Make ANY size Irish Chain quilt with this calculator! You can choose the block size you want to make, and how big to make the finished quilt, and the calculator will tell you what you’ll need!
You could figure out what size blocks you could create if you wanted to use pre-cuts such as jelly rolls (2.5″), charm packs (5″), or layer cakes (10″). While you won’t be able to use pre-cuts for both the 9-patch and the plain blocks, you definitely could use them for one or the other!
This calculator is in inches. Tip! Finished block sizes that are easily divisible by 3 are good candidates for an Irish Chain quilt (3″, 6″, 9″, etc.)
Having trouble? Try it on desktop!
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How to use this Irish Chain Quilt Calculator:
The Irish Chain Quilt calculator is a bit more in-depth than the other quilt calculators available on this site. Let’s break it down step-by-step. First, input the size blocks you want to make for your quilt. You want this number to be finished block size (once sewn into your quilt). Pay attention to row 8 on the right (cutting size 9-patch squares) and make sure that’s a number you feel comfortable cutting squares out of! (this will be below on mobile)
Once you choose your block size, input the number of blocks per row and number of rows for your quilt. This will update the width and height of your quilt which is visible on the right hand side (this will be below on mobile). Keep moving the numbers up or down until you have your desired quilt width and height. That’s it! The calculator takes your information and turns it into an Irish Chain quilt pattern!
Okay so now you have a bunch of numbers. What do these mean?
With our example numbers above, I’d have to cut the following out of my fabric:
COLOR A:
- (90) 3.5″ squares
COLOR B:
- (17) 9.5″ squares
- (72) 3.5″ squares
Out of the Color A and Color B 3.5″ squares, I’d create (18) 9-patch blocks.
Then I’d sew together the 9-patch and the plain blocks together, alternating. I already determined how many blocks per row and how many rows when I was inputting information into the calculator so now I know how to sew my blocks together! Go forth and make an Irish Chain quilt! In ANY size you wish!
Want to figure out how much yardage you need to make this quilt? Check out the Yardage Calculator!
