English Paper Piecing-Hexagons

On my blog, Apron History, I showed you how to make Grandmother's Flower Garden using the paper piecing method. Here we will talk about making the paper templates.

The first question I thought of when I decided to venture forth on this project, was where do I get a hexagon? It isn't like a circle, just browse through the kitchen until you find a size you like. Not may objects are hexagon in shape. But I knew who to call, my brother! He is a beekeeper and fascinated with all things bee. And as we all know, honeycomb is hexagon shape. Which according to my brother is the most efficient way to use space. Bees have so much intelligence built into them, it is amazing. Don't we have an awesome Creator! Here is how he told me to make a hexagon.

1. Using a protractor, draw a straight line. Mark the center.

 2. Keeping the center mark lined up with the center of the protractor, draw a line 60 degrees from your first line.

 3. Draw another line 60 degrees from the previous line. You should now have three intersecting lines.

 4. Determine how big you want your hexagon, measure the width and mark. I made mine 1 inch wide, which also happened to be 1 inch from the center. Mark your width on all lines.

 5. Connect the marks to make your hexagon. (Oh dear! My hexagon looks a little crooked, didn't measure something right!)

 A  pattern to cut fabric pieces with and a stack of hexagon templates .

Of course, you can also use an online hexagon generator, which I didn't think of until yesterday!