y seams - the tutorial

 due to popular requests from those following my hexie megathon on instagram this week here is a tutorial to demystify and hopefully simplify y seams. like anything it's easy when you know how!

the key thing with y seams, like any precision sewing is accuracy of cutting and measuring.

first up cut out hexies of whatever size you want to use. i've cut just 3 here to show how to join 3 together. it goes without saying that you can join as many as you like and this is simply for illustrating the y seam.

now, as they say, the sciency bit...

draw lines on the reverse of your fabrics 1/4" from the edge and mark where they cross with a dot. this is really the key to sewing y seams. you always want to leave this 1/4" edge free when joining together with y seams.

once you get more proficient you can do without drawing the lines in and simply mark where the dot goes. that's the really important bit.

these dots mark the beginning and the end of the row of stitches to give room to turn your y seam and for the seams to lay flat.

start with 2 hexies right sides facing and sew along the line (1/4" allowance) between the dots. at the beginning and the end do a couple of reverse stitches to secure. this is another important tip for keeping your hexies in place.

now let's put that 3rd hexie in, the one that makes you feel super clever!

put the 3rd hexie, right sides together at the top of the pair already sewn together as you are going to do 2 seams one after the other.

firstly sew along the first side as you did previously, remembering to reverse stitch at the beginning and end.

next, keeping the needle down - another important tip to keep the hexies in place, twist the top hexie round to sew the second side on the second hexie.

align the 2 seams together and sew along the line, as previously, between the 2 dots.

and there...you are done...1 perfect y seam!

iron your seams flat and you are ready to add more hexies in the same way!

add as many hexies as you want in exactly the same way.

i hope this has helped and demystified the dreaded y seam. 

and it isn't just hexies you can sew together in this way. any shapes that meet together in a y seam can be tackled in this way.

have fun and i'd love to see what you make!