It’s week five of the Riley Blake Designs Block Challenge!
This week we’re celebrating the Nine Patch quilt block. It’s beginner friendly, y’all!
The Nine Patch quilt block has been around since the beginning of the 19th century and consists of nine equal sized blocks. The variations for this block are endless.
Bust out your RBD fabric stash, and sew along with me. Oh yeaaaaah!
Click below to download your own copy of my Nine Patch classic pattern. It’s FREE!
While doing some research on the Nine Patch quilt block, I found so many amazing tutorials, including a few from the legendary Nancy Zieman of Sewing with Nancy fame.
In her videos she demonstrates how you can create the block by joining strips together. Mind blown!
Here are some general instructions for the strip method:
You need fabric in two colors: one light and one dark
Cut your strips WOF x block size (for the 6 1/2’’ unfinished block = WOF x 2 1/2’’)
I had FQ’s, so my strips were 22’’ x 2 1/2’’
Pin right sides together, use a 1/4’’ seam allowance and sew your strips together (2 sets of 3)
One set has one light strip inside and two dark strips on the outside
One set has one dark strip inside and two light strips on the outside
Press your seams toward the dark strip on both sets
Pressing your seams towards the dark strip will help you nest your seams
Sub-cut the strips using the block size measurement (for the 6 1/2’’ unfinished block = cut 2 1/2’)
Arrange the sub-cut strips to form the block
Nest your seams, pin, use a 1/4’’ seam allowance and sew your block strips together
Press your seams toward the dark fabric
Oh yeaaaaah, now you have a Nine Patch quilt block
I found this method to be faster and surprisingly more accurate, but find a method that works best for you. I also incorporated a third color, making three sets of three strips total. See, the variations are endless!
If you love scrappy, one of Nancy’s videos shows you how to use various size strips for a scrappy look.
If you’re just joining the RBD Block Challenge, here’s what we’ve made so far:
Week 1: Churn Dash (tutorial by Amy of Diary of a Quilter)
Week 2: Log Cabin (tutorial by Rachel of Citrus and Mint Designs)
Week 3: Friendship Star (tutorial by Bev of Flamingo Toes)
Week 4: Economy Block (tutorial by Amy of Diary of a Quilter)
Be sure to follow the hashtag #rbdblockchallenge for more inspiration.
My quilt features Goose Tales by Janet Wecker Frisch and two of my favorite basics: Texture and Shabby. I chose Scaredy Cat by Amanda Niederhauser for the strip example above.
Both collections are arriving at your local quilt shop this month!
cut, sew, repeat…
the tattooed quilter