many different versions.

The fabric values given in the printing table are based on the actual block shown on Brackman's blog, and not on the colour-values given in the drawing at the end of her post.

Brackman's Post here.
Printing Table here.

The Letter N - Hexagon

Check the Letter F on how to avoid stitching this letter up mirror image.

Printing-table here.

Rosebud

Week 34 of the Brackman sampler, and we're rolling in HSTriangles.
The 6" block is eminently Inklingoable
The 8" block is less so.

A few notes (on the 8" size) :
I have given the Inklingo-sizes that are equivalent to the sizes Brackman gives on her blog. However, please note, that since this block has 3 triangles spread over 4" of space, the size given by Brackman will give you a unit which is too small.

If you - like I - own just about every Inklingo collection known to woman, you can use other sizes. A better approximation to the sizes actually needed to make an accurate 8" block are :

• 1.32" HST in the 15" Feathered Star collection
• 2.64" HST in the 30" Feathered Star collection

The 1.32" HST equals Brackman's template A (where you need 12 of one fabric and 8 of another)
The 2.64" HST equals Brackman's template C (where you need 4)
And then you need the 4" HST

Brackman's post here.
Printing-table here.

The Letter M - Hexagon

Printing-table here.

Indiana Puzzle

Week 33 of Barbara Brackman's Civil War Sampler is called 'Indiana Puzzle'. As always, reading her stories about the Civil War is very interesting. I, at least, am learning a lot.

Completely re-written on August 25th after Linda Franz issued an intoxicating SIX different sizes of Drunkard's Path collections, and a wonderful Design Book.

I've made one printing table for the 6" block, which uses the 3" Drunkard's Path collection. BUT, there are two different options on the 8" block : one circle (using the 4" Drunkard's Path collection) or 4 circles (using the über-cute 2" Drunkard's Path collection).

Taking my cue from Brackman's block, he printing-tables are based on using 4 different fabrics. Two different ones for the circle, two other ones for the background.
HOWever, you can make the block using just two fabrics, and the AB combo layout found in all the Drunkard's Path collections. If you do that, you need to print two combos of both fabrics to make this week's block.

When it comes to the 3" collection, a 5" charm will print one of each shape, and by using 4 charms and printing the combo, you'll have a wonderful, scrappy block.

Brackman's post.
Printing table.

The Letter L - Hexagon

Check the Letter F on how to avoid turning this mirror-image.


Printing-table here.

Carolina Lily

This week's block on Barbara Brackman's Civil War Sampler is inspired by the Carolina Lily. The 'real' block has 3 lilies and some applique. This one only has one lily, placed in a 'vase'.

The block uses (mostly) the 6" LeMoyne star collection for the 6" size block. For the 8" size block, follow Brackman's directions, or make the 6" block, and then Log-cabin it, using the 1" Log Cabin collection, to make the 6" block into an 8" one.

I would hybrid-piece this one. Use the machine for most of the seams, but hand-stitch the inset seams between the petals of the lily, just as I would an ordinary / full LeMoyne star.

Brackman's post.
Printing-table.

The Letter K - Hexagon

Printing-table here.

Empty Spools

Week 31 of Barbara Brackman's Civil War Sampler is (fortunately) a very simple block.
No need for a printing-table, though, since only one shape is printable.

For the 8" size, follow Brackman's directions.

For the 6" size :
From both Background and Focus fabrics, cut a square, 7.25"
Cut in half diagonally, twice, making 4 QST of each.

You need two of those squares from each of your fabrics.

From focus-fabric :
Print two 3" QST (from the QST 00B collection). Use layout 2, in rows, and print a sheet that is 4 x 4.5" printed Landscape.

Using the technique described for the Bow Tie blocks, (shown previously on this blog) add the smaller focus-triangles to the larger background-fabric triangles.

Trim behind the smaller triangles.
Join the 4 triangles to form a square.
Finished !

The Letter J - Hexagon

Check the Letter F on how to avoid turning this letter mirror-image.

Printing-table here.

Peterson's Stars and Stripes

No print-table for this one.
For the 8" block : Follow Brackman's directions.

