Australian Homespun – August 2019

20

Rule45-degreelineson each

endoftheleftandright border

stripstocorrespond with the folded

linesonthetopand bottom strips.

Foldthestripsunder on these lines

andfingerpressthe folds. Check that

thefoldlinesmeet at 45 degrees

andthecornersof the hexagons

correspondwiththem. Baste the

hexagonpaneltothe left and right

borders,startingand ending halfway

throughthefirstand last hexagons.

21

Pickupthe fi rst corner, match

andpinthe fold lines of the

twoadjacentborder strips, right

sidestogether.Stitch from the inner

cornertotheouter edge of the border,

keepingthecentre panel free of the

seam.Laythequilt top on the table

againandcheckthat the corner is

sittingflatandsquare and the seam

isstitchedalltheway from the centre

paneltotheoutercorner.Trimthe

seamto^1 ⁄ 4 inandpress it open.

22

RepeatStep 21 on the other

threecorners to complete the

mitredcornersofthe border.

23

Appliquéthe edges of the

centrepanel to the border all

thewayaround,making sure that the

cornersofthehexagons at the top

andbottomofcolumns 1 and 6 are

alignedwiththemitred corner

seams.Removethe basting.

FINISHING

24

The quilt top, backing and

batting are ready for a long-arm

quilting machine as they are. If you’re

doing the quilting by hand or on a

domestic machine, smooth the

backing on the fl oor or a table, right

side down, and secure it with masking

tape. Lay the batting on top, ensuring

there are no wrinkles. Lay the quilt on

top of the batting, right side facing up.

Baste the three layers together with

safety pins (for machine quilting) or

thread (for hand quilting).

25

Quilt as desired. Marilyn hand

quilted using perle 8 thread.

She outlined each shape in the centre

panel using light blue thread, and

worked straight lines along some of

the printed stripes on the border

usingcreamthread.

26

Jointhefour 21 ⁄ 2 in strips cut in

Step 5 for the binding together,

end to end, with diagonal seams to

make one length. Trim the seams and

press them open. Fold the binding in

half, long edges matching and wrong

sides together, and press.

27

With raw edges together, sew

thebindingtotheedgeofthe

quiltwitha^1 ⁄ 4 in seam allowance,

mitring the corners as you go and

referring to the Binding Diagrams

on page 95 for details.

28

Turn the binding over and

hand stitch the folded edge to

the back ofthequilt. Label and date

your quilt.

MARILYN’S

BORDER FABRIC

TIPTheeasiest way to ensure

youhavea border stripe that

coordinatesperfectly with the

centreofthequilt is to choose

theborderfabric first. Then it’s

justa matterof raiding your

stashforfabrics that work well

withit andusing them for the

hexagonsanddiamonds.

06

PROJECT

96 Homespun