Make This: Grandmother’s Flower Garden Hexagon Binding Tutorial
I finally got to the binding part of this Grandmother’s Flower Garden Quilt (see our tutorial about doing this by machine!) and realized it might be a bit tricky to do around the hexagon shapes. I searched for tutorials and didn’t find anything very helpful, so I took the plunge on my own.
There were two things I felt rather certain of: 1) the binding would need to be cut as narrow as possible and 2) it should be cut on the bias. It worked out pretty well, so here are the steps to follow for binding a hexagon-edged quilt.
Our bindings are usually cut 2 1/4″ to 2 1/2″ wide (and then folded), but for this irregular edge, cut it at just 2″ on the bias. Trim the ends at 60 degree angles (or 45 degrees if you prefer). Sew the strips together, end to end.
Press the binding in half lengthwise and press.
Trim the edge of your quilt to slightly less than 1/4″ so the binding will fit perfectly, especially the points and inside angles.
Begin sewing the binding to the right side of the quilt. For the outside points, drop your needle exactly in the corner and pivot toward the next edge
Fold the binding down toward the next quilt edge and put a (very small) tuck in the binding. Since this isn’t a full 90 degree corner, so you don’t need to fold over as much of the binding fabric as you usually do.
For the inside turns, drop the needle at this point just like you did for the outside points.
Pull the quilt edge toward the straight of the binding and sew to the next point. This kind of opens up the inside angles and makes the binding less bulky.
Continue sewing around the entire quilt using the inside and outside angle methods. It seems like a tedious process, but once you get into a rhythm it goes pretty fast. It will look something like this.
To finish, sew the binding to the back of the quilt by hand using a hidden whip stitch. Just follow the stitching line around the inside angles. For the outside points you will need to fold a little tuck to match the other side.
Here’s a close up of the finished binding from the right side.
Once the binding is sewn all the way around the entire quilt, give it a good pressing. This will make everything look nice and crisp–especially the tucks on the outside points.
So many of these irregular-edged quilt patterns get the design chopped straight off for easier binding, but I saw an antique quilt done this way and I fell in love with it! I was told by so many experts to not even attempt this, but I knew I had to try at the very least, since I love a challenge. I’m really happy that I jumped in with both feet, and I find the result quite pleasing. It creates a much more finished and tailored look.
-Diane
WOW!! I was recently ask to make a quilt using a top made from hexagons just like this. I said, ” no way I don’t even know where to begin”. Thanks for this tutorial.
This is exactly the tutorial I have been searching for. I have hand stitched the entire queen size hexie quilt top. I just can’t see chopping off the points to make the binding a little easier. What’s another hundred hours or so?!?
Thanks for this tutorial. A friend gave me a hand quilted 30’s Green Background Grandmother’s
flower Garden Quilt which I can’t bear to cut straight…. I will get this done!
Thanks for this tutorial, just what I was looking for – binding a large hexagon shape ?
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!! I appreciate your tutorial on this type of binding!! Hopefully, I can do my vintage-inherited top as good as yours.
Thanks so much! I am almost finished hand-stitching the top of a queen size hexie quilt, and this is exactly what i needed. Now, if I can only decide how to do the quilting. Do you have any suggestions?
Thank You! I just finished handquilting a 1930’s beauty, and wanted to do just as you describe in your tutorial, but experts said it would be too difficult. With your help, I will do this! Thanks!
So glad to hear it! That sounds like an amazing quilt!!
Did you do the sides the same way?
Yes!
Thank you for sharing your tips. I recently paid to have a flower garden quilt hand quilted and bound. The binding was atrocious! I have just removed the binding and need to reapply it myself, so was looking for a tutorial on how to do it the best way possible. I really appreciate your help in this.
