Sewing these little diamonds into hexagons is a fun and easy project for sewing on the go.
We traveled for the holidays so I took my repurposed candy tin with me, filled with cut diamonds and everything I needed to make my star hexagons.
Before leaving, I pre-cut a lot of little sets of diamonds. Bagged with a postcard to keep them flat and unmoving, they’re ready to sew at a moment’s notice.
My kit has small, sharp scissors for trimming threads and fabric dog ears, my favorite needles, a little sandpaper board, the diamond template (in case I find a new perfect print to use in a star), and my pin box. I like to use up my almost-empty spools of thread from machine piecing for my hand piecing. The tin lid serves as a nice workspace.
Let me show you how to hand piece this little diamond hexagon with set-in seams in less than 30 minutes using a needle, thread and one pin! I made the hexagon in these photos while waiting to board one of our flights. In the gate area one passenger was knitting while another woman was working on embroidery. We stitchers like to take our work with us!
Begin by placing two diamonds right sides together. Mine are marked with a finished size template to create a sewing line, and then cut precisely 1/4” from the sewing line. Pin match the far corner of the seam to be sewn. Flip the pieces to the back to make sure the pin is spearing the same corner on the back.
Use your needle to pin match the first corner and begin the line of stitching with a knot and a backstitch in the marked corner. Hand piecing is not sewn raw edge to raw edge like machine piecing but rather from marked corner to marked corner.
Sew with what is called a piecing stitch. Take a needle full of stitches and pull through. Start the next needle full of stitches one stitch back, thus putting a backstitch in the middle of your running stitches. This makes for a strong seam.
Continue to the far side of the seam and stop with the needle coming up precisely in the corner. Finish with a backstitch and a knot.
Sew the six diamonds into three pairs. Then sew the three pairs together to complete the star. The seams are short so it doesn’t take much time to sew these little gems. Mine was done in less than ten minutes. After a good finger pressing, we’re ready to set in the cream colored diamonds that finish this star into a hexagon.
Begin by laying a cream diamond onto the star side where it belongs. Just as above, pin match the far corner and use the needle to pin match the first corner. Stitch the seam as normal. Park your needle in the seam allowance out of the way while you prepare for the next seam.

Pin match the far corner of the seam. Use the needle to pin match the first corner. Begin stitching with a knot and backstitch.
Pivot the diamond onto the next side where it belongs. This looks odd at first so don’t worry. Pin match the far corner.
Unpark your needle and stitch this leg of the set-in seam just as you did the first by beginning precisely in the first corner and ending in the far corner with a backstitch, leaving the thread uncut.
Park your needle in the seam allowance and place the second diamond onto the next side. Pin the far corner as usual.
Unpark your needle and bring it up from underneath into the point of this new seam.
Backstitch and sew the seam as usual.
Continue sewing, pivoting, and backstitching to add all of the set-in diamonds to the star. When done, finish by running the needle through the point of the last corner where you ended to the point of the first corner where you started. Pull snug, and place a backstitch and knot in the seam allowance on the side where you started. This prevents a gap between the first and last set-in diamond.

Finish the last point by slipping the needle through the seam allowances to where you started. Pull tight to prevent gaps on the front. Backstitch and knot.
Done in less than thirty minutes and just in time to close my tin and board my plane!
Do you have a travel kit and project to work on? It’s amazing how much you can get done in found bits of time here and there……….
Best Stitches!
Donna
Hello, I have never tried to hand-piece anything.
I do like working with small sized pieces, so I will give it a try!
I appreciate your teachings. Thank you!
Hi, Jean-
Let me know if you have any questions when you take a stab :-J at hand piecing. It’s pretty straightforward and easy to learn. There are a few tips but it’s very forgiving. The key is accurate templates and marked sewing lines. After that there’s not much to fuss about. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
Donna
Hi Donna,
LOVELY! Where did you get your template? I would love a template like that.
Thank you,
Brenda