Friday, August 1, 2014

Super Scrappy Triple Irish Chain Block - A Tutorial

I am so excited about today!!!  For the longest time I have wanted to make a Triple Irish Chain but I wanted it to be a super scrappy one.   I have put it off and put it off, because that is a ton of little squares to sew together, like as in 121 per block :)  But the other day, I remembered August was my month for the Beejeebers block and I knew my bee friends would help make this long time wish a reality :)  So here she is, the first block of my Super Scrappy Triple Irish Chain all finished :)


And since my wonderful bee friends are helping me to make more blocks, I whipped up a little tutorial for them ;)  Which means, you can play along too!!!  Who knows, maybe you will use it for your next bee month ;)  For my blocks, I have chosen a specific color theme and will write the tutorial based on that color theme, but feel free to choose your colors however you please.  The skies the limit, do it totally color scrappy, do it each block a different color combo, do it however you like ;)



To Start - You will need:

Lots of Scraps!!!
I will be using scraps in
     Yellow, Navy (or dark blue), Medium Grey, and Low Volume (white on white prints)



STEP 1 - CUTTING

To make 1 block, from your scrap piles cut the following number of 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" squares from the designated colors.
    36 - Low Volume squares
    36 - Medium Grey squares
    28 - Navy Blue squares
    21 - Yellow squares

Honestly, I think cutting took longer than piecing the whole block.  There really is no speedy way to cut through your scraps, just stick to it and know that you are busting those scraps ;)



STEP 2 - PIECING THE CORNER BLOCKS

Layout 4 Yellow squares, 6 Grey squares, 4 Navy squares, and 2 White squares as shown below.


Sew the squares into rows.  To do this, I like to align the first and second squares in the row with right sides together and sew a 1/4" seam along the edge, then repeat that for the third and fourth squares in the row.  That gives you 2 pairs.  Now align the 2 pairs with right sides together and sew a 1/4" seam along the edge to make a row.   Repeat for all 4 rows (**chain stitching here saves time ;)


Press the first and third row to the left and the second and fourth row to the right.  This will allow your rows to nest together and gives you nice crisp points :)


Now you are ready to sew the rows into a Corner Block.  Place the first row onto the second with right sides together.  Align and pin each of the nested seams.  Sew a 1/4" seam along the pinned edge.  Repeat for the third and fourth row.


Now place the first and second paired rows onto the third and fourth paired rows with right sides together.  Align and pin each of the nested seams.  Sew a 1/4" seam along the pinned edge.


Press the seams in your Corner Block open.


Repeat the steps above to make 4 blocks total.  **Note - If you want to speed it up a bit and aren't worried about where each print ends up, you can chain stitch each of the steps above. Row 1 and 4 are the same and Row 2 and Row 3 are the same. So you can simply chain stitch 8 Yellow/Grey square pairs, 8 Blue/White square pairs, 8 Grey/Yellow pairs, and 8 Grey/Blue pairs.  This speeds up the pairs of 2 process and you are ready to start making rows, which you can layout and chain stitch once again :)



STEP 3 - PIECING THE SIDE BLOCKS

Layout 7 White squares, 3 Navy squares,  and 2 Gray squares as shown below.


Sew the squares into rows.  To do this, I like to align the first and second squares in the row with right sides together and sew a 1/4" seam along the edge.  That gives you a pair.  Now align the third square in the row with the pair with right sides together and sew a 1/4" seam along the edge to make a row.   Repeat for all 4 rows (**chain stitching here saves time ;)


Press the first and third row to the left and the second and fourth row to the right.  Once again, This will allow your rows to nest together and gives you nice crisp points, and we all love crisp points :)


Now you are ready to sew the rows into a Side Block.  Place the first row onto the second with right sides together.  Align and pin each of the nested seams.  Sew a 1/4" seam along the pinned edge.  Repeat for the third and fourth row.


Now place the first and second paired rows onto the third and fourth paired rows with right sides together.  Align and pin each of the nested seams.  Sew a 1/4" seam along the pinned edge.


Press the seams in your Side Block open.


Repeat the steps above to make 4 blocks total.  **Note - Once again, you can speed things up by chain stitch each of the steps above. You can simply chain stitch 8 White/White pairs, 4 Blue/White pairs, and 4 Grey/ Blue pairs.  Then you can chain stitch the last square in each block onto the pairs to finish making your rows.



STEP 4 - PIECING THE CENTER BLOCK

Layout 5 Yellow squares, and 4 Grey squares as shown below.



Sew the squares into rows.  This is just like the last block.  Align the first and second squares in the row with right sides together and sew a 1/4" seam along the edge.  That gives you a pair.  Now align the third square in the row with the pair with right sides together and sew a 1/4" seam along the edge to make a row.   Repeat for all 3 rows.


Press the first and third row to the left and the second row to the right.  Once again, nesting is the goal here :)


Now you are ready to sew the rows into a Center Block.  Place the first row onto the second with right sides together.  Align and pin each of the nested seams.  Sew a 1/4" seam along the pinned edge.  Then repeat to add the third row to the now pieced first and second row.


Press the seams in your Center Block open.    You only need one of these Center Blocks so you are ready to move on.



