Your first quilt: the nine-patch, from cutting to binding
A straightforward route to a finished lap quilt using one block, a rotary cutter and a walking foot.
Quilting has three stages: piece the top, quilt the layers together, bind the edge. A nine-patch lap quilt teaches all three without any tricky angles.
Fabric and cutting
Choose two contrasting fabrics plus a background. Pre-wash if the colours are strong. With a rotary cutter, ruler and mat, cut 5-inch squares: a 3x3 grid of nine makes a 14-inch finished block. For a lap quilt you need 12 blocks, so 108 squares.
Piecing with a scant quarter inch
Sew squares into rows of three, alternating colours, with a scant 1/4-inch seam (a hair narrower than a quarter). Press seams to the darker side, alternating direction row by row so they nest. Sew the three rows into a block. Repeat.
Layout and sashing
Lay all 12 blocks out on the floor. Add 2.5-inch sashing strips between blocks if you want breathing room. Sew into rows, then join the rows.
The quilt sandwich
Backing fabric (face down, taped flat), then wadding, then your top (face up). Smooth from the centre out. Pin with curved safety pins every hand-span, or spray baste.
Quilting
With a walking foot, stitch along the seam lines ("in the ditch") or a quarter inch either side of them. Start from the centre and work outwards. Straight lines are enough; texture comes from the wadding.
Binding
Cut 2.5-inch strips, join them, fold in half lengthwise and press. Sew to the front with a quarter-inch seam, mitring corners, then fold over and hand stitch to the back while watching something good.
A lap quilt in a weekend of evenings. Post yours and tell us the fabric.
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