This is another one of those quilts that I made before I started writing this blog. I’ve recently decided that these pre-blog creations deserve to make it onto the internet just as much as my post-blog works. I started this a few posts back.
I used a lot of the same fabrics as I did in that star quilt. The star quilt pattern used layer cakes, and I needed a bigger quilt than the pattern called for. So, I used multiple layer cakes. I knew I would end up with several layer cake squares left over.
That fabric line was just too pretty to sit around unused. As soon as I saw the fabric, I knew that it needed to be in an Irish Chain with a scrappy background.
I say this about most of my quilts while I’m working on them, but this one was and remains one of my favorite quilts. The fabrics in that “Dover” line by Brenda Riddle for Moda are just so calm and soothing, and something about those pops of solid green (Bella Solid in Cucumber) just makes me happy. My favorite color has always been green, so when I get the chance to work it in to a quilt, I’m a happy camper. I used a scrappy binding for this one. If you ever scroll through my instagram, you’ll see a lot of quilts with scrappy binding.
In addition to all the things I find aesthetically pleasing about this quilt, Irish Chains are just fun quilts to piece. You can chain piece them, so they go quick, and there’s just something about chain piecing that I find mindlessly relaxing.
How to make this yourself:
I designed this one to make the most efficient use of the layer cake squares that were left over from the star quilt.
If you want to make a similar Irish Chain from left over layer cake squares: here are the measurements you’ll need:
-For the 9-Patch blocks: cut 3.5″ squares.
- The high volume squares are the part that make the chain. Cutting them at 3.5″, you can only get 4 squares out of each high volume layer cake. I didn’t waste the scraps from the high volume layer cakes though. I decided to trim those scraps down to 2.5″ strips and used them to make a scrappy binding.
- I didn’t have enough high volume layer cake squares to make this one as large as I wanted, so I used some of the left over backing fabric from the star quilt along with the pieces I cut from the layer cake squares. I was really happy with how that turned out.
- I used up all my lower volume layer cake squares in the large blocks, so I found some off white fabrics to add in to make up the background part of the 9-patch blocks.
-For the large blocks, I trimmed the low volume layer cake squares down to 9.5″ so that they would match up with the 9-patch blocks.
Details about this quilt
Pattern: Irish Chain
Fabrics: Mostly “Dover” by Brenda Riddle for Moda. I’m able to find a lot of lovely, high quality fabrics at Fat Quarter Shop. Check out their Flash Sale for a great deal.
Label: Custom made by Melanie at Meander + Make. Melanie was nice enough to give me a coupon code to share with you. Use the code SNUGGLEBUGSTITCHING for 10% off!
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog!
I hope you enjoyed it.
If you have any questions, please feel free to leave me a comment or email me. I’d love to hear from you.
Happy quilting!
