Hexy Stars Tutorial: Part 3 - Finishing the Top

Finally, Part 3 of the Hexy Stars tutorial...
See this post for the finished quilt and the introduction to this tutorial. This part covers piecing the Hexy's together, and finishing the top.

HEXAGONS

Start by trimming off the dog-ears, which are the "pointy" parts hanging over the sides of the hexagons.

When finished all 6 sides will look even.

For piecing the hexy stars together, you'll need to mark each of the 6 corners 1/4" from the edge, forming an "x" in each corner.  I used the same fabric marker mentioned in Part 1.

Begin a stack of trimmed and marked hexagons....

And, continue until all hexagons are finished.

Next, layout the hexagons on the floor in 8 rows of 6, as shown.  I made sure that the colors were evenly distributed and that 2 of the same diamonds were not next to each other, etc.  Just lay them out how you like them!

PIECING THE ROWS

Next up is piecing the rows of hexagons together.  I started with 2 hexagons and placed a pin through the points of both, as shown below.  Then, I placed 2 more pins on both sides of that pin to keep it from moving when sewing.  

It is very important to start and stop 1/4" away from the edges when piecing these together, which is the center of the "x" that you marked above. 

When sewing I removed the center pin, but left the other 2 in place and sewed over them.  I know you aren't supposed to probably do that - but, that's what I did.  I just sewed very slow over the pins to avoid breaking needles, and had no problems.

Ensure that your points match up well.  If not, rip out the seam, pin, and try again!  (I only had to do this on a couple! Thank God!)

Then, press the the seam open on the back.

Continue this same process to form a row of 6 hexagons (or 5 hexagons and 2 half-hexagons).

Complete all 8 rows.  

SEWING ROWS TOGETHER

I followed the same process to sew the rows together.  I matched up the one hexagon section with the opposing hexagon section of the other row.  I pinned through the center point of those two sections to match the points well.  I used 2 more pins on both sides of the center and then one at the end of each section to keep it lined up well since there is a bit more bulk.   

Sew one section at a time by starting and stopping 1/4" away from the edge - or at the "x".  Then, move on to the next section until the rows are completely pieced together.  I found it easiest to fold the completed sections, as you can see in the photo.  It helped line up the next section better.

Use this process to piece together the remaining rows.  I sewed rows 1 to 2, 3 to 4, 5 to 6, 7 to 8 - then 1/2 to 3/4, 5/6 to 7/8 - and finally 1/2/3/4 to 5/6/7/8.  The order doesn't really matter though....

FINISHING THE TOP

I decided to square off my quilt and add a border.  I used some extra white background diamonds and sewed one into each "zig-zag" on the bottom and top of the quilt.  Then, I just trimmed the top and bottom so they were straight, and 1/4" away from points of the star.

I added an 8" teal border to all sides.  I wanted to make the quilt a little larger, but I think it would like nice without a border too.  

I had it quilted, added the binding - and that's all!  

And, that completes the Hexy Stars tutorial!  I hope these directions are somewhat understandable!  Please let me know if you have any questions.  Good Luck! ;)