STEP 5 - PIECING THE SUPER SCRAPPY TRIPLE IRISH CHAIN BLOCK

With all of your small unit blocks made you are ready to make a Big Block!!!   Layout your 4 Corner Blocks, 4 Side Blocks, and 1 Center block as shown below.


Now it is just like before only with more seams ;)  You will sew the blocks into rows.  So Align the first and second blocks in the row with right sides together and nest and pin each seam. (and yes, I pin each and every seam, this helps with those crisp points :)   Sew a 1/4" seam along the pinned edge.  Now align the third block in the row and the remainder of the row with right sides together and nest and pin each seam.  Once again, sew a 1/4" seam along the edge to make a finished row.   Repeat for all 3 rows.


Press all of the seams open.  This will allow the block to lie nice and flat.   Almost done!!!


Now, you just have to sew the three rows together.   Place the first row onto the second with right sides together.  Align and pin each of the nested seams.  Sew a 1/4" seam along the pinned edge.  Then repeat to add the third row to the now pieced first and second row.


Press the two seams open.


And now stand back and enjoy your beautiful Super Scrappy Triple irish Chain Block!!!!    Isn't it just so fun!!!  This block should measure appx. 22 1/2" x 22 1/2".  It will finish at 22" x 22" when put in the quilt ;)


I hoped you enjoyed this tutorial ;)  These blocks are super fun to make and a little addicting ;)

Once, you have your blocks made, you can put them all into a quilt top.

4 blocks would be a 2 x 2 layout and would measure 44" x 44", perfect for a baby quilt
12 blocks would be a 3 x 4 layout and would measure 66" x 88", for a large lap quilt
16 blocks would be a 4 x 4 layout and would measure 88" x 88", fit for a queen :)

Whatever size you make, lay the blocks into rows as described above.  Then pin and sew the Blocks into rows.  You will want to pin each seam to ensure everything lines up.    Press the seams open, or if you don't like the seams open, press the seams in opposite directions from row to row.  Then pin and sew the rows together, finishing the quilt top. Once again, pinning each seam will help align everything so you get lots of pretty squares lined up.   Press the seams open.


Then with your quilt top done, you are ready to Baste It, Quilt It, and Bind It.  I know, a lot of work in one little sentence.   If you are unsure on how to do this, you can see my Quiltmaking Basics video tutorials that go over these three steps in detail ;)

Then just sit back and enjoy snuggling in your new quilt ;)  I made a Queen size verison and am so loving it!!!  If you do make your own Super Scrappy Triple Irish Chain Quilt I would love to see it.  You can add it to my Flickr group here  or email me a picture at happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com  ;)



Thanks for stopping by and have a Happy Quilting Weekend!!

Adding this Super Scrappy Triple Irish Chain Block Finish to Sarah's and Amanda's.

Pin It!

18 comments:

  1. I love this tutorial! I can't wait to make it, now just need to pick the color scheme.

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  2. Tutorial looks great, always wanted to make this pattern.
    24Tangent@gmail.com

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  3. Oh, Yeah! This one's happening. Fantastic use of scraps!

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  4. Great tutorial. I love to see it all broken down.

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  5. Great tutorial! I will be following along to see how it all comes together! I am a brand new haven't even started yet quilter ; ). I just received my new sewing machine feet I needed to get started...I'm a bit nervous. My inspiration is my sister and she lives 5 hours away so I can't run to her if I need help...there is always skype ; ). I really enjoy your blog!

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  6. So exciting! I really want to see the finished quilt now that I see one square and the layout. You're so great.

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  7. So pretty; you have inspired me to go through my scrap box and make this. I think I will make a couple of throw pillows to match my bedroom. Thank you for the inspiration and tutorial.

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  8. I think that having your bee mates help this quilt dream become a reality is a great idea. The block looks terrific and I can't wait to see all of them together.

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  9. I love what you've done with this. Thank you for providing the tutorial too, because I'm seriously tempted to made something like this with some charm packs I've got here. Your's looks so fresh in those colours.

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  10. Really fine tutorial! That's a great block. Hope the bee blocks thrill with their scrappiness!

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  11. A very good selection of colors!
    Thank you for sharing the tutorial!

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  12. that is a block and a half, thanks for the instructions, the biggest blocks I have made using 2 1/2" square had 49 in!

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  13. I love irish chains! This is going to be a great scrappy quilt. Do you know, if you have yardage, and want to make this pattern, it's MUCH easier, and quicker, to use the strip piecing method.

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  14. Wow! That's A LOT of blocks! Maybe I would finally make a dent in my scraps?! Thanks much for the tutorial!

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  15. My daughter wants me to make a scrappy quilt for my grandson...this is perfect!!

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  16. This a fabulous tutorial!!! :o)

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  17. I really do love the Triple Irish Chain. However, I gotta say...anything with 121 pieces per block is LOW on my to-do list! ;) Your block is fantastic - thanks for the tutorial. I'm filing it away!

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  18. I always think it's a sign of how much your bee loves you when they assemble super sized blocks lol Does look great though :o)

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Thank you so much for your sweet comments. I just love hearing from you!!
Have a Happy Quilting Day :)

Melissa