Two Dozen Hexagon Quilt Ideas

hexagon quilt

The hexagon quilt is probably one of humanity’s original mindless busywork projects. Wherever in the world someone has had scraps of fabric, a needle and thread, and hands that were empty while something interesting was going on, surely a hexagon quilt was made.

And yes, while historically hexagon quilts were likely assembled while stories were told around the fire or Pa played his fiddle after supper, they’re just as easy, satisfying, and mindless to make while watching TV.

Ask me how I know this.

Although there are loads of tutorials online to show you how to make and sew the hexagons (here’s a good one, and here’s another good one!), the gist is super simple. Make a hexagon template out of paper, cardboard, or even upcycled plastic food packaging (the lids of butter tubs make stellar hexagon templates!). Hand-cut a fabric hexagon larger than the template, then stitch the hexagon around the template. Repeat a billion times, then sew all the hexagons together.

No sewing machine necessary (although yes, you can machine sew a hexagon quilt)! No rotary cutter or ruler needed. You can do this project in your lap in the passenger seat of the car, or hanging out in your bed.

Because these little hexagons are so simple to make, it’s not hard to collect a whole hoard of them, and that’s where it starts getting REALLY fun. If you think the hexagons, themselves are cute, wait until you see all the absolutely adorable things that you can make from them. Check out my favorite hexagon quilt ideas right here!

1. 3D Hexagons

https://www.instagram.com/p/BT8m9rBlYkx/

Interestingly, this hexagon quilt does not use hexagon blocks! Instead, you’ll be piecing triangles together to give the look of a three-dimensional hexagon.

2. Caterpillar Burp Cloth

https://www.instagram.com/p/B1Tmyh0nIwo/

Make a caterpillar that’s Very Hungry, or that matches a baby’s nursery decor.

3. Christmas Tree Skirt

This is a great method for making a Christmas tree skirt that has plenty of room for a tree trunk and plenty of space to pile lots of lovely gifts!

4. Giant Hexagon Quilt

Large quilt blocks make quick work of sewing an entire quilt.

5. Half Hexagons

https://www.instagram.com/p/tL0IXIQd_T/

If you want the look of a hexie quilt but don’t want to piece together odd angles, cut your blocks into half-hexagons, or trapezoids, instead. Two trapezoids equal one hexagon with no odd angles to sew!

6. Halloween Quilt

Spiders have eight legs, but here they also have six-sided bodies!

7. Hexagon Flower Quilt Block

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bzt3–SHtxz/

This method uses freezer paper and a sewing machine, although you can still easily make the same hexagon flowers with reusable templates and hand-sewing. Once you have some flower blocks pieced, sew them onto a duvet cover or applique them onto a fabric book cover.

8. Hexagon Quilt Border

I love this method of bordering a hexie quilt, because it makes the border out of hexagons, too, preserving all the beautiful angles of your hexagon quilt. Here’s another way that borders the quilt AND backs it with a perimeter of hexagons, and here’s a third way that allows you to avoid a binding altogether.

9. Hexagon Quilt Patchwork Bag

Use this tutorial to sew a bag from scratch and embellish it with hexagons.

10. Hexagons And Stars

Want to make piecing a quilt really easy on yourself? Add equilateral triangles to each edge of your hexagons to turn them into stars. It’s pretty and it takes up all the awkward angles so that you’re left with tidy rows to straight stitch together.

11. Large Hexagons

https://www.instagram.com/p/B4c1ZWXlt8z/

The author of this tutorial states that novelty prints work especially well with these large hexagons, and I completely agree! Additionally, check out how much easier half hexagons are to piece together.

12. Modern Hexagon Quilt Block

Using scraps doesn’t mean your quilt has to look scrappy! In this quilt block tutorial, just a few hexies are appliqued onto a base fabric to make the quilt look interesting and modern.

13. Modern Hexagon Placemat

https://www.instagram.com/p/nkFIDJmSnK/

And if you don’t want a whole quilt’s worth of modern hexagons, here’s how to give the same look to a set of placemats.

14. Mug Rug

A hexagon surrounded by half-hexagons is the centerpiece of this mug rug.

15. Pieced Hexagon

This author shows you how to piece a single hexagon from two different fabrics. You could get the same look by first cutting out two half-hexagons and piecing them, as above, but this method is a lot less work.

16. One-Hour Baby Quilt

https://www.instagram.com/p/1MoDm6mba6/

You can whip out this entire baby quilt in an hour, making it great for donations or as a group activity.

17. Pumpkin Hexagon Quilt

A pumpkin mini-quilt, in my opinion, can come out on display on September 1, and not be put away until after Christmas. That’s some good bang for your holiday decorating buck right there!

18. Quilt-As-You-Go Hexagons

Shame on me, because I don’t like the look of traditional quilting. I LOVE, however, the look of these puffy, quilted hexagons! You quilt each hexagon as soon as you cut it, meaning that by the time all your hexagons are cut, your project is half-finished!

19. Quilted Hexagon Potholders

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz0ziTElqSY/

With these potholders, you start and end with hexagons, but the middle… the middle is where it gets interesting!

20. Quilted Hexie Hot Pads

Here’s another potholder tutorial that uses a different method and gives a different look. And here’s a third hot pad–this one is round!

21. Recycled Hexie Quilts

Perhaps you’re lucky enough to come across a battered old hexagon quilt ready to be upcycled into something wonderful. Here are some ideas to get you started!

22. Snowflake

Did you know that you can make some really great snowflakes out of hexagons? Add them to a quilt table runner, or Christmas tree skirt.

23. Table Runner

https://www.instagram.com/p/B3ytJJtH5Iq/

This tutorial makes simple work of piecing the hexagons to create a traditional-looking table runner.

24. Turtle Pincushion

Hexagons make a surprisingly realistic shell for this stuffed turtle that’s also a pincushion.

Do you have a favorite idea for incorporating hexagons into your own quilting? Tell me about it in the comments below!

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