For the 6" block :
Use the 1" Log Cabin collection.
Print 3 red and 3 white rectangles, each 1 x 6".
Join to make a striped background.

And that's the Inklingo'able part.

Then comes the star applique. And a 5-pointed one at that. The problem here is the applique-template for the star (and the fact that I don't really do applique'ed stars).

First suggestion : If you've got 'Dear Jane', go to the block called G6, Papa's Star, draft the star on freezer-paper, and use that as your template for the star-applique.

If you don't own 'Dear Jane' :
I googled 'folding a 5-point star' and lots and lots and lots of sites came up.
I chose this one, because it has both a diagram and a video (I have no affiliation with the page at all).

Make your own star-template, using a 4.5 x 5.25" sheet of (freezer-)-paper, and applique the thing down on your striped block.

Enjoy :-)

For the 6" block shown right, check over at Tilde's Quilts.

The Letter I - Hexagon

Printing table here.

Railroad Crossing

Week 29 of Barbara Brackman's Civil War sampler is possible to make with Inklingo, but for the 6" size, you need to be able to shave 0.125" off the sides of the pieced strips.
If you print the 2.12" square for the centre (found in the Storm At Sea 9" collection), you can use that as a template for trimming your pieced striped squares, and you should be good.
The differences between what is actually needed in sizes and what you can print, are merely what happens if you stitch on or inside the stitching-line, rather than just on the outside - once your 5 central squares have been trimmed to 2.12" (finished size, un-finished size is 2.62").

Brackman's post here.
Printing table here.

Brackman Sampler : Corrections 4

Well, as I continue to fall behind in the actual stitching of the blocks, so the corrections continue. This week there aren't many, and they are in no way biggies, but a few ... precisions have been made; the links will take you to the post, and the printing-table links on the post will lead you to the new print-tables when relevant.

Week 20, New England
Just a note of caution added, not a correction : If you use the 0.5" Log Cabin collection, please be aware that the seam-allowances are slimmer than the usual 0.25" Inklingo generally uses. You need to adjust for this !

Week 21, Underground Railroad
Some minor typing-errors have been corrected, and printing-table is updated

Week 24, Ladies' Aid Album
Another one with a note of caution, rather than a correction : Remember, that the 2.5" square in the centre, needs to be cut at 3" (!), and that the 0.5" Log Cabin strips have seam-allowances that are slimmer than the 0.25" the rest of your bits have.

And these constant corrections and recommendations is why I try to stitch whatever I publish, before I publish. As I work my way through the blocks, these little things get caught (which is good); if I just write the theory, errors will be made and not caught until some hapless stitcher finds herself up the creek ... Oh, well, better late than never and all the rest of it :-) I hope you take the time to download the corrected printing-tables, and use those, rather than the first versions for making your blocks.

The Letter H - Hexagon

Printing-table here.

Next Door Neighbour

Week 28 of Barbara Brackman's Civil War Sampler is called 'Next Door Neighbour'.

It uses HST and QST, and is easily Inklingoable in both sizes ... however, if you want to make it in the 8" size, you need the (sold-out) Collection 2 on CD. If you don't have that, you need to hand-cut the 4" QST. Just follow Brackman's directions for her template B, and you should be good.

In the 6" size, however, it's good and easy to make with the HST 00B and QST ooB collections.

Brackman's Post.
Printing-table.

Brackman Sampler : Corrections 3

Well, there has been upheavals of various sorts here, but a few more Brackman blocks have been stitched, and a few minor errors have been caught in the printing-tables, which means there are corrections to some of the blocks (again).

The Interlaced block / True Lover's Knot - which isn't a Brackman block, but finishes 6" and can be added to the mix - has been updated to a degree where it got its own, all new post. Go check it out.
Old version (with inset seams).
New version (with no inset seams).

Union Square, from week 18, has a small correction in the printing-table. A 'landscape' had fallen out, but is now inserted back into the printing-table.

Missouri Star, from week 19 now has sizes of fabric/paper added to the printing table. It was a bit ... minimalist, BUT, the relevant numbers are added in the relevant colums, at least for the 6" block.

