Happy 9 Patches!

Happy 9 Patches my friends! I've been working on this quilt in my spare moments over the holidays. I had two fat quarter bundles that had been sitting on my shelf for a while and I wanted to use them. Playing with them was sort of a Christmas gift to myself.

I have always loved Sweetwater designs. I find myself drawn to the clear colors and graphic prints with a nice variety of scale. I mixed the lines for this quilt so I could get the darks and lights to contrast really well. 

The design for this quilt is very traditional. The nine patches are made out of squares and 9 patches. It is super simple and easy piecing. Here's what I did.

Small 9 patches finish at 4 1/2" and large blocks finish at 13 1/2".

The finished quilt is 67 1/2'' x 81''.

Supplies Needed:

15 light fat quarters

15 dark fat quarters

3-4 additional fat quarters for strips

3/4 yard for binding

76" x 89" batting

5 yards backing

Cutting Instructions:

*Cut the squares first and use the leftovers for cutting strips.

Cut 15 matching sets of 4 dark squares 5" x 5"

Cut 15 matching sets of 5 lights squares 5" x 5"

Cut 68 light strips 2'' x 18''.

Cut 85 dark strips 2'' x 18''.

Sewing Instructions:

For the small 9 patches. 

Sew 17 strip sets of light/dark light.

Sew 34 strip sets of dark/light/dark.

Press the seams to the dark fabrics.

Cross cut all of the strips sets every 2".

Sew a dark/light/dark segment to a light/dark/light segment, nesting the seams.

Sew a dark/light/dark segment to the opposite side of the light/dark/light segment, nesting the seams.

Press the seams away from the center unit/strip.

Make 150.

For the dark blocks. 

Arrange the dark squares with 5 nine patches as shown.

Sew the units into 3 rows of 3.

Press the seams away from the 9 patches.

Sew the rows together and press the seams toward the center row.

Make 15.

For the light blocks. 

Arrange the light squares with 4 nine patches as shown.

Sew the units into 3 rows of 3.

Press the seams away from the 9 patches.

Sew the rows together and press the seams away from the center row.

Make 15.

Arrange the blocks as shown, alternating light and dark blocks.

Sew the blocks into rows. Sew the rows together.

Layer, quilt, bind and enjoy!

As you can see, I chose to make mine 5 x 5 after the directions were written. I love square quilts because they snuggle awesome and they are perfect for decorating as well. I quilted it with an edge to edge design called "Bias Plaid" that I love. I also bound it with red binding so I chose to quilt it with red thread. It is the first finished quilt of 2020 and ready in plenty of time for next Christmas!

I would love to quilt for you, for more information about my longarm quilting services go HERE.

Enjoy every stitch,

Diane