Simple Irish Chain Patchwork Quilt

The irish chain looks rather intricate but there is a trick to it and therefore you can create this blanket rather easily - which is why I wanted to share it with you!

I calculated the amount of fabric it takes to sew the blanket with 3 colors and for the approximate size of 2 m x 1.5 m.
I also already INCLUDED a seam allowance of 0.75 cm on each side.

• Fabric for the front and back
• Volume fleece type H630; size 2.15 m x 1.6m (it should be a bit larger than the target size of the blanket)
• Garns for sewing
• Quilt garn
• Sewing machine

First, you should choose the colours of the blanket. There are thousand variants to it, instead of only 3 colours you could also use more than that, use patterned fabric instead of uni, etc. ...

The supplies I am listing below are for an irish chain blanket with 3 colours and I already included a seam allowance of 0.75 cm on each side (the amount I always use for cotton patchwork fabric). All measurements are in cm / m. I would suggest to get a bit more of each fabric in case of some errors happening or some miscalculation - if there are leftovers, they make for a beautiful and fitting pillow or you use them for the next project!

Blanket top:

1. Yellow fabric: 3.1 m²
2. Blue fabric: 0.9 m²
3. Red fabric: 1.1 m²
4. Garn: red, yellow, blue

Blanket back:

1. Volume fleece H630 (210 x 165 cm)
2. Blue fabric (210 x 165 cm)

For the fabric, I am using a cotton fabric that has a slight "marble" effect in itself, so it is not completely uni coloured (like this one).

Others:

1. Quilt garn: white (top of blanket) and blue (for back of blanket)
2. Sewing machine (with wide arm helps for the quilting)
3. Rotary cutter
4. Cutting mat
5. Pins
6. Hot iron
7. A large space for laying out the blanket before quilting

It is not visible when immediately looking at the blanket but you can break down the diagonal lines and diamonds into squares - which makes it easy to sew but to everyone it looks super complicated!

There are two types of squares: the diamond square and the one with the small squares making up the diagonal lines (for this instructable, I will call it the diagonal square).

In order to speed up sewing and not drive you crazy with cutting and sewing small pieces together, you can sew long strips of fabric together in the correct order and then cut it in stripes again. Reorder them, sew them together and done! In the next steps I will go in detail of each one of those.

Basic Measurements:

• Diagonal square and diamond square are each 24.5 x 24.5 cm after being sewn together (26 x 26 cm before that)
• Small squares will end up at 3.5 x 3.5 cm
• Number of diagonal squares: 18
• Number of diamond squares: 17
• Final blanket size: ~ 200 x 150 cm

As you can see in the picture, there are 4 different types of combinations you have to sew because the entire pattern goes like this: a - b - c - d - c - b - a. Except for d), you need each combination twice for the diagonal squares which determines the length of the long stripes.

Measurements (incl. seam allowance):

• Width of each stripe: 5 cm
• Length of a), b), c): 180 cm
• Length of d): 90 cm (you only need this line once per square)

Sew the four stripes together and iron out the seam allowance in the back to one side. After sewing all four stripe combinations, you cut each of the measurements in stripes of 5 cm. Arrange them in the order above and sew them together. Seam allowance = 0.75 cm. For each seam, iron the seams to one side. In total you will need 18 of those diagonal squares if the total size of the blanket is the same as in my project.

When sewn together, each small square will be 3.5 x 3.5 cm and the complete diagonal square will be 24.5 x 24.5 cm large (before the whole blanket is assembled it's 26 x 26 cm because of the seam allowance).

Measurements (incl. seam allowance):

• Middle square: 17.5 x 17.5 cm (19 x 19 cm)
• Two stripes of 170 cm length each

Stripe type a): two yellow stripes (5 x 170) and two blue stripes (5 x 170) plus a broader stripe of 12 x 170

Stripe type b): two blue stripes (5 x 170) and one broad yellow stripe of 12 x 170 cm

Seam allowance = 0.75 cm. For each seam, iron the seams to one side. In total you will need 17 of those diagonal squares if the total size of the blanket is the same as in my project.

When sewn together, each small square will be 3.5 x 3.5 cm and the complete diagonal square will be 24.5 x 24.5 cm large (before the whole blanket is assembled it's 26 x 26 cm because of the seam allowance).

Now attach the different squares row by row. I started with a row of 3 diagonal squares and two diamond squares. It helps if you have some space on the floor or even a table (better for the back ;-) ) to lay it all out.

After the rows are done, sew them together for the large assembly. After that, we'll add the frames.

For the frame of the blanket, I used only yellow and red.

1. small rim (2 cm) in yellow
2. a slightly broader one in red (3.5 cm)
3. a broad one in yelow again (8 cm).
4. For closing I used a gain a small red rim (1 cm on top side of blanket, 1 cm on backside of blanket).

It takes the following measurements:

1. Long side: 3.5 x 173 cm, short side 3.5 x 128
2. Short side: 5 x 128, long side: 5 x 178.5
3. Long side: 9.5 x 178.5, short side: 9.5 x 145,5

Each of those stripes you need twice. Plus in the end: 3.5 x 700 (circumference of the blanket)

You have the blanket with the 17 diamond squares and 18 diagonal squares sewn together. Start with the long side and attach the stripes left and right. Continue with the short side. Yellow rim done. Attach the red and broad yellow frame accordingly. Do not add the red final rim yet! This will be the last step.

Layering and Preparation

Now it is time to give the overall blanket a cozy feeling. For that we will need the volume fleece. I am using H630. Make the overall size of the volume fleece a bit bigger than the blanket assembly you have right now. If you need to use two parts, it helps to quickly and roughly stitch them together for easier handling in further steps.

Also, the back of the blanket needs to be a bit bigger than your blanket's front. Put all three layers on top of each other in this order:

1. Front (face up)
2. volume fleece
3. back fabric (face down)

Smooth everything out and hand stitch all 3 layers roughly together to prepare for quilting. This helps so that everything stays together neatly during quilting.

Quilting

Quilting means that all 3 layers stay neatly together during usage of a patchwork artifact but also can be used to highlight some patterns or even give additional frill and complexity to a patchwork quilt. It is actually an art in itself.

For this quilt though, I kept it simple in order to let the colours and the irish chain pattern be the "star" of the patchwork. I only quilted the diamond shapes and the red frame in the blanket. I used a white quilting garn for the top side (finding the right yellow was proving to be difficult and with the white quilting garn, the diamonds got more of an emphasis). For the bobbin thread, I used a blue quilt garn. Depending on your machine, it is maybe easier to work with a normal blue garn instead of the thicker quilt garn.

Since this is a really large quilt, it helps to roll it up in order to get everything under the sewing arm of your machine.

After quilting, it is no time to add the final red frame around the blanket in order to hid the layering. I used the stripe of red and have sewn it on the top side with the machine, then I handstitched the backside in order to not show the seam on the top side. This was very meditative work :-D

You can also pin the red stripe on the top and back (make sure that the two layers are on top of each other and hold the volume fleece as well. Then sew with the front up both layers at once.

Done!

Enjoy a comfy, relaxed and colourful time with your new and warm winter blanket that lightens the mood in dark and foggy winter days!