The Single Irish Chain is a traditional pattern consisting of squares and rectangular stripes. Another patchwork pattern in which you can make wonderful use of your scraps of fabric.
Incidentally, there is the Single Irish Chain, the Double Irish Chain and the Triple Irish Chain block. The three blocks differ in the number of small border squares per block.
As the name suggests, this block makes a reference to Ireland. It is said that patchwork and quilting were already known in Ireland at the beginning of the 19th century. The year 1804 is mentioned in this context. Unfortunately, not everything was recorded as meticulously at that time as it is today, which is why there are different statements in many areas of the history of patchwork and quilting.
Another point is that patchwork and quilting were seen as housework, i.e. women's work. A useful activity, as clothing and other fabric remnants were used to sew warm blankets, i.e. quilts. The fact that women in the old days sometimes sewed beautiful quilts for everyday use and developed great patterns was also not seen as art. In the past, women's work was not or only slightly valued in society, so it was not necessarily recorded who made which quilt and when,
But I really like the idea that my hobby has a centuries-old tradition and that I have the opportunity to adapt this tradition to modern times according to my individual wishes.
Nowadays, patchwork and quilting have also established themselves as a craft and art form and quilts can be shown and admired at the many quilt shows. Indeed, quilts are even bought up by various museums to preserve them for posterity.
The structure of the Single Irish Chain Block
If you look closely at the Single Irish Chain Block, it consists of a square center in the middle and two "frames" around it. Each individual frame consists of four rectangles and there is a small square at each corner of the frame.
In my block, the rectangles are made of plain fabric and the small squares in the corners are made of patterned fabric.
I cut out four small squares from the same pattern piece of fabric.
This process is called fussy cutting and you can find real masterpieces on the internet that have been constructed using fussy cutting.
It is of course not necessary to use the same fabric patterns. This block also looks very pretty if you mix the patterns of a fabric wildly. Now I will show you how to cut and sew the block:
The size of the block
As with the other blocks, this block has a finished size of 12 x 12 cm.
The seam allowance is 0.75 cm. The unfinished block therefore has a size of 13.5 cm including seam allowances.
Cutting the Single Irish Chain
You can easily cut the small squares from fabric scraps. Only you know whether your scraps are big enough for the stripes and the middle square 😉
You need:
8 squares measuring 3.5 x 3.5 cm
1 square measuring 5.5 x 5.5 cm
4 rectangles in 3.5 x 5.5 cm
4 rectangles in 3.5 x 9.5 cm
How to sew the Single Irish Chain Block
For this block, too, I first lay out all the pieces as I want the pattern to look later.
Oh yes, don't forget the photo in case something is unclear when putting it together 😉
First, I sew the fabric pieces of the individual rows together. This means that the squares are sewn to the left and right of the strips first.
To do this, I place the squares on the strips so that the "pretty" sides are on the inside.
Whether you attach these squares with pins or with a water-soluble glue stick (which is available especially for fabric) or whether you simply hold the fabric pieces under the needle is up to you. I assume that you are familiar with the basics of sewing.
If you like, please let me know in the comments which version is your favorite. As the fabric pieces are only 3.5 cm high, are they perhaps smaller than the fabric pieces you usually work with? I'm curious!
I'm working on two identical rows at the same time. This means that I first sew the squares to the long rectangle of the top and bottom rows.
Next, sew the squares to the rectangle of the second and fourth row.
This is what it looks like. I find it a bit confusing in this state because the seam allowance is already missing on the sewn pieces and the seam allowance is still taking up space on the other pieces. The photo I took at the beginning helps me a lot at times like this. Alternatively, you can of course use my photo of the finished block as a guide.
Now sew the rectangles on the left and right to the larger square in the middle.
Then the rows above and below the center take their turn.
If you like, make sure that the seam crosses, i.e. the intersections of the fabrics, are reasonably square. It doesn't matter if they are not and in your future quilt such details will not be noticeable. But if these things are important to you, I'd better warn you that these areas tend to be inaccurate. I speak from experience...
I'm sure you know what to do next. The right and left strips are now sewn to the center piece.
The finale: You sew the top and bottom strips in place and are already finished with your first Single Irish Chain Block!
If you like, please post a photo of your block here at cp. I find it very interesting to see how your quilt grows with each block.
Variations of the Single Iris Chain pattern
You can change the pattern of the Single Iris Chain according to your individual ideas. How? I'll show you in a moment.
This is what my Single Irish Chain looks like:
Variant 1: Use many different fabrics
In my example, I have used two different fabrics: A plain fabric and a patterned fabric.
Of course, you can also use different patterned and plain fabrics for the square and the frames around it. Or your Chain could consist entirely of different patterned fabrics. Or you can only use different plain-colored fabrics. Anything is possible, it depends on you, your preferences and your creativity. Everything can, nothing has to 😉
Why don't you post a photo of your block here at crazypatterns? I'm sure you'll help one or two quilters to make their own fabric choices more easily.
How did the names of the blocks come about?
The names of these old, traditional blocks came about because a creative quilter somewhere arranged the pieces of fabric in a block in a way that she had never seen before. She then gave the block a name that seemed appropriate.
As there were very few ways of communicating with other places in the 19th century, it often happened that a quilter somewhere else had the same idea and gave the same creation a different name because she thought that name was just right. So it happened that today there are several names for a patchwork pattern. To make the whole thing really confusing, some of the same names were used for different blocks.
Variant 2: Would you like a simpler option?
If you look online, you will also find a block pattern under the block name "Single Irish Chain" that you already know from the first part of this challenge: The Nine Patch Pattern!
So if you fancy a simpler Single Irish Chain, then sew the Nine Patch pattern you already know.
Are you interested in the old block names and would you like to know what alternative names your blocks have? Then I recommend the encyclopedia of Patchwok blocks. A really interesting read!
Variant 3: Design the center of the block individually
A third way to give your Single Irish Chain an individual touch is to design the square center according to your wishes.
For example, you can use a particularly beautiful fabric pattern for this. Please remember that 0.75 centimetres of the seam allowance on each side of the cut square will no longer be visible afterwards.
Or you can sew your own pattern into the square center.
Another option, if you can embroider by hand or are the master of an embroidery machine 😉, is to embroider a beautiful pattern in the center.
As you can see, there are many ways to personalize your block.
The Challenge with the Single Irish Chain Block
1st Challenge: Original or customized version?
What should your Single Irish Chain look like? Do you prefer the original or would you like to change it to suit your wishes?
How many different colors do you use?
2nd Challenge: How relaxed are you about inaccuracies?
How are you doing in your third block of this Scrappy Quilt Challenge? Have you become more relaxed about inaccuracies when sewing? Or do you reject these inaccuracies? Ask yourself what your attitude is and whether you are happy with your attitude. You decide how you want your blocks to look and what you feel comfortable with.
I would be delighted if you sew this block and enjoy my Scrappy Quilt Challenge 2024!
Have fun and happy quilting
Chris
