Disappearing Nine Patch

For my second quilt I thought I would try a new pattern and so I went with the easy disappearing nine patch quilt.  It's a little more complicated than the previous coin quilt, but still very easy for a beginner like myself. When it's all done you'll feel like you are a much better quilter than maybe you thought, or at least that's how I felt. I'll take you though the steps!

First I cut all my fabrics into 5"squares. I picked 7 different fabrics but for a more random look 9 would be the best. that way, when you attach the nine squares together (which I will show you next) you wont have to repeat any fabrics.

If you choose 9 fabrics you'll need just enough fabric to cut  four 5" squares for this size quilt. Less than 1/4 yard so you'll have plenty of scraps if you want to piece the back together.

Next,  you will need to sew all different nine fabrics together like this:

...and cut down the middle of this big square both horizontally and vertically.  When you do this you will get four disappearing squares.  You will need to do this three more times to get all your squares and then you will be able to move onto the next step.

Once you have all of your blocks set them out in the direction you would like to sew then and step back to make sure the colors look good and are arranged like you want them. Once you are ready start sewing the sashing (white) part of the quilt. 

The sashing was cut in 2.5" strips for in between the blocks and the left and right sides.  The sashing on the top was 4" just so the quilt did not end up square, although you could cut them all the same depending on what you plan to use the quilt for. Once the sashing is sewed on you may have to trim the sides to make the edges square unless you measured the outside piece perfectly.

At this point you are basically ready to do your quilt sandwich, quilt and bind, however, I wanted my quilt slightly bigger and so I added more of the main fabric on the sides. Check out more more close ups and the finished product.

Some Pretty Stipling

Back of the quilt ready to be bound

Front of the quilt all quilted

Binding by machine with same color thread as binding.

Finished Product

This quilt ended up going to my friend Sara down in Texas as a Thank You gift for having me over for a whole week.  We did have a great time there and to top it off, she loved the quilt!  Stay tuned for a matching pillow cover I also made her!

All done! =)

That should be it!  A note to make though, I obviously do my binding by machine but most people do not.  It's up to you which way you want to do it.  I'm impatient and so I machine bind it but if you have the time and patience to do it by hand, go for it! Good Luck!