Traditional Irish chain patterns are everlasting favorites. You can
give them a contemporary twist by adding some machine embroidery. The large
plain fields of the blocks are just asking for something to be stitched
there.
Our triple Irish chain quilt is 86" x 100". We made this quilt as a
gift for a young man and that's why we chose to use darker colors, to give
it a more masculine look. To embellish the squares, we used the redwork
designs from the Griffin
Redwork Set. |
Click to enlarge
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| You can find detailed instructions on Irish Chain patterns in a variety
of sources, including books and magazines. You may even try looking online.
We highly recommend the book
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For a quilt of this size you'll need 4 different cotton fabrics of
the following yardage
For the blocks we used:
Dark blue fabric: 1 1/2 yards;
Patterned green fabric: 2 1/4 yards;
Patterned beige fabric: 2 yards; (we used a fabric with a dark blue
and green pattern that matched our other colors)
Background fabric: 2 1/2 yards (we used light beige fabric with a very
pale pattern)
There are also 3 borders in our quilt, which we describe a little further
on. |
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The finished size of the blocks is 14" on a side (14 1/2" unfinished).
The Irish Chain pattern consists of 2 blocks, A and B, which alternate
in rows.
You will need 15 A-blocks and 15 B-blocks. |
For the A blocks cut:
Dark blue fabric: 13 strips 2 1/2" and the width of your fabric
(40"- 42"). Subcut the strips into 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" squares. For 15 blocks
you will need 196 squares of the first color.
Patterned green fabric: 20 strips 2 1 /2" and the width of your
fabric. Subcut the strips into 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" squares. For 15 blocks you
will need 300 squares of the second color.
Patterned beige fabric: 13 strips 2 1/2" and the width of your
fabric. Subcut the strips into 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" squares. For 15 blocks you
will need 180 squares of the third color.
Background fabric: 4 strips 2 1/2" wide and the width of your
fabric. Subcut them into 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" squares. For 15 blocks you will
need 60 such squares. |
| Make the blocks according to the diagram below. First assemble the
rows, then join the rows. |
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| This is our block A: |
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For the B blocks cut:
Patterned green fabric: 4 strips 2 1/2" wide and the width of your
fabric.
Patterned beige fabric: 8 strips 2 1/2" wide and the width of
your fabric.
Background fabric: 4 strips 6 1/2" wide and the width of your
fabric and
and 15 squares measuring 10 1/2" x 10 1/2". |
| Stitch a strip of the beige fabric to the top and bottom of each of
the 6 1/2" strips of the background fabric. Set two of the 4 resultant
strips aside. Subcut the other two of these strips into 30 strips 10 1/2"
tall and 2 1/2" wide. |
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| To the two strips you set aside, attach a strip of the patterned green
fabric to the top and bottom. Subcut these two strips into 30 strips 14
1/2" tall by 2 1/2" wide. |
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| Assemble block B according to the diagram below. |
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| This is our block B: |
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| Assemble the top according to the diagram below: |
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Borders
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| Our quilt has three borders with boxed corners. The first and the third
borders are 2" wide (2 1/2" unfinished) and made out of the dark
blue fabric. The second border is 4" wide (4 1/2" unfinished) and is made
out of beige fabric with a blue pattern. |
If you made the quilt according to our measurents, it should measure
70 1/2" by 84 1/2". However, you should measure through the center of the
quilt to exactly determine its length and width. Cut the borders in accordance
with your measurements. In our case, the borders were:
1st border: 2 strips measuring 84 1/2" x 2 1/2" and
2 strips measuring 74 1/2" x 2 1/2"
2nd border: 2 strips measuring 88 1/2" x 4 1/2" and
2 strips measuring 82 1/2" x 4 1/2"
3rd border: 2 strips measuring 96 1/2" x 4 1/2" and
2 strips measuring 86 1/2" x 4 1/2"
Stitch the borders to the quilt. |
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Embroidery
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| Now the top is ready for embroidery. We chose redwork designs from
the Griffin
Redwork Set. For embroidery on quilts, we like to use low-loft
DreamPoly batting instead of stabilizer. After each design is embroidered,
we cut away the excess stabilizer outside the embroidery as close to the
stitches as possible. This technique will make the embroidery appear more
raised and you will get trapunto-like results. |
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Quilting
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| Now place the backing on a flat surface (table) face down. Cover with
batting. Spread the top over this.
Pin all three layers together with 1" pins and start quilting.
We quilted our workpiece in a free-motion style on a home sewing
machine. It's usually recommended to quilt from the center but we quilted
from the bottom up. First we quilted the blocks, row by row. After this,
we quilted the borders.
After the quilting is finished, press the work with heavy steam and
square the work. All corners should be 90 degrees and opposite sides should
be of the same length.
Finish the raw edges with binding, using your favourite method. |
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| We hope that you liked our idea and will come up with many of your
own. |
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