How to Put Together a Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt the American Way
The Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt pattern evolved from English hexagonal quilt patterns that date from as early as the 18th century. In the English method, you baste each individual hexagonal fabric block to a piece of scrap paper before assembling the quilt. This is a time-consuming but highly accurate method of piecing the quilt top. In the American method, you stitch the blocks directly to one another without paper. Without the paper backing to stabilize it, the fabric hexagons are more likely to distort as you sew them, so it is important to avoid stretching the edges as you stitch.
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Instructions
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Place two hexagonal fabric pieces with their right sides facing one another, matching them along one edge.
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Thread the needle with a piece of thread about 18 inches long and tie a knot in the thread near its end.
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Insert the needle into the sandwiched fabric at the beginning of one of the sides, 1/4-inch from the edge of the fabrics, and pull it all the way through, so that the knot remains on the opposite side from the needle and the length of the thread.
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Insert the needle back into the fabric less than 1/8-inch from the hole where you pulled it through. Make several stitches on top of one another to secure the end of the thread. Pull the needle back up through the hole where you originally inserted it, then back down through the second hole.
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Proceed to sew along one entire edge of the fabric using a small straight stitch known as a running stitch. Insert the needle less than 1/8-inch from the hole where it emerged and back down less than 1/8-inch away from that hole taking several stitches on the needle at a time before pulling the thread all the way through.
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Secure the end of the thread in the same way as you secured the beginning of the row of stitches, by repeating a stitch several times in one place then tying a knot, when you reach the end of the edge, then cut the thread.
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Proceed to attach additional hexagons in the same manner. When joining three hexagons, inserting one into the space created where two are joined together, stop sewing 1/4-inch from the edge of the row and turn the hexagon so that you may sew the next edge to the other hexagon, creating a neat corner where the three hexagons are joined.
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Tips & Warnings
Organize the hexagons for your quilt in small groups by by dividing the quilt into flower blocks. For instance, a group of 37 hexagons creates a standard-sized flower block. This will allow you to stay organized and transport portions of your project easily.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Threaded Needle with Cotton Reel image by Sophia Winters from Fotolia.com
