Closing off the edges of the hexagon quilt

I finished quilting the centre of the diamond hexagon quilt.  Now I have to trim the batting even with the edges of the hexagon pieces, and cut the backing fabric to a 1/4" from the edge in order to turn under the edges to sew them to the hexagons.

Here is a picture of the edge of the quilt.  After I trim the two different layers, I turn under the backing fabric, over the batting, and pin it to the hexagon,  I work like this in sections of about a foot in length to make it easier to manage.  Once that is done I slip stitch the opening shut.

I started on the right hand side of the quilt edge and will work my way across the edge all the way around the quilt.  Here is a picture showing the first three hexagons done and the forth half way finished.  After I finish all of them I will quilt the last row of hexagons to finish the quilt.

This process will take some time.  It takes a bit longer than actual binding, but for an older quilt I feel it is the only choice. When I am finishing an older quilt, I prefer to keep as close to period as possible.

In the meantime, when I am not able to sit and do handwork,  I will continue to work on the other quilting that needs to be done.

My next quilt is also a hexagon quilt.  It is a lap size quilt with larger hexagons in the shape of a grandmother's flower garden with white hexagons between.  I'll share pictures of that one in another post when I am done the quilting.