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Make This: Patchwork & Hexagons Table Runner Tutorial

A couple of years ago at our first Quilt Market, we got a bunch of mini charm packs from Moda’s booth.  I wanted to use these cute little 2.5″ square stackers from the Posy line for hexagons, since they are the perfect size for that.  On the way to the Farm Chicks show last summer, I spent the drive making a bunch of my hexagons using the English paper piecing method.

I used two mini charm packs to make 84 hexagons, and then I realized that I didn’t know where to go from there.  Hand sewing is not my favorite, nor my strong suit, so there was absolutely no way I was going to sew the hexagons all together by hand.  Since I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with them, I let it sit on my shelf for a while.

After discovering the Modern Hexies tutorial from Modern Handcraft, I was once again inspired to get this done, although with my own spin on it.  We still had two mini charm packs left, so I thought a patchwork background for the hexagons would be perfect.  The finished size of the table runner ended up at 14″ x 24″.  After all this talk, are you ready for the actual tutorial?  Here we go!
Patchwork and Hexagons Table Runner Tutorial

For this table runner, you will need the following supplies:

  • (168) 2.5″ squares.  For us this was 4 mini charm packs, each with 42 pieces.
  • 3/4″ hexagon paper pieces
  • Permanent fabric glue.  I used Aleene’s Fabric Fusion.
  • Matching thread for quilting
  • 1/4 yard or a fat quarter for binding
  • 1/2 yard backing fabric
  • Batting
    EPP-hexagons

For the hexagons, I used my Silhouette craft cutter to cut the 3/4″ hexagons paper pieces from cardstock.  I also used our Accuquilt to cut 1″ hexagons that fit perfectly onto the paper pieces.  Both of these things were awesome for making the tedious parts go faster.  Hexagons-and-squares

Use half (84) of the 2.5″ squares for hexagons, and the other half for the patchwork.  I tried to use a good variety of colors and prints for both the squares and hexagons.  Once all your hexagons have been stitched onto the paper pieces, press them really well, and then remove the paper pieces.lay-out-patchwork

Lay out your squares for patchwork in a 7 x 12 configuration.

sew-together-patchwork

Now start piecing the patchwork!  sew-together-patchwork2sew-together-patchwork3

I did each column of seven together, then pieced those into sections, and then joined those.lay-out-hexagons

Once the patchwork is ready, lay out all of the hexagons.  Try to make it look as random as possible.glue-down-hexagons

When you are ready to move on, it’s time to grab your fabric glue.  Put a piece of paper behind your patchwork, because some of the glue will seep through.glue-down-hexagons2

On the back side of the hexagons, put glue all around the edges.
glue-down-hexagons3

Repeat with all the hexagons.  You will want to make sure these are glued down pretty well.  Let the glue dry before moving on.quilt-sandwich

Layer your top, batting, and backing.  Trim the back and batting to leave a border of a couple inches all the way around the table runner top.pin-quilt-sandwich

Pin all the layers together with safety pins all over the table runner.pick-quilting-thread

Pick a matching thread for quilting.  I went with lavender, since it worked well with my color palette and also tends to disappear well among other colors.quilting

Using a walking foot, quilt in straight lines going through the centers of the hexagons.quilting2

Once all the quilting is done, take a minute to admire!binding

For the binding, I was able to use a fat quarter to get enough 2.25″ strips to go around the table runner.  I was able to muster the courage to hand sew the binding, so maybe someday I will be brave enough to hand piece hexagons.Patchwork-Hexagons-Table-Runner2

Patchwork-Hexagons-Table-Runner4And there you have it, a lovely little centerpiece for your table!  My kids enjoy looking at all the little prints and seeing what they can find.  It is a little small, so if you want to fill in a big table, you will need more mini charm packs and more patience.  This ended up the perfect size for the amount of time I was willing to spend, and I think it turned out as a great statement piece.

-Audrey

 

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15 Comments

  1. This is so precious! I’m so glad Julie at The Crafty Quilter showed this. The fabric is just right. I’ll have to see what I have that will give the same look. Thank you for your wonderful tute.

  2. Cute, but I have a question: How long before the glued edges of the hexagons come loose and everything starts to fray. I would hate to go to all that work and then have it fall apart. Will glue remain “permanent” after washing?

    1. Deanna, we’ve used it for two years with no problem. If you want to ensure everything stays put, stitch around each hexagon on your machine or hand applique them down.

  3. Absolutely gorgeous – am just wondering, will the hexies fray after washing ? I’ll be so sad if they did – all that hard work ….

    1. I haven’t had any trouble with the hexies fraying at all. I’ve only washed the table runner a couple of times on gentle after all these years, so it doesn’t get a lot of wear. If this was a quilt that needed frequent washing, I would definitely topstitch all the way around each hexie.

  4. I LOVE this table runner! Any reason why you didn’t attach the record before seeing all the squares together? It seems to me it would be easier to attach hexie to each square first then see together.
    Would love your perspective on this

    1. There are two reasons I attached the hexagons after making the patchwork base: 1- to make sure each hexagon was perfectly centered in each square. 2- to give me greater flexibility on color placement.

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