Tuesday, August 23, 2022

Make a Little Nine-Patch Quilt

I love the simple nine-patch block. And little quilts made from them. 


I love blue too, as you probably know. This sweet little quilt was made for me by Jennifer M. a few years ago. She sewed some 3" antique quilt blocks together with blue reproduction fabric.                          

I had a few minutes in my sewing room the other day and just happened to have a box of 1 1/2" cut scrap squares nearby. I always save 1 1/2" scraps and use these periodically for my small quilts. Pencil boxes from the Dollar Store are perfect for things like this - they're cheap and don't take up much room.


Since I already have the blue and white one, I decided to make a few little scrappy nine patches and see what happened. It's a nice break from sewing the corners and triangles on my Dear Jane quilt. Sewing squares together mindlessly . . . .


Finished with a light shirting fabric for the background.


Getting ready to hand quilt mine. I added another border. 

I like to pin baste my small quilts because they're usually too small to use a hoop. I begin quilting at the center, taking out pins and smoothing as I move outward. Then I pin the borders. I use Quilters Dream Request cotton batting (nice and thin, easy to quilt through), YLI hand quilting thread in light brown, Richard Hemming size 9 quilting needle. 

Tip: If you're new to hand quilting, make sure your batting and backing fabric are thin so the needle glides through the layers easily. A thick layer of fabrics or a dull needle can cause problems. I will sometimes use a "sharp" if I'm having trouble using a "between" quilting needle.

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There's a pattern for this cute little blue and white quilt in my Facebook group files. But here are the directions if you aren't in the group and want to make one - it's very simple. If you're not a fan of blue, try it in your favorite color or maybe go scrappy like I did. 

 Cut 1 ½”  x  1 ½”  squares for the nine-patch blocks. The squares can either be matching or   scrappy.  For the blue and white quilt shown, cut 16 light print squares and 20 blue print squares. 


Cut 1 square 3 ½”  x  3 ½” for center

Cut 2 squares 3”  x  3”. Cut each square once on the diagonal  for 4 corner triangles.  




Cut 1 square 5 ½”  x  5 ½”. Cut twice on the diagonal for 4 setting triangles.   

Cut 2 strips -  2 ½”   x  9”  - for the top and bottom borders.

Cut 1 ¼" strips for binding

1.   Make four nine-patch blocks. Using the quilt diagram as a guide, sew the blocks in diagonal rows.  Add the 4 corner triangles. Sew the top and bottom border strips onto the quilt. I drew the quilt with different blues so you can see the construction a little better. 




                          

                              Fits perfectly on a small doll bed. 






7 comments:

  1. I love blue and I need to make this. Thank you for sharing.

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  2. Gorgeous blue for sweet little quilt

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  3. I just love your quilts! I love the colors you put together on your little 9-patch quilt. Where did you get that darling doll bed?

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  4. I love blue in my quilts. Have several from your books Kathy. Papa’s Shirts and window Pane from Small and Scrappy and a blue and white Christmas snowflake we made back in the day from our online group. Always happy to make another blue quilt so many thanks for taking time out to write this little pattern.
    Liz

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  5. Kathleen - I love your little quilts and have all of your books. Can you tell me where you buy your fabric? Not that I "need" more, but you know how it goes with quilters!
    Thanks!
    Diane

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  6. I've just discovered your blog! Is there a way to get a notification when you post a new one?

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