I am ready to start a winter-time project of making grandmother's flower garden with hexagons. My question is.....for those of you have made a double-bed sized quilt, or any other size....what is the best size of hexagon to use? And, please send me a site to find different sizes, so I can print them out. Thanks.
P.S. This group is great!! Can always find help here!! So glad I found it.

I used about a 4 1/2" hexigon for the two Queen size GFG quilts that I made. I just used a template that I made from tracing a pattern from a book in the Library. I made my templates from cereal boxes. I found the cardboard was pretty stiff and made sewing the hexagons together vary easy.

I used the plastic templates....come about 50 in a bag at LQS...mine were 1 1/4" and you stitched fabric around them and then stitched them together. I don't know if www.brandy.com has them yet or not.

paperpieces.com has all the sizes and different shapes for english paper piecing.
i have made them with every size from 1/2" to 2 1/2" --they are measured along one side.
i thought my 2 1/2" ones were huge, 4 1/2" would be way fun...i think i would make bowls/baskets out of hexagons that big :)
hexagons are fun to make things with!

http://www.printfreegraphpaper.com/

This is the site I use to print hexagons. I used 1 inch for my queen GMG. ( my avatar) I know some who use a larger hex so it may go a bit faster. I am thinking to try a 1.5 for my next project. A word of warning. This can become quite addicting, so be aware. :)

i had to giggle when i read your post.....I am currently hand quilting one that my aunt hand pieced back in the 50s/maybe 60s.....

The hexagons from point to point are 1 7/8"

The flower is 5 3/8"

Mine has one row of white hexagons between the flowers - I've seen many w/ 2 rows of white hexagons

I added the border w/ vintage reproduction fabrics so that the quilt will fit her full-size bed

I am thoroughly enjoying the quilting of this.

here's some closer pictures....The first ones don't show up very well...

Here's another one

http://www.printfreegraphpaper.com/

ckcowl, that wall hanging is lovely!!!

Addicting???? I know! I've done a small quilt before, and I can't wait to get started on another one!! :)

becca....thanks. That is nice and what a treasure!!

P.S. Hexagons are measured by the length of their side.

I'm working on a blue & yellow 3/4" hexagon quilt. 3/4" is the measurement of one side of the hex. It is addicting, but I don't figure that I'll be done any time soon.

I want to make one too. Already started my collection of scraps!

Where do you order your paper templates?

OK... I have been curious about trying this out for a while now. Thread like this make me want to try it even more!

I started one a few months ago. I was making the diamonds instead of the typical flowers. I started with a 2" hexagon but I wasn't all that happy with it. I changed to the 1".

I'm using the freezer paper method to make my hexagons. It's so much cheaper than buying hexagons. Granted, it is a bit more labor intensive having to trace and cut the paper hexagons. Thankfully many years ago I purchased a multi-sized hexagon template from Yours Truly which makes it a bit easier. There are several hexagon templates on the market today that could be used.

The tutorial (with photos) for the freezer paper method is here:
http://sewmanyways.blogspot.com/2009...r-piecing.html

I printed my hexagons from this website:
http://incompetech.com/graphpaper/

It was free & I used some cardstock. I can reuse several times. Some may find it tedious to cut them out, but that was cheaper than ordering the die cut hexs. I tried the plastic ones with the hole in the center, but I didn't care for them-too slippery for me.

I started out with them too and found the same thing. By the time I got around, the 1/4" seam allowance was practically non-existent. I think that's why I like the freezer paper - nothing shifts.

I "cheated" and used Marci Baker's strip-piecing method because I'd rather machine piece than hand piece. Only another quilter would notice that it doesn't have "true" hexagons. I found the instructions years ago at alicias-attic.com

Becca, your quilt is beautiful. I have used green "paths" on mine, and think I prefer the white. Light and airy looking. How nice you have your aunt's top to quilt. I bet it is all hand pieced too. Wonderful treasure for sure

Light bulb moment here! I bet a person could cut your freezer paper to printer paper size ( I have done this for other quilting purposes ), and print it directly on your freezer paper. this would save lots of time and be very accurate. I know when I have cut freezer paper to size I use my rotory cutter and rulers so my paper is perfectly sized to fit in my printer- works great.

the correct web site is www.brandyquiltpatterns.com

another place for paper pieces, patterns and free design sheets is:
paperpieces.com

I was always wondering what dimension to use when describing a hexagon. Thanks.

connecting threads has some templates on sale for 20% off, other shapes are 40% off!

Thanks, everyone, for all your information and input. I just found a great site for printing out my 1.5" hexagons.....9 to a page!! I couldn't get but 3 to a page on one site that I checked on. www.moxyideas.com