blog hop project // tiny toffee designs pieced hexie magnet

Have you ever felt afraid to follow your heart? Probably. I was a little afraid to make this hexie magnet. Why? Because I've never tried foundation paper piecing (FPP) before, and that's how this little heart comes together.

But friends can convince you to be brave, follow your heart, and try a new technique. Susi of Tiny Toffee Designs makes these adorable FPP patterns and today I get to be part of her blog hop!



Just to be clear, Susi invited me to participate...before I had ever tried this sewing technique. Clearly she had faith in me! I was a little unsure, but only because her patterns are so TINY! This is a 1-inch hexagon.

The heart design is part of her newest pattern set, Dream Big. Others in the set are much more detailed, and I hope to try the rest soon. Especially because folks have been making incredible things with the patterns during this blog hop. You can see a list of the posts here.



Since this was my first time with FPP, I needed to start from scratch, and thankfully, Susi has a very helpful tutorial on her blog. I wanted to practice a bit, so I printed out the pattern at 150% for my first go. And I was so happy with how it was coming together, even though I couldn't really see the heart shape.

Suddenly I saw what I had done.

Um, yeah. Using the right color pieces makes a difference! Still, I knew at this point that I understood the process and rather than pulling this apart, I moved to the smaller version. (I'll be fixing this and using it for something eventually...)



Paying attention to the color pieces this time, I made a heart hexie! Actually, this is just the piece that will become the hexagon. It gets basted just like any English paper pieced hexie.

And now, I'll show you the super easy way to make these into magnets!



You will need:

1 pieced hexagon
1 felt hexagon
Strong magnet
Craft/fabric glue



Start with your basted hexagon, and leave the paper inside. It will give your magnet some extra support.



The felt hexagon should be the same size as the pieced hexagon. Glue the magnet to the felt.

Be sure your glue will work on metal. The glue shown above isn't ideal, but it does work.



Run a line of glue around the edge of the hexagon.

On mine, I'm placing the magnet on the inside, so the glue is on the same side as the magnet. This only works if you have a super strong magnet, so be sure to test it first. Otherwise, place the glue on the opposite side from the magnet.



Press the two hexagons together and hold it for a minute or so, giving the glue a chance to set. You can also clip them with Wonder Clips.



The back is smooth and won't scratch any surfaces, but it still sticks. And if the magnet were to pull away from the felt, it would still be inside and will hold things.



Refrigerator are a common place for magnets to hang out, and so are magnetic memo boards. But I'm liking the look of this on my little galvanized bucket! It's a fun way to add some changeable decoration to a utility item.




Given the near-instant success I had with this pattern, I think it's safe to say that I'll be doing more foundation paper piecing. In fact, I think I need a complete Dream Big magnet set! But then, there are more of Susi's FPP hexagons too, so I guess I'll just be a busy gal for a while.

Thank you Susi, for inviting me to blog hop with you!