Something Old, Something New - An Oldie, But A Goodie!

 

Hi, all!

As I write this, I am sitting by the pool on an airport hotel rooftop, enjoying sunshine, blue skies, lovely warm temperatures, and the sound of airplanes taking off in the background!  My husband is in meetings all day, and I can't think of a better time and place to write some of these upcoming tutorials, so here I am.  

I have to admit that I have been putting off writing these tutorials for a couple of weeks now, but being able to do it out here takes out all the drudgery!  So now, let's move on to this week's quilt!

Seven years ago I posted a tutorial for this quilt, and it rapidly became one of my most-requested tutorials.  FaveQuilts picked it up and it was actually in their list of top quilts requested several years running!  It is such an easy and quick quilt, perfect for beginners or for a (very) fast comfort or gift quilt.  It's called the Easy Peasy Giant Disappearing Nine-Patch Quilt!

Now, if you're unfamiliar with a disappearing nine-patch block (also known as a D9P), it's really simple.  First you make a basic nine-patch block, and then you cut it up and sew it back together in a different pattern.  It's a great way to make a simple quilt that looks a lot more complicated than it is!  

The quilt top in this picture literally took two and a half hours, from picking out the fabric squares to hanging it on the line for pictures!

There are lots of different designs for D9P blocks, but this quilt is made with one of the most basic designs, just really large.  Here's the tutorial for this quilt!  

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This year's version of the quilt looks different, but gives you a good idea of the variety you can achieve just by changing up your fabrics.  For this one, I used a layer cake plus plus a coordinating solid for the center squares of the original 9-patch blocks.

Easy-Peasy Giant Disappearing Nine-Patch

Size:  approximately 57” x 71”

All seams are 1/4”

Fabric Requirements:

45 10” x 10” squares.  

This is a great pattern to use a layer cake!  I used 40 pieces from a layer cake, and added 5 10" squares in a coordinating solid for the center squares of the initial 9-patch blocks (approximately 5/8 yard of fabric required).  You can also cut your own squares and use it to showcase beautiful large-print fabrics.

Block Construction:

For each oversized nine-patch block, select nine 10” print squares.  On a flat surface, arrange the squares into three rows of three squares, with any fabrics that you want to be dominant in the quilt in the four corners of your block, as those fabrics will remain uncut at the cutting stage.

To piece the block, first sew the squares into three rows.  Press the seams to one side, pressing in the opposite direction for the center row.  Sew the three rows together to create your 9-patch blocks.  Press these seams toward the center, then press the block and set it aside.  Repeat the process, making a total of five blocks.

Cut the blocks into quarters by cutting in half from top to bottom, then side to side.  

  

Because of the large size of the blocks, it’s easiest to find the center by measuring the center row of blocks, dividing by two and cutting that far from the side seam of the middle row.  If you have sewn an accurate 1/4” seam, that measurement should be 4.75”.

Arrange your new, smaller blocks into five rows of four blocks apiece. 

Sew the rows, pressing the seams in opposite directions.  Then sew the rows together, nesting the seams for matching corners.   Press the entire quilt top.

Voila!  You’re done!!

Credits:  Original pattern by Vivika Hansen Denegre; featured in Modern Patchwork 2012

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I hope you enjoy this pattern as much as I do - it's great for pulling a quilt together quickly, and looks wonderful in batiks or large-scale prints.

It's also perfect for that random layer cake you have laying around!  Or dig into your larger scraps and cut a bunch of 10" squares - this can be a real scrap buster.  If you want a larger quilt, just add another 9-patch block to the mix to add another row for length, which will take it to a good twin-size-ish size!

See you next week for another easy quilt - this time it will be a new design, I think!

Hugs!

Sarah