Our oldest granddaughter and her husband are expecting their second child, and the nursery theme is an old-fashioned blue-and-white gingham with teddy bears and warm wood tones.
When I think of classic baby quilts, the Double Irish Chain is always one of the first that comes to mind. It has such a timeless, heirloom feel—exactly the look I wanted for Hudson’s nursery.
What could be more traditional than a Double Irish Chain quilt? It’s one of those timeless quilts that looks far more complicated than it is. With simple strip piecing, no pattern is really needed.
I struggled to find solid blue and white fabrics, along with a matching gingham, that were a true baby-boy blue. Most of this season’s fabrics leaned toward aqua or turquoise. I persevered and finally found exactly what I was looking for.
Fabrics
- Riley Blake Designs Confetti Cottons – Boy Blue
- Riley Blake Designs Confetti Cottons – White
- Riley Blake Designs 1/8″ Printed Gingham – Boy Blue
After searching everywhere, I ended up having the backing printed through Spoonflower, and it was exactly what I had envisioned: Welcome Sweet Baby Nursery Toys on White in Petal Signature Cotton.
- Finished squares: 1″
- White border: 1½”
- Blue borders: 2″
- Finished size: 37″ × 37″
Ready to miter the corners!
The satisfaction of a perfect miter is hard to beat!
A little backing trick…
If your backing isn’t quite wide enough, but you have extra length, try this trick. Cut the fabric diagonally from corner to corner, shift the two pieces until you gain the width you need (remembering to allow for quilting overage and seam allowances), then stitch the diagonal seam back together.
Because the seam is now on the bias, handle it carefully while sewing. This works especially well with solids or prints that don’t require pattern matching.
Batting
I always photograph my quilts with the batting I used. Quilters Dream Request Cotton Batting is still my favorite. It’s wonderful for hand quilting, performs beautifully with machine quilting, and gives quilts a lovely soft hand.
Bias Binding
As usual, I cut the gingham binding on the bias for the look I wanted. My grandmother always insisted that bias-bound quilts aged better.
Who am I to argue with my grandmother?
The Finishing Touch
After embroidering Hudson’s name, birth date, and my initials, it was ready to be shipped to our newest great-grandson.
Ready to ship!
Great-grandson #2 has arrived!
Isn’t he the sweetest?
Feel free to ask questions if you need more explicit directions for this pattern.
Double Irish Chain quilt
by Sewfrench
37″ x 37″
designed by Sewfrench
using Riley Blake Designs fabric
Spoonflower Backing
Dream Request Cotton Batting
Hand quilted with love for Hudson
Sewfrench 