How to make: an Irish Chain quilt
As you may have noticed, lately, I can't get enough of simple and traditional quilts- and what's more simple (and beautiful) than the Irish chain? This one uses slightly larger squares to make it an extra speedy finish :-)
NB: The pattern below is free however if you would like a printable version with more detailed instructions and additional sizes, you can find that here.
The instructions make an 81" x 81" quilt which is a decent bed sized quilt.
Fabric:
Fabric A (Background- in my example I used the blue) : 4.25 yards
Fabric B (Contrasting- in my example I used the cream): 1.75 yards (NB: This is the exact amount you need so you may want to get 2 yards to be safe)
Backing fabric: 5.5 yards
Binding fabric: 0.5 yards
Cutting Instructions:
Background Fabric:
- (10) 9.5" x Width of Fabric (WOF), subcut into (40) 9.5" x 9.5" squares (if you want to understand more about WOF, click here :-)
- (15) 3.5" x WOF strips
Contrasting Fabric:
- (18) 3.5" x WOF strips
Now it's time to sew!
Take (2) 3.5" contrasting strips and (1) 3.5" background strip and sew together using 1/4" seam. Press your seams either open or towards the dark colour:
Repeat to make a total of (7) strip sets that are contrasting-background-contrasting
Now take (2) background strips and (1) contrasting strip and sew together using 1/4" seams. Press seams either open or towards the dark colour.
Repeat to make a total of (4) strip sets that are background-contrasting-background
Trim off the uneven edges and then from each strip set cut (12) 3.5" strips:
In total you will have:
(84) pieces that are contrasting-background-contrasting
(48) pieces that are background-contrasting-background
Now it's time to build our blocks! For each block, you will need:
(2) contrasting-background-contrasting pieces
(1) background-contrasting-background pieces
We will make 41 blocks in total. Press your new seams open.
NB: You will have a few extra strip pieces left at the end
And now it's time to assemble our quilt!
First we will make the rows:
We need five rows that start and end with our small squares block. Press these seams either open or to the left.
And four rows that start and send with the solid block. Press these seams either open or to the right.
Then we can assemble our rows- the final quilt will be 9 blocks wide by 9 block tall:
And your quilt top is done! Baste, quilt and bind as desired.
I used a floral backing and gingham binding for a nice timeless look :-)
I did big wavy stitch on a diagonal (going in both ways) which formed this lovely pattern.
One of my favourite quilts- I hope you enjoy making this and let me know if you have any questions!
