We report the construction of conjugates between three variants of the helix 3 region of a Q50K engrailed homeodomain and bisbenzamidine minor-groove DNA binders. The hybrid featuring the sequence of the native protein failed to bind to DNA; however, modifications that increased the α-helical folding propensity of the peptide allowed specific DNA binding by a bipartite (major/minor groove) interaction. Groovy attraction: Conjugates of the helix 3 region of a Q50K engrailed homeodomain with bisbenzamidine minor-groove DNA binders failed to bind DNA. However, modifications that increase the α-helical folding propensity of the peptide allowed specific DNA binding by a bipartite (major/minor groove) interaction.