Currently Stitching: Double Chain Quilt

I've been talking about chipping away at my fabric stash. It's a bit of an overwhelming task when staring at a whole closet full of cloth. What goes together? Which pile do I start with first? Do I have background fabric? Ahhhhh!!! Chaos!

I needed some direction, or at least help narrowing down my options. So I thought about all the quilts that have been on my dream list to make. It's a long list but I decided to focus on a classic that I haven't tried yet. I also decided I would save pre-cuts for another day and work with random cuts of fabric instead. Then, I looked at a stack of fabric that I bought to make backings with. And it came to me!

Double Irish Chain!

Using an Autumn/ Harvest palette.

The burnt orange, colonial-y, floral/ wallpaper style fabric called to me from the pile. It's been the stack for a hot minute! Then I sifted through the yellows, oranges, and reds for shades that would go with it. I also searched for a creamy blender that was similar to the white flowers in the backing material.

I took some time and ironed out some pretty serious creases. Once the fabric was ready, I started cutting out 2 1/2 inch strips. I decided to approach this project with strip sets. I think the pattern can work with many cuts of fabric, including precuts, but these seemed like the best plan for today!

Once the background strips were cut, I started working through the colored fabrics. I narrowed it down to 9 coordinating colors. I stuck with pretty low volume and removed anything with leaves or excessive texture. I like that it's got a scrappy look to it.

I've seen folks make Irish chains in a few different methods. Some use strip sets, and some cut tons of squares out and piece them together one at a time. Either design will work out great. But I wanted to create an approachable and less cumbersome iteration of this style quilt. Making multiple and varied strip sets saves a lot of time. It can works with precuts, scrappy or two tone quilts.

I find that when piecing a lot of small squares, there's a greater chance of getting warped blocks. To help avoid the potential of warping with such long strips, I switch which side of the strips I start on. I'll sew one strip on starting at one end, and then the other, until the set is completed. It really does help!

I made two types of strip sets. The first was made with 4 background strips and three colored. The second set was the opposite.

At this point, I found my first round of mistakes. I realized that by using 7 strips it would make a HUGE patched block - 49 x 49 squares, which would probably make a triple chain. I'll save that for another day! So I guess it's not a mistake as much as a change of direction.

However, I did notice that I sub-cut all my strips at 2 inches, instead of 2 1/2 inches. Which left me with wonky rectangles and an incorrectly sized block instead of what I needed. So all of the strips that I cut went to the scrap bin and will be used on another project.

I went back to the drawing board and made some new strip sets. I cut them down to 24 x 2 1/2, and made them with 5 alternating colors. This lead to a greater variety among the block combinations, which I liked better. 

These strip sets led to 25 patch blocks, which were a much more manageable. I remembered to sub-cut the strips at 2 1/2 inches so everything would be square and it went much better! I was much encouraged by how things were starting to look. 

From there I started laying out and sewing the block sets. I did my best to get a nice variety between the blocks. I made some extra strip sets so I wouldn't end up making the same blocks over and over again. I put everything up on my board and cut strips as I needed them, keeping track of the number of pieces I needed.

The blocks came together at 10 1/2 x 10 1/2 inches. After that I was ready to start on the second type of square.

Which led me to the next round of mistakes... I cut the background blocks the wrong size. I forgot that there have to be corner stones in order to make the double chain. Then I cut them wrong again! Making the squares too small and calculating the corner strips to the wrong measurement. #sigh#facepalm

At long last I finally got the math right. Sheesh! I needed four 2 1/2 inch squares, two 6 1/2 x 2 1/2 inch strips, and one 6 1/2 x 10 1/2 inch block. I sewed the squares onto the strips and then sewed them onto the center piece. It worked out just right!

These blocks also came out at 10 1/2 x 10 1/2. Hooray! I love when the math works out!

Before I sewed all the final blocks together, I cut everything and laid them out on the board. I spent quite a bit of time trying to make sure none of the same fabrics ended up next to each other. Usually I lay it out and walk away for a little while. Sometimes I'll take pictures and look at it to see if I missed a duplicate or a mistake. I'll keep moving it around until I get it just right!

Once I decided on the final lay out, I finished sewing the two kinds of blocks together. I took my time to carefully press the blocks so they would sew together well later. For the checkered blocks, it's important to press them all the same way, with the long seams running top to bottom. For the other blocks, I pressed the seams towards the center. It's extra work but it means the seams will nest and the quilt will lay flatter.

**I did forget to mention that when pressing the strips I pressed everything to the darker fabric. When putting the checkered blocks together later, it helped the seams line up there as well.

Taking the time to press the blocks with intention helps the overall quality of the quilt.

Here she is! I love how this quilt turned out! It's been a bucket list quilt for me for a long time! 

It needs quite a bit more pressing and a good dose of starch. I'll put on a good movie and sit there with my little iron and go over all the seams on another day. Right now I'm just enjoying the final look!

A large percentage of the points lined up! That feels like a huge win! The quilt finished at 50 x 40, which is smaller than I usually make. It would be wonderful for kids or to use as a lap quilt! I think it's going to be fairly easy to size up or down, which is another plus!

I hope this inspires you to work through your stash or tackle a quilt you've been waiting to make! It's always worth it! Now I've got to get the pattern typed out and ready to share. Check back in and make it for yourself!