This past weekend, I taught a beginning quilt-making class. I had forgotten how much I love encouraging others to create beauty. The most exciting part was seeing all the new sewists who showed up wanting to learn something new. A few had some experience, while others had never sat in front of a machine before. All came away with a little more skill and a roomful of friends. And that makes my heart happy.
For our first project, we created a small nine-patch quilt that can be used as a table square or, with added borders, as a snuggle quilt for a baby or toddler. The quilt could also be made bigger by making more blocks. A nine-patch is the foundation for many quilt blocks. The following instructions are for our three-color quilt, but you can also use two colors or choose multiple colors for a scrappy look.
If you decide to quilt along, please share your creations with us. It will make the world a bit more beautiful.
“Anyone who works on a quilt, who devotes her time, energy, creativity, and passion to that art, learns to value the work of her hands. And as any quilter will tell you, a quilter’s quilting friends are some of the dearest, most generous, and most supportive people she knows.” ― Jennifer Chiaverini
Nine-Patch Quilt
- Fabric Selection
- Choose fabrics with good contrast.
- Use two, three, or multiple fabrics for variety.
- Fabric requirements for this quilt: A (2/3 yard), B (1/3 yard), C (1/3 yard).
- Cut Fabric Strips
- Cut six 3½” strips from fabric A (width of fabric).
- Cut three 3½” strips from fabric B.
- Cut three 3½” strips from fabric C.
- Making Strip Sets
- Sew strips together (right sides facing) with a 1/4 inch seam to create combinations:
- ABA strip set (A+B+A)
- ACA strip set (A+C+A)
- BAB strip set (B+A+B)
- CAC strip set (C+A+C)
- Press the seams to the center.
- Sub-Cutting Strip Sets
- Cut each strip set into 3½” segments (mini rows).
- Arranging Segments into Blocks
- Lay out segments to form nine-patch blocks:
- Standard: ABA-BAB-ABA
- Reverse: CAC-ACA-CAC
- Make at least five standard blocks and four reverse blocks.
- Sewing Blocks
- Sew mini rows together with a 1/4 inch seam, nesting the seams at intersections.
- Press the seams to the center for standard blocks; press toward the edges for reverse blocks.
- Quilt Layout
- Arrange blocks in a 3×3 or 3×4 grid, depending on the number of blocks you want.
- Final Assembly
- Sew blocks together with a 1/4 inch seam to form rows.
- Sew rows together with 1/4 inch seam to complete the quilt top.
- Press the finished quilt top.