This year, for the quilt guild I am apart of, I am providing instructions for how to make a different quilt block each month. For the month of January, we learned about the Single Irish Chain. This block is also known as the Pennsylvania, the Criss Cross, and the Simple Cross.
For a 12 inch finished block (12.5 inch unfinished), you will need to cut the following:
4 of 4.5 inch squares in white
1 of 4.5 inch squares in blue
1 of 2.5 x 20 inch strip in white
1 of 2.5 x 20 inch strip in blue
Start by doing some strip piecing. What is strip piecing you ask? It is sewing some strips of fabric together, then cutting them apart to make lots of parts of a block.
First, line up the strips. (Pictured are shorter strips, so don't worry if your strips look longer.)
Stitch them together using a 1/4 inch seam. Press to the dark side.
Then cut across them at 2.5 inch intervals. You should end up with 8 of these rectangles.
Take two rectangles and sewing them together, matching seams to make a four-patch block.
You should have 4 four patch blocks.
Using these blocks and the 4.5 inch blocks, sew the squares together to create the 3 rows and stitch the 3 rows together. Again, press to the dark side.
If you have any questions, please leave a comment below!
Check back each month for a new How-To of quilt blocks! To see the other block, just search my blog for Quilt Guild Block of the Month.
If you would like a PDF version of these instructions, please check out Group #1 of the How-To Block of the Month Downloads.
(Although this block is a classic and can go by many names, as I have mentioned before, these block designs come from the book 5500 Quilt Block Designs by Maggie Malone. (c) 2003.)
Have fun quilting!
Hi Traci!
Total estimation here, but you will need about 9 yards total. I would guess 4 yards of color and 5 yards of back ground.
Have fun!
Hi! Great pattern and instructions.
I’m new to quilting and trying to figure out how much fabric to buy. I need to make 63 blocks for a California King bed. Can you help me figure out how much color fabric and how much background fabric to buy?
Thank you so much for the pattern for the Irish chain
Thanks for asking Dayle! I think that would totally work as long as the values are about the same for the lights and white. Try putting together a sample and look at it through the monochromatic mode on your phone’s camera. Give that a try!
I have a jelly roll of blue and yellow prints from which I’d like to make a single Irish Chain quilt. Using strip piecing, would it work to use light prints and darker prints for each 6 1/2” 9 patch block with a 6 1/2”solid white as my plain block? Must the nine patch prints be assembled all the same for a chain effect? My thanks for your help.