The Letter G - Hexagon

Check the Letter F (last week's block) on how to avoid turning letter 'the wrong way' or mirror image.

Printing-table here.

Irish Chain

Finally got to the point of writing the printing-table for this one.

Week 27 of Barbara Brackman's Civil War Sampler is 'Irish Chain'.
In the 6" size, it is eminently Inklingoable, using the 1" Log Cabin collection.

In the 8" size, it isn't Inklingoable at all ... unless you change it (as was done with the Log Cabin block of week 7), and add another round of 'borders' to it. That is what the printing-table does.

There are collections other than the 1" Log Cabin which has the 1 and 2" squares needed for this block, but I have gone with the 1" Log Cabin collection, because it has all the relevant bits.

Brackman's post.
Printing-table.

The Letter F - Hexagon

Printing-table here.

This is the first letter where sewing it mirror-image is a potential problem, particularly if you follow Linda Franz's recommendations and "stitch from the back", i.e. lay the block out with the wrong side of the block visible (watch or re-watch the DVD in Quilted Diamonds 2)

Hitherto, all letters have been either top-bottom, or right-left symmetrical, which means that there are limits to how badly you can mess it up. The letters F, G, J, L, N, P, Q, R, S, and Z however, can be messed up if you don't get it right when turning it wrong side up, so here is what you do with those :

• Lay out the letter on a piece of paper or cardboard, right side up. This means the letter looks as it is supposed to look, from the right side, when you have finished piecing it.
• Carefully place a scrap of batting on top of your laid-out letter.
• Pat gently.
• Turn over the cardboard / batting sandwich, so you now have the paper/ cardboard on top.
  
• Gently lift off paper / cardboard.
• On the batting, your letter is now laid out, wrong side up. And you know it'll turn out right, which is a relief.

Simple, eh ?
Let me know if the above directions are not sufficiently clear. I would hate to confuse more than instruct on this one.

Barbara Frietchie Star

Week 26 of Barbara Brackman's Civil War Sampler, and we're half-way through.
This one is as born for the Inklingo HST. Print a total of 16 HST same size of light / background-fabric, and you're rolling.

Linda Franz' Triangle Tips.
Scroll down a bit. It's the 'Inklingo Sawtooth' pdf-file you want to look at.
Brackman's Post
Printing Table

The Letter E - Hexagon

Printing-table here

Calico Puzzle

Week 25 of Brackman's Civil War sampler is an old favourite : The Calico Puzzle.

In Brackman's measurements (which are also the ones given in the printing-table for the 8" block), you will end up with a block that is 8.25” finished size, and will thus need to trim it down to 8”.

The most appropriate size HST and square to use for the 8" block, would be 2.67”. That size is practically impossible to cut, and there are no perfectly sized squares or HST in any Inklingo collection to match it.
HOWever. If you own the 30” Feathered Star, that one has a 2.64” HST. Print your HST in that size; stitch them just outside of the seam-line, thus giving you the extra millimeter you would like to have. Once the HST-squares are pieced, use the finished unit as a 'ruler' to make your squares. You will get a better approximation at 8” square block compared to Brackman's measurements.

In the 6" size, the block is eminently Inklingoable and easy as pie to make :-)

Brackman's post here.
Printing-table here.

The Letter D - Hexagon

Printing-table here.

Ladies' Aid Album

Please note, that the centre square and the corner squares are NOT the same size !
Not in the 8" size and the measurements given by Brackman, not in the 6" size and the measurements given by me.
It is quite possible to make this with the same size square in the centre and the corners, at least in the 6" size, but I have chosen to follow Brackman's lead here, and make them different.

Disregarding which size you make : Use Linda's brilliant quick Flying Geese with Inklingo method. Go to the Triangle Tips page, (hidden under the 'Support and Goodies' tab on the Inklingo web-page), scroll down a bit, and then download the FREE pdf with directions on how to make Flying Geese with Inklingo. The measurements given here are based on you using that technique.

I have not (yet) stitched this week's block, and it will probably be another week or two before I get back to stitching the Brackman blocks. However, the printing-tables have been made.

