Hexagon Flower Bouquet Quilt

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This type of quilt is typically made by hand using the English Paper Piecing (EPP) method, where fabric is wrapped around paper templates before being sewn together.

Materials You Will Need

Phase 1: Preparing the Hexagons (English Paper Piecing)

The “flowers” in the quilt are made of small hexagon units. Each complete flower is typically composed of 7 hexagons (1 center piece and 6 petals).

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  1. Cut the Templates: Print or purchase many hexagon paper templates of your chosen size (e.g., 1-inch).
  2. Cut the Fabric: Cut fabric squares or pieces approximately $1/2$ inch (about 1.25 cm) larger than your paper template on all sides (e.g., cut a $2.5$ inch square for a $1$ inch hexie).
  3. Baste the Hexagons (EPP):
    • Place a paper template onto the wrong side of a fabric piece, centered.
    • Fold the fabric edge over the template’s edge, using a dab of glue or a needle and thread to temporarily secure (baste) the fabric to the paper.
    • Fold the next side, making the two folded edges meet neatly at the corner. Repeat for all six sides.
    • You now have a perfectly shaped fabric hexagon with a paper piece inside.

Phase 2: Assembling the Flower and Vase Units

You will sew the basted hexagons together by hand using a whipstitch. Place two hexagons right sides together and sew along the shared edge, making small, neat stitches.

  1. Create the Flowers:
    • Select one center hexagon (often white or yellow).
    • Select six “petal” hexagons (various flower colors).
    • Whipstitch the six petal hexagons around the center hexagon to form a Hexagon Flower.
    • Create a large number of these flowers in various color combinations as shown in the image.
  2. Create the Vase:
    • The vase is formed by assembling solid-colored hexagons (in the image, a deep blue) into the shape of a vase.
  3. Create the Background Field:
    • Stitch individual hexagons in background colors (in the image, shades of yellow, gold, and green) to fill in the areas between the flowers and the vase.

Phase 3: Arranging and Assembling the Quilt Top

This is the most time-consuming step—joining the hundreds of individual hexagons and flowers.

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  1. Layout: On a large, flat surface, arrange all your finished flowers, the vase unit, and the background hexagons to recreate the bouquet design from the image.
  2. Join the Units:
    • Carefully begin whipstitching all the adjacent hexagons together, column by column or flower by flower, until the entire bouquet is fully assembled.
    • Ensure the seams are neat and the points of the hexagons line up perfectly.
  3. Remove the Paper Templates: Once a flower or section is completely surrounded by other hexagons, you can remove the paper templates (by gently pulling them out from the back).

Phase 4: Final Quilting Steps

  1. Prepare for Quilting: Place the completed quilt top on a flat surface. Layer it with batting (the fluffy middle layer) and the backing fabric. Secure the three layers together with basting pins or spray.
  2. Quilt: Stitch through all three layers to secure them. For this type of detailed EPP design, hand-quilting (following the shapes of the hexagons) or simple machine quilting (such as stipple or straight-line quilting) is usually recommended.
  3. Binding: Trim the excess batting and backing fabric. Apply binding (a fabric strip sewn around the edge) to finish the raw edges of the quilt.