I call it my 40 year quilt. I copied my grand mothers flower garden quilt that was made in the late 18 hundreds and was in bad shape but my teen age daughter loved it so I hand sewed the top as we traveled and camped in
1976. I quilted it by hand in my spare time and was ready to finish the sides when my husband died. I put it in a 100% cotton pillow case and stuck it in a closet. I am working on it now and it needs a binding. This is the one after all the videos I have watched that I am going to attempt. Thank you
What an incredible legacy that quilt has! We hope this method works well for you.
Thanks, extremely helpful. I too inherited a Grandmother’s Flower top, recently had it quilted and it was suggested that I chop off the hexi’s to make the binding easier. Did not really want to do that even though I realized it would make the job easier.
I would not of thought of trimming the quilt as you suggested nor cutting the binding smaller than 2 1/4″. Thanks for those tips. I love hand sewing so this will be a fun project.
Dyann
I was always told when doing the Grandmother’s Flower Garden to use a biased single layer binding. Did you miter each corner on the front or just sew a line a quarter inch in from the edge?
We prefer double fold bias binding for this, but a single layer bias binding is also a great choice. Did you read the tutorial? We explained how we do the angles with a small tuck on each corner. It’s not a full miter, but you do need a little bit to work with.
I finished my Grandmothers Flower Garden quilt with that binding and am so happy with the out come.
I love your method of binding and will use it. My dilemna is when do you take the papers out on the edge of the quilt and do I unfold the edges of the quilt to sew on the binding and how do I get a quarter inch if I take out the papers and unfold the fabric. Thank you for your answer
Thank you so much for sharing this! I’m 80 years old and have come into possession of my grandmother’s Grandmother’s Flower Garden hand pieced quilt top (It has to be 100 years old!). I machine quilted it and am now in the process of deciding how to bind it. I ran across your site and I want to try your way. My question is….how to you join the binding when you get to the end?
Thank you for your help and thank you again for posting this solution!
Hi Karen, it’s so lovely to hear that you’re finishing an antique quilt! Diane hand sewed the binding tails together, since it’s such a tight fit.
I’ve been searching for a tutorial on binding this lovely quilt. Yours has great detail and photos. I do have two questions though. Why did you use 2″ binding? How did you calculate how much binding to use? I can calculate binding for a quilt with straight edges, should I add 50% more?
Hi Carol, we did a 2″ binding to give as much room to make the mitres on all of the angles. 50% more of a traditional binding should be about right. We just estimated!
So happy to find this information! I just recently found a quilt my Grandmother made in the 1950’s all pieced by hand and quilted by hand. It’s a Grandmothers Flower Garden quilt. I will need to find a binding fabric to cut the binding and begin the process of finishing this treasure.
Thank you for your help!
I also inherited a flower garden quilt top. My grandmother started it, my mother inherited it and she added to it & then my mother died. I’ve had it and many hexagon pieces. I retired and started quilting with our church. These ladies helped me plan and finish the top. I’ve been searching for a way to bind this that didn’t require trimming all the hexagons off! Thanks Sue
I am thrilled to find your instructions on binding this quilt! My husband’s grandmother pieced a beautiful top. She passed when he was young . It was given to me with a note “had visions of a beautiful quilt but failed”. I had my grandmother hand quilt it. She has also passed. Now it’s time for me to stop procrastinating and bind it. I’ve intended to do it the way you have recommended and you have given me the courage! Thank you!
Thanks so much for the terrific tutorial and photographs. I don’t have a sewing machine or large cutting mat. Do you have any suggestions for doing a double quilt this way entirely by hand? It looks so beautiful I can’t resist trying it. It might actually be easier, if slower.
I have seen some quilters back and finish as they go. In this way, you would finish each group or “flower” of hexagons by adding batting and then backing and turning all of the edges under (inside) on both the top and bottom of each little section, then press and sew it closed with hand stitching–you can also add hand quilting as desired. Once you have made each flower section, you can sew them all together by hand. By the time they are all connected, the quilt is finished and there’s no need for traditional binding, unless you want to add it.