How to Make an Irish Chain Quilt

I am so excited to show you how to make an Irish Chain Quilt, at a glance, it looks detailed and complicated to make, but to the contrary, you are going to be pleasantly surprised at how simple this beautiful quilt is to make.

The Irish Chain Quilt is made up of Nine Patch Blocks, that we alternate with plain blocks, which create a stunning chain effect.

One technique we use when making this quilt is strip piecing, which is a massive time saver. Instead of sewing all nine pieces together one at a time for each of the nine patch blocks. We sew strips together and cross-cut them.

It is perfect for beginner quilters because we focus on cutting, sewing strips together, and nested seams, all are basic techniques. Practice makes perfect and this is a great quilt to practice on.

For my Irish Chain Quilt, I used fabrics I purchased from eight different New Jersey quilt shops during the NJ Shop Hop 2022.

This tutorial is free and everything you need to know to make an Irish Chain Quilt is listed here, including the link to my YouTube video tutorial with step-by-step instructions. Video found HERE.

My PDF pattern with full printable instructions to make an Irish Chain Quilt is available to purchase on my Etsy Store at a nominal fee.

For the Irish Chain Quilt, I used my handy Number Cards, you can get a free copy HERE. The idea is to print and cut them out, then pin them to your rows or columns to help remember the order to sew them. The arrows indicate which way to press the seams so you can nest the seams when sewing together.

This quilt measures approximately: 54″ x 60″

Tools Needed to Make an Irish Chain Quilt

• Co-ordinating Thread
• Rotary Cutter, Ruler & Mat
• Pins
• Sewing machine
• Iron – I have this one and this one – I love both
• Ironing Board

Fabric Requirements to Make an Irish Chain Quilt

I always recommend using 100% quilting cotton fabric for quilt tops.

DARK FABRIC:

• (15) 2½” x WOF Strips OR (5) ¼ Yard of Fabric

LIGHT FABRIC:

• (12) 2½” x WOF Strips OR ⅞ Yard of Light Fabric

AND

• 1½ Yards of Light Fabric for Plain Blocks

PLUS

• 3⅜ Yards for Backing
• ½ Yard for Binding
• Batting

CUTTING INSTRUCTIONS

DARK FABRIC:

With each of the (5) ¼ Yard of Fabric cut:

(3) 2½” x WOF Strips

LIGHT FABRIC:

With ⅞ Yard of Light Fabric cut:

(12) 2½” x WOF Strips of Light Fabric

With 1½ Yards of Light Fabric:

(45) 6½” x 6½” Squares with 1½ Yards of Light Fabric for Plain Blocks

Please watch my video for full instructions on how to make the Irish Chain Quilt:

Pin it! Want to make an Irish Chain Quilt later? Don’t lose this tutorial, pin it now to one of your boards on Pinterest.

Once we have finished the quilt top, most of you know how to finish your quilts, but just in case here are some links for tutorials on the next steps: basting your quilt, quilting your quilt, squaring up your quilt, and binding your quilt.

So there we have it the Irish Chain Quilt, I hope you love it as much as me! Please leave a comment and let me know if you plan on joining me in making this quilt, I would love to see a pic of it too!

Stacey x