This simple pillow has been years in the making! A few years ago I jumped on the hexie bandwagon and made a whole pile of hexies from a Christmas mini charm pack. I thread basted them with Aurifil 50 wt. using this method from Modern Handcraft. These days I would use Aurifil 80 wt–it’s my new go-to thread for handwork. It’s thin and strong and just disappears into the project. It’s a perfect thread for hand piecing and EPP.
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I never landed on a layout that I liked that year, so these adorable hexies were whisked into a baggie and banished until inspiration hit this year.
Aurifil Artisans were asked to share a holiday project this month and after rifling through all my Christmas fabrics, I decided to give these lovely little hexies another chance. I love hexies, but was looking for a project that would come together a little faster than a typical EPP project.
I settled on a lumbar pillow (though now I love this pillow so much that I wish that I had made a larger cushion). After cutting the linen background, I simply laid out the hexies, eyeballing the distance between them (about 1/4″). Once I was happy with the layout, I glued them down with applique glue.
I backed the linen with a piece of Warm and Natural batting for quilting. I’ll admit that I was a bit nervous about quilting it since the quilting plan that Nicole from Modern Handcraft uses would surely reveal if my placement was off. You simply stitch from point to point through the hexies with a walking foot, and I was pleased to see that it worked out just fine.
As usual, I used Aurfil 2311 (Muslin) 50 wt thread. I find 2311 to be the most versatile thread ever–it goes with everything!
I finished it with a simple envelope back of linen and am very happy with how it turned out.
All told, the whole project took just a couple evenings and I will absolutely be using this technique again in the future. Thanks, Nicole from Modern Handcraft for the inspiration!
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I’m Kristin, a passionate quilter, sometimes knitter, everyday cook, and cozy home creator. Simple Handmade Everyday is my place to share my love for living a creative, intentional life. Grab a cup of tea and have a look around!