printable version of baby and doll ninepatch quilts

by Judy Anne Breneman    Find More Doll and Baby Quilt Patterns    http://www.womenfolk.com/baby_quilts/

Both the doll and crib quilts I've designed for you are made up of a combination of six inch and two inch nine patches. If a child is making the doll quilt you might want to skip the small central nine patch. The crib quilt is simply an expansion of this with many more blocks especially the smaller nine patches. The blocks are still kept small in keeping with the fact that crib quilts during this period were miniature versions of full sized quilts.

I've used the bright greens, yellows and reds of this period for my little quilts. These cheerful colors were usually overprinted with small figures of contrasting colors. If you prefer a softer look there are wonderful pinks and blues available from this period. Imagine that you are making your nine patch doll or baby quilt during the middle decades of the nineteenth century. You will find the fabrics from this period to be surprisingly delightful.

Estimated yardage for the nine patch crib quilt.
For the doll quilt get a fat quarter of each fabric.

For the baby quilt you will want to use the following for rotary cutting.

for 3" blocks color 1) 80 squares color 2) 80 squares color 3) 20 center squares

for 6" blocks color 1) 36 squares color 2) 36 squares color 3) 9 center squares

To the right you will see the layout for the nine patch doll quilt along with the sizes you need to cut the squares. The measurements include the 1/4 inch seam allowance. The finished doll quilt will be about 15" square.
	To the left is the layout of nine-patch crib quilt. Use the measurements above given for the small and large blocks. They include the seam allowance. The finished crib quilt will be about 36" square.

The quilting on nine patch quilts was often simple as they were usually made for everyday use. In this case I've used diagonal lines for the baby quilt imagining it was quickly quilted by a busy mother or by a child. The diagonal grid is used for the crib quilt. It takes just a little more time to give it a nicer finish by sewing the diagonal lines in opposite directions.

quilting pattern for doll nine-patch quilt

quilting pattern for crib nine-patch quilt

Although many methods were used to bind nineteenth century quilts I've given these quilts a simple binding made by turning the backing fabric to the front. Nine patch quilts were often utilitarian quilts and this binding method was faster and more efficient in use of fabric. After quilting I cut the backing fabric 3/4 inch wider than the quilt then double folded it to the front. Ninteenth century quilters prided on narrow bindings so make yours about a quarter of an inch wide or even a little narrower