WTC Quiltstitched with care since 2001

Free pattern: double Irish chain quilt

The Irish chain looks complicated: hundreds of little squares running in diagonal chains across the quilt. It isn't. Two simple blocks alternate like a checkerboard, and the chains appear where their corners meet. Strip piecing means you never cut a 2½-inch square one at a time for the chain blocks.

A navy, red and cream patchwork quilt with small-square chains spread across a wooden bed
Double Irish chain quilt: navy and red diagonal chains crossing a cream background, 5 blocks across and 7 down, with a navy border
Finished quilt: 58 × 78 inches. 35 blocks, 10 inches finished, 5 across and 7 down, with a 4-inch border.

The finished size falls inside the Quilts of Valor Foundation's range (55 × 65 to 72 × 90 inches), so in these colors it works as a Quilt of Valor.

The two blocks

Block A: a 5 by 5 grid of 2-inch squares with navy diagonals, red beside them and cream between
Block A, the chain block: 25 squares, made from strip-set segments. Make 18.
Block B: a cream square with a small red square in each corner
Block B, the background block: cream with a red square in each corner, which carries the red chain across. Make 17.

Fabric

Yardage assumes 42-inch quilting cotton with 40 inches usable.

FabricUsed forYardage
NavyChain squares, border and binding2⅝ yd
RedChain squares and block B corners1⅞ yd
CreamBackground2¼ yd
BackingBack4⅞ yd
BattingMiddle layerTwin size (72 × 90 in)

Cutting

Cut every strip across the width of the fabric.

FabricCutFor
Navy14 strips, 2½ inStrip sets
Navy7 strips, 4½ inBorder
Navy8 strips, 2½ inBinding
Red19 strips, 2½ inStrip sets
Red5 strips, 2½ in; subcut 68 squares, 2½ inBlock B corners
Cream7 strips, 2½ inStrip sets
Cream6 strips, 2½ in; subcut 34 rectangles, 2½ × 6½ inBlock B top and bottom
Cream6 strips, 6½ in; subcut 17 rectangles, 6½ × 10½ inBlock B centers

Make the strip sets

Block A is built from three different rows of five squares. Sew five 2½-inch strips together side by side for each strip set, in the order shown, then crosscut the set into 2½-inch segments. Each strip set gives 16 segments.

RowStrip orderStrip setsSegments needed
Row 1navy, red, cream, red, navy336
Row 2red, navy, red, navy, red336
Row 3cream, red, navy, red, cream218

Press every strip set toward its red strips. Because of where the red falls in each row, that one rule makes the seams of neighboring rows point in opposite directions, so they nest when you join them.

Sew long strip sets with a consistent ¼-inch seam and check the width as you go: a finished set should measure 10½ inches across. If it's narrower, your seams are wide, and the blocks won't match block B.

Assemble the blocks

  1. Block A: stack five segments in the order row 1, row 2, row 3, row 2, row 1, and sew them together. The navy squares form an X from corner to corner. Each block measures 10½ inches square. Make 18.
  2. Block B: sew a red square to each end of a 2½ × 6½ inch cream rectangle (make 34 of these). Sew one to the top and one to the bottom of a 6½ × 10½ inch cream rectangle, red squares at the corners. Each block measures 10½ inches. Make 17.

Assemble the quilt

  1. Lay out 7 rows of 5 blocks, alternating A and B, with an A block in each corner. Rows 1, 3, 5 and 7 go A, B, A, B, A; rows 2, 4 and 6 go B, A, B, A, B.
  2. Check that each red corner square on a B block lines up with a red square on the neighboring A block. That's what makes the chains continuous.
  3. Sew the blocks into rows, then join the rows. The center measures 50½ × 70½ inches.
  4. Join the navy border strips end to end. Cut two pieces about 70½ inches for the sides (measure through the center first), then two about 58½ inches for the top and bottom.

Finish

For the backing, cut two 86-inch lengths, remove the selvages and sew them side by side. Quilting straight lines diagonally through the chains, corner to corner, echoes the design and is easy with a walking foot. Then bind it with the eight navy strips and add a label.

Other sizes

LayoutBlocks A / BBorderFinished
3 × 35 / 44 in38 × 38 in (baby or wall)
5 × 7 (this pattern)18 / 174 in58 × 78 in
7 × 932 / 316 in82 × 102 in (full or queen topper)

Keep both dimensions an odd number of blocks so every corner is a chain block. Each block A needs 2 row-1, 2 row-2 and 1 row-3 segments; each block B needs four red squares, two short cream rectangles and one center rectangle.

More free patterns: see them all. This pattern is free for personal and charity use. Please don't sell the pattern itself.

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