Project of the Week

Honeycomb Quilt

Honeycomb Quilt

My mother made hundreds of quilts in her lifetime. I am the proud owner of the honeycomb quilt she made when she was 15. I’ve always thought I would honor her by making one myself, but the six fussy ⅛″ seams around each little hexagon aren’t exacting enough for me. The hexagons pucker and frustrate me. When I came across a turn-of-the-century honeycomb quilt using the above technique, I knew I’d come home. Irregular pieces of fabric are wrapped around cardboard hexagons and then roughly basted in bold-colored thread through both the thin cardboard and the fabric. The hexagons are then whip-stitched together from the back—a handstitch technique my fingers love. When your quilt is done, you simply remove the basting, shake out the cardboard pieces, then go back and stitch the quilt, covering all the raw edges. Download this honeycomb template. Load your printer with cardstock and then get out your scissors! If a quilt seems like too much, think totes, apron pockets, the back of a denim jacket—anything that announces to the world you’ve been a busy bee.

Cardboard hexagonal template on fabric piece Fabric wrapped and basted around cardboard template Hexagonal fabric piece whip-stitched in amongst other hexagons

Cardboard Template

Quilt Back With Basting

Quilt Front
With Basting Removed

©MaryJanesFarm · POB 8691, Moscow, ID 83843 · iris@maryjanesfarm.org · www.maryjanesfarm.org