Irish Chain Quilts

My 10 Set Blocks Irish Chain Quilt in Red, White, Blue and Gold

The Irish Chain is probably one of the easiest quilts to do for a first time quilter. All the lines are straight, and yet the design is complex. Below I have included the 'how to' in both gray scale (to make it easy to select different colors for your quilt, and match them to the graphs) and the colors photographed to the left.

Once you have selected your colors, you will want to start creating 2½" strips. For a 4 color quilt like the one here, for 3 sets of blocks (one plain colored and one multiple in each set) you will need the following. Once assembled, the strip sets will be cut into 2 1/2" strip sets. These are for exact measurements, I always get a bit extra, just in case:

4-color quilt:                   For 3 sets of blocks           Multi-color quilt            For 3 sets of blocks

    Color A: 103”x2.5” – 1 yd. at 44”                         Color A: 103”x2.5”                – 1 yd. at 44”

    Color B: 35”x2.5”   – ½ yd. at 44”                         Color B, C, D…: 140”x2.5”  – 1 ½ yd. at 44”

    Color C: 55”x2.5”   – ¾ yd. at 44”           

    Color D: 50”x2.5”   – ¾ yd. at 44”                         The blocks end up at 14" each, so 28" for a set.

   

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  Strip set 1, center strip is the plain color (D, C, B, A, B, C, D)

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  Strip set 2, outside strips are the plain color (A, D, C, B, C, D, A)

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  Strip set 3, 3 center strips are the plain color C, D, A, A, A, D, C)

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  Strip set 4, no plain colors here (C, B, C, D, C, B, C)

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  Strip set 5, 5 center strips are the plain color (D, A, A, A, A, A, D)

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  Strip set 6, there are no plain strips, but must NOT match 4 (D, C, B, C, B, C, D)

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  Strip Set 7, all are the plain color (A, A, A, A, A, A, A)

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  Assembled color block Strip Sets: 1, 6, 4, 2, 4, 6, 1

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  Assembled plain block Strip Sets: 3, 5, 7, 7, 7, 5, 3

Now to see those building blocks in color!

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  Strip set 1, center strip is the plain color (D, C, B, A, B, C, D)

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  Strip set 2, outside strips are the plain color (A, D, C, B, C, D, A)

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  Strip set 3, 3 center strips are the plain color (C, D, A, A, A, D, C)

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  Strip set 4, no plain colors here (C, B, C, D, C, B, C)

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  Strip set 5, 5 center strips are the plain color (D, A, A, A, A, A, D)

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  Strip set 6, no plain strips, but must NOT match 4 (D, C, B, C, B, C, D)

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  Strip Set 7, all are plain color (A, A, A, A, A, A, A)

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  Assembled color block: Strip Sets (2½" wide) 1, 6, 4, 2, 4, 6, 1

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  Assembled plain block Strip Sets (2½" wide): 3, 5, 7, 7, 7, 5, 3

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  Nesting your squares keeps your corners sharp, always pin each corner to keep it from moving

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  Each set of blocks should look like this

Now, specifically to my 10 set block quilt...

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  I built it as quarters, not as I used to do, as a full quilt. It fits in and through the sewing machine better this way.

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  Sewing the sides together, and then the top to the bottom, or the other way around, is done after the quilting or top stitching is finished. I will put together instructions for that in the next blog entry.