Designing....Doodled Hexagons

I have not made much progress lately in the actual painting and stitching of my "doodled" hexagons, but, I have been working to design and sort of plan out this project.
I say..........sort of plan.... because I don't really know where I am going with this, just that I am intrigued with the process and want to see where it might lead.
At this point I am trying to decide exactly what colour palette I will want to play with.....so, for now, I am creating, organizing and preparing designs that I plan to Hex.... in ink, paint and cloth.

I thought you might like to see how I go about this......it is fairly simple really.....I doodle and sketch on small templates I created for myself

I place mirrors to "see" what designs emerge

when something usable appears.....I clean it up and refine it

I also play on my computer to get a good visual of the final design. One of each (different) hexagon piece is carefully redrawn on paper that is cut to actual size...these then become the templates that I will use for the eventual trace onto cotton process

To keep it all organized, each "set" is being kept in a small zip-lock bag, stapled to the sheet containing its corresponding design.

Doodled-Painted Hexagons - Tutorial part 2

I tried to cover as much as I could in one post last time....photographically attempting to show you that various steps involved in the process.

Then I thought...gee...could I make a video? I have never tried to make /edit video before but decided to give it a try, so, I am hoping that together with my last post you will know what to do and perhaps be inspired to try it yourself.

This is the Rosette I created from the hexagons I am painting in the video.....and it is this rosette pattern that I am sharing with you. Download, print, and make your very own, I only ask that you link back to me when showing off your creations.  You can get the file here
Note: this rosette and pattern is comprised of 1" Hexagons....print at "actual" size.   If you want to work with a different size you may have to play with printing at the desired percentage

I am not providing instructions for the actual paper piecing part...you can find those all over the Internet as well as some great You Tube videos.  Check out my previous post for part 1 of this tutorial

I did it!...my very first video, my first time trying to upload to YouTube.....fingers crossed that it works!   The video covers the painting process....hope you find it helpful

I plan to try this technique in a variety of mediums......starting with these.....I have had this lovely set of watercolour pencils sitting in a drawer for years.....will they work?....lets find out

I began by testing the permanency of the colour on fabric. I doodled, laid on colour, activated with the Aloe-Vera Gel, let dry, heat set and then submersed it in water. It worked...the colours stayed put and equally as important, the hand of the fabric remained unchanged

In the image below, the hexagon on the left with just pencil applied....on the right the hexagon after the gel was applied

                                                               here they are left to dry

                                                         and this is the finished rosette

The process for this is just a little different than with paint, I will attempt to make another video soon.

Merry Christmas!  Nina Marie is hosting her "Off  the Wall Fridays" so I am linking up there where lots of creative stuff is happening

Doodled Hexagon Tutorial

For those of you who would like to try this technique, I plan to share a download-able, printable design for you to use soon.
But first I thought I would show the basic steps of the process.  Warning! this is a long post....but don't miss the ending...there is a money saving tip for those of you who are buying lots of pre-cut hexagons in packages

Note....Any time you will be drawing/ painting or inking fabric you always need to begin with one that has been pre-washed.

Supplies: 
White, off white or very pale coloured cotton
Freezer paper
Dry Iron
Frixion or other pen with disappearing ink
A light box or some other light source for tracing the design
Masking tape
Permanent marker .....needs to be waterproof for this process
Fabric paint (preferably transparent) or inks or Inktense pencils
Note....you need to test to make sure whatever you chose will not change the "hand" of your fabric as you don't want anything that will be prohibitive for the hand sewing process  (some paints/mediums leave the fabric with a plasticy feel which you most definitely do not want)
Aloe-Vera Gel   (the clear stuff....no colour)
Assorted paint brushes
Paper hexagon pieces  (I am using 1".....these measure 1" on each of the 6 sides)
A fabric glue pen or stick

Below, are the steps that will be done to each hexagon.

Step 1:  is to press freezer paper (shiny side down) to the wrong side of the fabric, the freezer paper will stay in place until each hexagon has been painted....it acts as a stabilizer for ease of drawing and painting on fabric

Step 2:  Add guidelines......using a Frixion pen ( or any disappearing marker) on the fabric's right side, trace around the outer edge of your hexagon

next add markings indicating roughly 1/4" seam allowance.

