Log Cabin Hexagon Tutorial

For Christmas my mom got me a kit of 30's prints that came with a pattern for a log cabin quilt.  I love 30's and log cabins are easy and fun but...  I have a hard time following patterns.  I seem to need to find a way to make everything my own!  I also have had a new obcession with Hexagon quilts so... this Log Cabin Hexagon Tutorial was born!  Hope I can explain it ok.  It is pretty easy once you get on a roll.

First I got ready.  The big pieces above are from the kit and the strips are from a swap that I did.  They are 2.5 inch x WoF.

I got to work cutting the big pieces into strips.  I ended up cutting 1 2.5 x WoF strip of each and the cut the rest into 1.5 inch strips.  I then cut several purple hexies out of the background fabric they had there and then cut the rest into purple 1.5 inch strips!  I placed the different size strips into separate baggies, made sure the hexies were easy to grab.  I then lined everything up with the cutting and ironing boards easily accessible from the sewing machine!

Now onto the sewing of the square (actually... it ends up a rectangle...  cause that is how I wanted it!)

First grab one Hexagon and one 1.5 inch strip.  Sew it along one side of the hexagon and press out.  

(There is alot of pressing in this... keep it handy!)

The I placed it on my cutting board and lined my ruler up with one of the hex edges and sliced through the strip I just sewed on.  Do this to both sides of the strip.

See... Not it will look like this!

Then grab another strip on the side of the hex to the right.  See how it overlaps the first strip I sewed!  Then...  line up the ruler and slice both sides of that strip!

Now it looks like this!

Then just keep going around...  Sew a strip...

Press out and slice.

When you get to the last side sew the strip straight across.  It will be longer that the rest for this side.

Here is the first round!

Now... the first strip you sew ends up looking like a triangle.  I didn't want all my triangles to be in line so...  See where my first starting strip is with that tiny triangle...  I am going to start sewing on the side to the right of it now!

Pretty much you do the same thing but using the 2.5 inch strips this time.  See on the left... that is where I started!

After you go all the way around with the 2.5 inch strip, do another row around with the 1.5 inch strips. If you can see... with my fingers I am showing you my first starting point, my second starting point and where I am going to start for my third row.

Here is my hexagon so far.  I wanted there to be a big hexagon in the middle of a rectangle.  So...  I decided which flat edges where my top and bottom.  I created each corner separately.  I started my sewing a strip to one corner.  When cutting I lined my ruler up with the top AND side at the same time and sliced right there.  Does that make any sense?  Instead of lining each cut up with a hex side individually I lined up one side and then just straight cut the other to square it.

Then on the same side I sewed a purple strip.

And did the same thing to square it up!

See!  Done with that corner!

I used this same method for all the 4 corners.

Until...  They were all done!

Here is one I did where instead of doing each side individually I did opposite sides with the same fabrics.  I like the mixed up one better, but here is another option.

Here they is what I have so far lined up!  the look cute huh!  If your want more of the background fabric showing use 4 inches strips of it where I have my purple and when making your corners don't add another color strip JUST do the one background fabric and square it up.  You could easily make this a square by sewing another background fabric strip along the top and bottom.  I like mine like this!

If you are wondering how I organized my strips I already used in each square... here it is!  I chucked them behind my sewing machine and then stuffed them back into the bag at the beginning of each square!