Learn letters while playing

Sometimes I wander about so many ideas flying in my head.
Do you remember my alphabet  hexagons  ?
What will happens if make a ball from all hexagons letter?
I needed to find a ball and write down the letters.
Probably there is a diagram in internet?
With this thoughts I have waken up one morning.
3 days later I have in my hand this funny ball.

Realizing that there is 20 hexagons and 12 pentagons in the ball I have to change 6 letters into pentagons.
As the 26 letters of the alphabet are not enough for the 32 ball’s pieces
I have added @ and # as very common symbols.
Nowadays they are used more often than letters.
The heart as a sign of love is important, too.
Each shape has 1 inch side.

 Outside and inside before filling the ball.
 The ball is around 5 inches diameter easy to catch by hand.

This is funny stuffed toy to play and learn letters with your kids.

The Hexagon Alphabet

I decided to share some tricks making letters from Hexagon alphabet.

In case you have two sections' letter paper pieces both sections.

Sew together the sections.  

Then add two pieces on the left and right.

Then add pieces up and down.

As you see it is not necessary to add perfect cut rectangles. I use every piece the same color I have by hand.
 Then align the paper hexagon on the back and reduce the exceed fabric.
As the hexagon has lines you can easily align them to the stitch lines. 
Make EPP your prefered way.

I pin and baste.

If it is still difficult to center the hexagon to the letter, look at the following tricks.

Happy sewing!

A lettter in a hexagon - tutorial

My interest in making letters has new shape - letter in hexagon.
I love making tiny things, I adore mini quilts.
Last year I have designed another Hexie alphabet.
Now I finished the new one.

Let me introduce the letter A

 The letter B.

                                                                                 The letter C.

Here is the whole alphabet. You can get the PDF pattern .

How to do a letter...

Each letter is made first by paper piecing and then by English paper piecing.
Print  the pattern and cut the hexagons.
Set the machine stitch length to shorter than usually you sew - somewhere between 1,5 and 2.
Keep in mind - with small length you will easier tear off the paper, but if there is a need to rip a seam you will be in a trouble.

Step1.
Prepare pieces for the background :

• two pieces - 1 x 2 inches 
• two pieces - 1 1/2 x 1 1/4 inches 
• a small piece round 1 x 2 inches for the inside of the letter.

Use a 1/2 inch strip for the letter. It is easier to work with strip instead of small pieces.

Step2.
Use a source of light - the sun, a lamp etc.
First seam will be between area 1 and area 2.
Place first piece wrong side to the paper to cover the area 1 and pin. Then place the strip right side together and repin. Keep in mind that after sewing a seam and turn over the strip, it must covers the area 2.

See how it looks like on the back side.

Sew a seam between 1 and 2 starting1-2 stitches before and ending 1-2 stitches after. If prefer make a backtitch.
Cut the strip align to the previous piece, turn over and iron.

Trim the seam allowances to less than 1/4 inch. No need to use rotary cutter - simply use a scissors.

Step3.
Repeat the same steps to cover the whole letter.
Using a strip for letter is very tricky - look at the next photo.

After you position the strip you can easy control its direction.

Add the next four pieces the same way - first left and right.
 

Then up and down.

Now you should start and finish stitching a quarter inch wider than the paper.

This letter is one section, so it is very easy to follow the numbers.
When the letter is two sections simply paper piece the letter and then proceed from this step forward.

Step4.
Now you have a finished hexagon. Trim a quarter inch seam allowances.

The front look

Step5.
Tear off the paper carefully.
Place a one inch paper hexagon in the centre and make EPP the way you prefer.

Use the letters for small project, to personalize pouch, mug rugs etc.
Happy sewing!

Personalized Hexie mug rug

I need to make a special gift for a dear friend.
Sewing hexagon by hand seems the best way to put all my feelings into this mug rug.
Making a mug rug for a man has to be more personalized and I decided to build a letter inside.
I have chosen different prints in blue and began cutting and  sewing.
It was a peaceful process.
At the beginning I paper piece the first letter of his name.
I have designed the whole alphabet.

 

 The paper hexagon is the same size as all the hexies in the project - see the back side.

I used the paper as a template for EPP.

Then prepare all other hexies (I use running stitch), order them on table and stitch them by hand as usual.
You can use this tutorial for hexagons paper templates or simply download for FREE and cut as many as you need.
Carefully remove the paper especially when tear it from hexie with letter.

This is the top of the mug rug.

Add batting and backing, quilt as you desire and make a binding.

Coffee or tea, please.

Hexie alphabet

What a day I have!

Finally I finished my Hexie Alphabet and made one of the letters for a project that is still secret.
And two hours ago I have red a post of talented Soma from Whims and fancies about her Greek alphabet.

Till now I have designed a funny english alphabet, a picture alphabeth.
I always like different languages and alphabets. I like hexagons and English paper piecing.
So the idea to create a hexie alphabet came some days ago.
The alphabet will be great for different projects - quilt, wall hanging or garland.
You might add a tiny boarder around each letter, stitch by hand or by machine, baste hexagon as EPP hexie an gather with other pieces.

I test letter R with fabrics.

You may ask why R?
 It is for the secret project I mentioned in the beginning.
Come here later to see it.

Till then I wish you Happy sewing!
Don't forget to visit my shop for new patterns.
The hexie alphabet is here .  Wait for hexie numbers.

A Thank you pouch

I discovered ELMER glue.
It works good for me.
And the way it came to me is a little bit funny. A friend of mine living in the USA came back for a month, so I asked her to bring me a bottle to try.
I have received 4 bottles as a birthday gift.
Now she has a birthday. Guess what she received - a thank you pouch.

 The back

Another idea to use letters and hearts - I have paper pieced them and added denim fabric around.

Picture English alphabet patterns

As I mentioned in my previous post I worked on a interesting project which had caught  me up for 2 weeks.
Lately I was keen on paper pieced blocks.
Paper foundation piecing is very popular method for beginners quilter, because it is easy to make proper lines and pieces. The sewing is easy and there are many clips in YouTube you can see how it is made. Combining different blocks you can make a whole top quilt.
I like children very much and hope they learn more quick playing.That's why  I made this English picture alphabet with paper piecing block patterns.
It is fully designed by me and I am proud to share with you.

I have designed one picture for every letter of the alphabet.

A - apple, B - boy, C - cat, D - dog, E - elephant, F - fish, G - girl, H - house, I - ice cream, J - jar, K - kite, L - lemon, M - moon, N - note, O - owl, P - pumpkin, Q - queen, R - radio, S - sun, T - tree, U - umbrella, V - vase, W - watermelon, X - X-ray, Y - yacht, Z - zebra crossing.

 Every block is numbered and ready for sewing. 

Do you like only the letters?

 The quilt is great for learning together with kids alphabet and different words beginning with relevant letter. You can make as baby quilt or wall hanging.
Happy sewing and playing!