An Old Irish Chain Makes A Keepsake Holiday Quilt

Use Different Fabrics And Placement For Any Season

Inspired by a designs dating back to the 18th century, this beautiful Irish Chain in red and green makes a  Holiday quilt to be treasured for many years to come. There are endless variations on this homely and elegant theme, the jelly roll quilt is stunning in any colors you choose. Or reverse the colour scheme by picking out the Irish Chain in a light neutral on a softly coloured background.

 

The design of this old Irish Chain alternates plain and nine-patch blocks, with a balance between pieced blocks and negative space. The vintage feel makes it just perfect for a Holiday quilt. It’s the perfect jelly roll quilt, or if you have some red and green fat quarters in your stash you could cut 2½” x 21″ strips from those. Nicola  replaced a few of the 2½” strips with cream prints from the Jelly Roll to give the quilt a scrappy, vintage look.

Mixing simple, strip-pieced nine-patches with four-patch blocks, the top is constructed by extending the diagonal ‘chains’ to create garlands of ivy greens. Nicola of Cake Stand Quilts put together this design using red prints in the ‘cross’ motif to suggest holly berries, mixing prints within each block, resulting in a vintage feel which will only get better over time.

Make the quilt for anytime of year or season. If Christmas greens don’t suits your decor, keep the beauty of the red and opt for soft greys Changing the background colour creates a more dramatic quilt, or use linen blenders to add another layer of interest. You could also reverse the colour scheme by picking out the Irish Chain in a light neutral on a softly coloured background, which you see here.

The quilt sews up quick alternating 9 patch blocks with neutral pieces, to make a quilt to suit almost any decor. One jelly roll plus a little extra yardage makes a finished quilt size of 74″ x 74″. Nicola’s ‘Wintersweet” quilt design is available as a free pattern.