Beehive

Use your favorite precut fabrics to make these busy patchwork bees and their hive.

QUILT & PILLOW SIZES

Beehive quilts are made with 6-1/2" x 13" Bee blocks and 14" x 14" Hive blocks.

PILLOW

The 24" x 24" Pillow is made with three Bee blocks.

SMALL QUILT

The 59" x 63" Small Quilt is made with 25 Bee blocks and one Hive block.

LARGE QUILT

The 59" x 63" Small Quilt is made with 25 Bee blocks and one Hive block.

ABOUT THE PATTERN

This is a patchwork pattern. All fabric is rotary cut and sewn together using conventional patchwork piecing.

This pattern also includes diagrams and charts showing all of the pieces needed to make each block. You can use these as a reference while making the pattern projects, or as a guide for making individual blocks and scrappy projects.

Among my patterns, Beehive is rated Skill Level 3 (of 5). You can read more about skill levels here.

ABOUT THE FABRIC

This is a great pattern for using precuts or scraps! The colorful stripes on each Bee block can be made using one 5" x 5" (charm) square. The wings can be made using one 10" x 10" square.

Alternately, you can make sets of 5 identical bees using one fat eighth (9" x 21") of Bee Stripe Fabric and one fat quarter (18" x 21") of Wing Fabric.

All Bee blocks also include a Dark Solid Detail Fabric, such as Kona Espresso, for making the black stripes and antennae.

ABOUT THE QUILTING

My sample was free-motion quilted by me, on my Janome 1600p, using a pattern of meandering points. For longarm quilting, any similar edge-to-edge design should look great!

MAKING THE QUILT USING FAT EIGHTHS AND FAT QUARTERS

I recently updated the pattern to add an option for making the blocks from fat eighths and fat quarters. One fat eighth of Stripe Fabric and one fat quarter of Wing Fabric can be used to make a set of 5 identical blocks.

You can use 5 Stripe Fabric fat eighths and 5 Wing Fabric fat quarters to make a Small Quilt, or 8 Stripe Fabric fat eighths and 8 Wing Fabric fat quarters to make a Large Quilt. (Note that, because you only need 38 total blocks for the Large Quilt, you will have extra pieces for two blocks.)

If you have an older pattern, you can refer to the diagrams below to cut these fabrics. The diagrams are also included in the Fabric Guide linked below.

THE SMALL PRINT

Beehive pattern © 2018 and 2024 by Elizabeth Hartman. This pattern may not be used to make items for sale in any quantity or venue. No part of this pattern may be reproduced or distributed without the express written consent of the author.