Trim close to the seam allowance

you are ready to begin drawing on the hexagon

Step 3:  Using a light-box.....trace the desired design using a permanent, waterproof pen ( I use an ultra fine tipped sharpie marker)  notice that I have used a little bit of masking tape to secure my hexagon in place to prevent slippage

Step 4:   time to add colour.....there are a variety of ways to colour/paint fabric.....for this one I used Seta-Color transparent paint and clear Aloe Vera Gel
I first spread a thin layer of Aloe-Vera gel over the marked design/doodle. The gel makes the application of paint easy without worry of bleeding, running or having to thin the paint first...(use the paint straight from the bottle)

Begin in the center and work outward......I place the hexagon on a small piece of card-stock so I can rotate my work easily without having to handle the hexagon any more than need be

With a paint brush, apply the paint into the still wet aloe vera gel. (the gel has lots of "open" time....meaning that is does not dry quickly)....meaning you don't have to rush

notice that I am brushing the paint over the fold lines. I want to make sure that I have good coverage.

Step 5:   Set aside to let dry completely
Step 6:  Now is the time to remove that freezer paper from the back of your work, place the hexagon face down and place (centering) a precut hexagon paper piece (use the light box if you are having trouble seeing the guidelines)

Step 7:  using a glue stick/pen lay a thin line of glue on the paper along the first edge you will turn Tip: keep it back from the very edge of the paper so that there will not be glue in the area you will later being stitching through   (For those of you who prefer the thread basting method.....well...you know what to do)

begin folding over each edge, one at a time, until the all edges of the hexagon have been folded to the wrong side

The fabric paint is permanent once heat set.....this is done using a hot,dry iron....at this point the hexagon is ready to be joined into a rosette.  using the same method, continue to prep, draw, paint, and baste the other hexies that will join in

I always test.....so to be certain that the method and supplies I chose to use will all be okay when subjected to water.....I did just that. I heat set this hexie, then simply stitched the hexie onto a piece of wool......which was then submersed it into a dish of water. (here it is underwater...the photo shows that there is no running, bleeding or lifting of colour)

once dry it came out soft pliable and with no loss of colour

I knew that if I want to able create many of these rosettes (like the one at the top of the post) I was going to be in need of lots of paper hexagons. I have purchased some pre-cut hexagons but holy cow...they run anywhere from $6 for 100 pieces to $7 for 50 pieces (depending on the brand) so I figured that had to be a better way

I found this Fiskar's "Squeeze" punch... it is simple to use, I can cut as many perfect hexagons as I like in just minutes.  1 sheet of card stock yields 20 pieces of the 1" size I am currently using. The cost of this cutter was regularly $30 but I had a 50% off coupon so I think it will pay for itself in no time.

just a note about products......for the single hexagon shown in this tutorial, Seta-colour transparent fabric paint was used....for last weeks rosette (shown at the top of the post), I used Jacquard textile paint, and for the one below, I used Inktense pencils...each "colour" product was used with the Aloe-Vera gel.....in the case of the Inktense pencils....I applied the pencil to the fabric first and then carefully painted the gel over top to "activate" the ink

Okay....so I think I have covered everything....but if you have any questions...leave a comment and I will do my best to answer them.....I will try to have a design ready for us to play with soon.


I am linking up to Nina-Maries Off the Wall Fridays where there is some fabulous inspiration being shared by many outstanding artists.....why not grab your favouite beverage, relax and check them out.

More Doodled Hexagons

These could very well turn into a new obsession for me.  If you saw my last post, you know I had begun experimenting with doodling and painting hexagons to be used in English Paper Piecing.

I started another, larger rosette. Just one colour added this time. here is what some of the pieces look like before the edges were folded...not a very pretty sight!

ah...but here they are looking much better.

I began this rosette with a specific design planned (made up of a total of 19 hexagons) but suddenly realized that by moving and rotating the bits about, many other designs could be created with those same 19 hexagons....so I did just that to get a visual on the other possibilities before I thread my needle.

So,my rosette is ready to be stitched....but... you will have to wait for my next post to see which one I chose.

I plan to post a detailed tutorial of my process in the near future......if I provide a design....would you like to give it a try?

Doodled Hexagons

Recently, I have begun noticing these Millefliore and Passacaglia quilts popping up in the cyber world. They are amazingly beautiful and I am most intrigued.

Having never tried English paper piecing, I decided it was time to give it a try. I picked up a package of 1" hexie papers and set about making a rosette. (my very first one) so I kept it plain and simple to make sure I understood the technique)

Then a thought popped into my head........what would happen if I doodled on each hexagon before putting them together?
Now, of course, you KNOW I had to test that idea

I drew some "guidelines" on the fabric to make sure the drawing would end up in the right spot ( I used a Frixion pen for this as I will want them gone later)

Doodled with a permanent marker

Added colour

Ready to assemble

I made sure to brush the paint over the "fold" lines so I would not have any "blank" spots

Finished ....Doodled-Painted Hexagon Rosette

Not perfect, but certainly interesting results...... Something tells me I will be doing more of these!!!

I am linking up to Nina-Marie's  Off the Wall Fridays