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How to Quilt>Irish Chain Quilt
Make an Irish Chain Quilt
We get questions here at www.How-to-Quilt.com. And I love to answer questions about how to make quilts. Here's one I got a while back. But it could just as easily come in yesterday: Q: I recently downloaded the free pattern for the Irish Chain quilt. However, I didn't get any instructions, I need to know how much fabric to buy for a full / queen size quilt, how to put the blocks together, etc. Thank you for your help. I am a fairly new quilter and having a great time learning!!! A: Thanks for your question. The Irish Chain quilt is a perfect project for a beginner quilter, since it is made with just squares, and can be made using only two or three fabrics. In this method of making an Irish Chain, the quilt is made of just two different blocks. One block is a simple nine patch with alternating colors, and the other block is a simple square of fabric - no piecing required. In essence, you are piecing only half as many blocks as are in the quilt.
That means you finish the quilt quicker! Many traditional Irish Chain quilts were made using a concord blue and muslin or turkey red and muslin. A traditional Irish Chain quilt would have the "chain" in the darker fabric (i.e., blue or red), and the light fabric (i.e., muslin) as the background. The quilt shown in the picture on the left is a Double Irish Chain using a teal green and dark blue in the "chain" and muslin for the background. When I made that quilt, I didn't know about the concord blue or turkey red, so I made it "my" colors. For a more interesting look, you can reverse the color scheme so your dark fabric is in the "background" position and the light fabric makes the chain. (See the picture to the right for an example.)
Just a couple of hints in fabric selection:
Fabric Requirements for a Simple Irish Chain Quilt
For a Full Size quilt, with 3 inch (finished size) patches, you will need:
This includes an allowance for a 4" wide border. For a Queen Size quilt, with 3 inch (finished size) patches, you will need:
This includes an allowance for a 4" wide border.
Sewing the Quilt First, sew your nine patch blocks together. You can easily strip piece these blocks, as described in The Beginner's Guide to Quilting. Or you can cut the squares for the patches and sew them together individually. Next, cut squares of fabric for the alternating blocks. These squares should be the same size as your 9 patch blocks. For example, if your 9 patch blocks are 9 inches square, the alternating blocks should also be 9 inches square. Once all of the patches are sewn into blocks and your alternating squares are cut, lay your quilt out on a flat surface, or your flannel wall, as you would like it sewn together, alternating 9 patch blocks with the squares of fabric. Sew each row of blocks together, then sew the rows of blocks together. Add borders, layer the quilt top, batting and backing, and you are ready for quilting. In choosing a quilting design, you can take advantage of the alternating squares for some fancy quilting. This quilt lends itself to some simple quilting as well - just follow the "chain" lines. The last step is binding. I usually bind my quilts with a fabric that is darker than the last border. Occasionally I use the fabric from the outside border, so the binding blends into the border. Happy Quilting!
Penny Halgren This article courtesy of http://www.How-to-Quilt.com. ©2009, Penny Halgren
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