Brackman's post here.
Printing table here

The Letter C - Hexagon

Third week, third letter.

As with the Letter B, you can use either quarter hexagons in the top and bottom right side, or you can use half-hexagons and cut them down to size afterwards.

Printing table (both for using quarter-hexies and for using half-hexies and cutting them off afterwards.

True Lover's Knot

The 'Interlacing block' (or 'True Lover's Knot') that has been shown on this blog previously, is a lovely thing. But really. Doing all those inset seams ? On the machine ? ... because stitching this many straight seams is as made for machine-work.

I can't face it. I really can not.

Now, if I was doing this block in a striped fabric, or in a fabric that will show seams very clearly, even from a distance, I would feel that it was absolutely necessary, but ...

So, I've looked at it again, and re-arraged a few seams, and used the 0.75" Log Cabin collection. And now I have a 6" square block that will fit right in with most of the other blocks I've made on this Sampler blog. The printing-table, however, features all 3 sizes of Log Cabin collections.

The block isn't hard to do, when you rearrange the seams as I have. However, the piecing sequence is important. Get that wrong, and you'll be up the creek in no time flat (do not ask me how I know that, unless you're fond of seeing a grown woman cry).
To help y'all avoid the frustration, I've made a piecing-sequence diagram.

- Sounds fancy, doesn't it ? 'Printing Sequence Diagram'.Well, it isn't complicated at all, it's just words, and the reality behind the words is simple -

Anyway : I drafted the easier way, seam by seam, and Linda emended it and changed it into an easy to interpret pdf-file which you can print and keep next to your sewing-machine as you stitch.
I would actually recommend making no less than 2 of these. For one thing, you will waste less fabric when printing, for another, you can piece them simultaneously (using something like Bonnie Hunter's Leader-Ender technique), and not waste miles of thread.

Printing-table for Lover's Knot block (for all 3 Log Cabin collections)
Printing-sequence diagram.

Illinois Roads

Week 23 of Barbara Brackman's Sampler isn't Inklingoable.
It is, however, extremely simple to make.

For the 6" block, the base unit is a rectangle, cut 2 x 3.5 (unfinished size) for a finished size of 1.5 x 3".
Cut 4 rectangles of two different fabrics.
Follow Brackman's Directions on how to join and stitch them.

Very, very simple.

Brackman's post here.

... and no printing-table.

Brackman Sampler : Corrections 2

Another week has gone by, and I have gotten another few of the blocks sewn.
Again, this means corrections to the printing-tables.

Follow the links given below, and download the printing-table on the relevant block again.
This week, there are corrections and updates on :

Lincoln's Platform, week 10

London Square, week 11

Little Blue Basket, week 13 has a completely new printing-table, and I have put up directions, for making the block 6" by adding a handle and shifting the balance of the block ever-so-slightly.
You are on your own when it comes to drafting the handle, but it isn't all that hard. If you have QuiltPro or EQ-some-number-or-other, I'm sure you can either find something useable in one of the block-libraries, or draft something on your own.

Ford Sumter, week 15 has a brand new post too. After the 0.75" Log Cabin collection, this is much, much easier to make using Inklingo. Still no printing table for the 8" block, but the 6" block now takes an absolute minimum of messing about.

The Letter B - Hexagon

The Letter B looks a bit squished on the right side. Trust me when I say, that it won't look better if you make it a hexagon longer compared to this. I've tried, and this is what I consider to be the better looking option. As always when making letters with fixed geometrical forms (like the hexagon), you need to be able to live with small oddities, and the way the letters vary in width.

Printing-table for The Letter B, here.

To make the block a perfect rectangle, you need to use two quarter hexagons for the upper and lower right corner of the block. I really, seriously, couldn't be bothered to print those fiddly quarter-pieces for the few letters that require them (I am making my alphabet with the 0.5" size hexagon), so I just used half-hexagons, even though they are not waht is needed.

If you do that, this (picture on the right) is what your letter B will look like before trimming (if you use only half-hexagons and not quarter hexagons)



Just trim away the excess. It isn't much, not even in the larger sizes, and it will make your life easier to just do it like this.