To find the length of each side of a regular hexagon given its perimeter, we can start with the definition of the perimeter of a hexagon.
A regular hexagon has 6 equal sides, and the perimeter \( P \) can be represented by the equation:
\[ P = 6\ell \]
where \( \ell \) is the length of each side.
Given that the perimeter of the hexagon is 42 inches, we can substitute this value into the equation:
\[ 42 = 6\ell \]
To solve for \( \ell \), we can divide both sides of the equation by 6:
\[ \ell = \frac{42}{6} \]
Calculating the right side:
\[ \ell = 7 \]
Therefore, the length of each side of the hexagon is 7 inches.