English Paper Piecing Hexagons: Using the Sizzix

Hi Sizzix friends. If you read my blog or follow my work or even shop with me at Sew and Quilt you know I am crazy about English Paper Piecing! I can't get enough of it. So it will be no surprise to you that my first die-cut I bought for my Sizzix machine many moons ago, was the 1-1/4" Hexagon to use with my 1" Hexagons for my Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt. At the moment I'm knee-deep in preparations for this years Festival of Quilts so I have been making and organising lots of samples and kits to display and sell at my booth. So my Sizzix machine has been coming in very handy when I've been working on hexagon projects lately!

Products used:
1-1/4" Hexagon #658138
Strips, 2-1/2" wide #658328

Here's how I like to cut my hexagons using the Sizzix Plus machine.

First off I like to use the 2-1/2" strip dies to cut lengths of fabric. I know for each flower block I need two WOF strips of solid (for the outer ring), and one WOF strip in print (for the inner ring).

I then place my fabric strips on the 1-1/4" hexagon die cut and create folds to cut multiple layers.

I then roll it through the Sizzix machine twice, as I like a nice clean cut and with so many layers it's sometimes useful to do this. And voila, you have more than a dozen hexagons ready to be basted for your EPP project. There's absolutely no waste this way too, always a bonus.

If you wanted to know how to make a Grandmother's Flower garden block I have step by step information on how to make one as well as tons of other helpful tips and information on English Paper Piecing, on my blog. As well if you're heading to Festival Of Quilts next month, be sure to stop by and see me at my Sew and Quilt booth on stand F5. Sizzix will be demonstrating at the show too, so you won't want to miss out.