Week 18 of 52 Weeks of Hot Pads | Irish Chain Quilt Block - The Little Mushroom Cap: A Quilting Blog

Welcome to the 18th week post of the 52 weeks of hot pads / quilted pot holders. This week we’re making Irish Chain Quilt Block Hotpad

Here are the list of past week’s posts in this 52 Weeks of Hot Pads Challenge:

I thought it would be a great challenge for me to do a pot holder a.k.a hot pads every single week of 2019. (but I am currently falling behind, maybe I’ll catch up but if not, it will just be a 52 weeks but not in a single year)

I am planning on having it displayed in my kitchen. They make great decor don’t they?

While I am at it, I am going to be sharing with you a simple tutorial on the process.

You can join in the challenge and make the same hot pads I make every week with the same design or any of your own choice.

Can you spot the new hot pad?

Irish Chain Quilt Block

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Things I love & make this 52 weeks of Hot Pad project a lot more fun:

This ruler set – perfect size all of them
This rotating mat – can’t imagine one without this these days.
This Spray Baste – have always been a fan of spray baste, for small quilted projects – a must! although in most of these hot pads I also use pins as they are more than just a single batting in between.
This Batting – the perfect one for hot pads. Or in this hot pad, I am using two layers of cotton batting + aluminium insulation sheet in the middle (I love the final crisp sturdy and heat reflect of the final hot pad with this combo)
My Fabric Scraps!! – read more how I sort my scraps HERE>

Making the Irish Chain Quilt Block:

I love Irish Chain Quilts. I have Mande an Irish chain quilt before HERE> and HERE>

Simple, classic and there is so much room to make it unique with quilting designs.

You can also vary the thickness of the chain making it a double Irish Chain or Triple Irish Chain.

For this hotpad I am actually using up the leftover blocks from the latest quilt top finish that I posted earlier HERE>

There were a couple of leftover little 3.5″ nine patch and I thought making them into a hotpad would be a quick way to use it up!

While there are many variation of the Irish chain it can also be made with simple alternation in between a nine patch and a solid block. And that is how I have made this block.

For the exact measurements, start with a 1.5″ squares for the nine patch.

Patching the 1.5″ squares alternating the background solid and the prints ( the chain) you will end up with a 3.5″ nine patch block.

Then cut 5 pieces of 3.5″ squares from the background fabric.

Then arrange that into a nine patch. This is what we call: double nine patch.

Sew each row together, pressing towards the background fabric.

Then voila! simple and quick block is done. Time to baste it. You can use layers of battings or add in this Batting heat reflective hotpad.

Time to practice your quilting skill..

I decided to play around with feathers. It has been a while since I free motion quilt feathers! So, it was a little wonky here and there. But that is the point with these small projects. It is basically a practice field and you just have to be okay not having it perfect.

By the end of the quilting session, my hand were a lot steadier and the curves were better. It’s nice to get a little refresh on how to free motion quilt these feathers.

If you have been wanting to try feathers, check out this free lessons on how to.

Try it!

I always, always recommend people to practice their skills on little projects like these. They don’t go to waste and you’ll get satisfaction to continue on practicing.

Now that it is all quilted, time to trim it so it is all squared up again.

Make a hook and a binding tape (you can follow the tip in this post for piecing the binding tape perfectly when they meet up in the round ). I chose a stripes navy and white binding which I think turns out perfect for the hotpad!

Well, there you go, our 18th hot pad of the year!

need to pin this?

Pin the image below.

Have you made an Irish Chain Quilt before?

Are you making this hotpad? Let me know if you are and tell me how it goes.

Let me know if you need any help.

Till next time, have a fun time sewing!

Here are the list of past week’s posts in this 52 Weeks of Hot Pads Challenge:

Please spread the words. Pin it, Share it on Facebook. Let’s join in the fun.

1 Comment

Patricia G Hadder 4 years ago Reply

Thanks for all of your information on quilting. Love your 52 Weeks of Hot Pads. I just now will start to make them. Hope your new baby and your family is doing well and please stay safe.