The Quilt – Warre Hive Construction Guide

In this part of the Warre Hive Construction Guide we will assemble the quilt. The quilt rests between the top hive box and the roof. It is the easiest hive component to build…just four pieces of wood and some cloth.

Step 1: Prepare the Parts

To build the Warre Hive Quilt, you will need to cut the following wood pieces:

2 short sides measuring 30cm long by 10cm wide (11 13/16″ long by 3 15/16″ wide). The edge width of the board is up to you. A good size is anywhere between 20mm to 25mm (3/4″ to 1″) wide.
2 long quilt sides measuring 34cm long by 10cm wide (13 3/8″ long by 3 15/16″ wide).
1 piece of cloth measuring about 40cm by 40cm (15 3/4″ by 15 3/4″)

You will also need:

Nails or screws
Staples or small brads

Step 2: Build the Box

Take the pieces of wood and assemble them into a box. As you can see in the picture below, the longer sides go on the outside of the shorter sides of wood. As you build the box, check the internal measurements every so often. They should be 30cm by 30cm (11 13/16″ by 11 13/16″).

Step 3: Attach the Cloth

Take the box you built in Step 2 and lay it on a flat surface. Lay the cloth over the box, as in the picture below.

Use your staple gun to staple the cloth to the box. You can also use a hammer and small brads. It works best to put a couple of staples in one side to hold the cloth to an edge, and then stretch the cloth to the opposite side and staple it. Do the same for the remaining two sides. Go back around the box stapling every few inches to hold the cloth in place. You want the cloth to be taut across the top of the box with no wrinkles. It will stretch over time, so get it good and tight.

Trim any loose ends of the cloth, and fold the extra amount of cloth over the edges and down the sides of the box. Staple or nail the cloth to the sides of the box. This will keep the edges from fraying. You can also fold the cloth around the corners of the box to further prevent fraying. As you can see, I cut my edges long to demonstrate the corner for you. You are welcome to trim your fabric shorter to save on cloth.