Hexagon needle book : tutorial

{or Use some of those things, already!}
also, blogger is being strange - this posted randomly, then went away as it was scheduled for Wednesday, and now is back, let's hope it doesn't disappear again

I had some extra d-rings from the netbook project, and also needed a second needle book for summer hexagon work. I was getting ready to make a plain old rectangle then realized I should make it a cute hexagon!

It's wool felt lined and also has two pages for pins and needles. Here's how you can make one, too. Please forgive some of these grainy process shots - I made it on a whim at night.

First, select two cute prints and baste your hexagons.
I made these with 1.5" hexagons - that's the measurement along one straight edge.

Then trace your shape and cut out two wool felt pieces the same size as your hexagon.

Iron your hexagon nice and flat, remove your paper shape, and pin wrong side to the wool felt. Slowly machine stitch about an 1/8" from the edges. You want to make sure you catch all the raw edges under on your hexie, no worries on the wool. Make two like this.

Now trace your hexagon again on some more felt. This time space them about 1.25" apart. Leave 5/8" wide strip in the center and trim away the rest. This will be your hanging loop. I like having the option of attaching this to my travel sewing stuff so it doesn't get lost in the bottom of a bag.

Fold the felt in half, then roll up one hexagon and stuff it through the d-ring. Make sure you do this before you stitch it all together!

Layer a hexagon print side down, folded felt center, then hexagon print side up. Machine stitch across the whole top edge a couple of times, close to the edge, but making sure you catch all four layers.

Now you have the cutest needle book around!