English Paper Piecing (EPP) Pentagon Drawer Sachets
Turn pentagons into items for the home, from sweet sachets to spherical pillows, with this excerpt from All Points Patchwork.
A handful of these pentagon balls, filled with lavender or cedar shavings, makes a sweet little set of sachets to give as a gift. You can also make them from larger pentagons and end up with juggling balls, or use even larger pentagons to create baby toys. I can even see them made from very large pentagons to form very interesting pillows.
TEXT EXCERPTED FROM ALL POINTS PATCHWORK © 2015 BY DIANE GILLELAND. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
How to Make Pentagon Spheres
Try this method for creating stuffed spheres from pentagons.
Step 1: Join six pentagons into a flower shape. Then make a second flower.
Step 2: Join the sides of those pentagon “petals.” This creates a cuplike shape. Do the same with the other flower to make a second cup. Make sure both cups have their right sides to the inside.
Step 3: Orient the two cups so that their points nest together. Join them with a whipstitch, following along the zigzag line where the halves meet. (You’ll have to fold and even squash your work a bit as you navigate this seam. Don’t worry; you can’t hurt it.) Leave an opening for turning and stuffing.
Step 4: Remove the templates and gently turn the ball right side out. Stuff it with the material of your choice, and then sew the opening closed with a ladder stitch.
The key to perfect patchwork is getting all of the points to match up — which is no easy feat! Set yourself up for success with the rediscovered technique of English paper piecing. Using paper templates to guide your pattern, you can expertly fit your quilting shapes together before you even start sewing. All Points Patchwork takes you far beyond traditional hexagons and accommodates triangles, diamonds, octagons, and even curved shapes. Simple instructions for decorating clothing, bedding, and home decor open up astounding possibilities for quilters of all levels.