I recently made my Argyle Nine Patch baby quilt pattern, in a different color way, for a young man I’ve known for over 25 years. What fun it is to see a little boy you knew back in kindergarten grow up, get married and start a family – the circle of life and all that!
I really like the way the black and white sets off the red 9 patch blocks. I plan on doing a rainbow scrappy version next, and I think I’ll go with the black and white again then as well.
Argyle Nine Patch is a very beginner friendly pattern – you could teach yourself to make a first quilt with this one! If you’re new to quilting, consider using this one to dip your toes in!
I fussy cut a few squares as well – see the Little Red Riding Hood and Sock Monkey above. Wouldn’t these Nine Patches make a sweet I Spy quilt? If you have lots of cute novelty fabrics, you could fussy cut all kinds of patches and play I Spy as your little one grows up! Like “I spy with my little eye: Red Riding Hood!” Maybe while cuddling with a quilt during a thunderstorm or at bedtime? While passing the time on a long car ride?
I used black and white stripes for the binding. One of my favorite ways to bind a quilt is with stripes. Looks good cut on the grain or on the bias. This binding was cut with the grain, but cutting it on the bias would make a diagonal stripe like a barber pole. I did a simple all over paisley quilting design using my long arm, but since it’s a baby quilt, a domestic machine would be easy to use as well.
I always label my quilts with some sort of tag – this one is from Etsy. I don’t sew well by hand, so I prefer to sew small labels into the quilt as I apply the binding. Sometimes I use a Sharpie and write the year on the back of the tag. Labeling your quilts is so important – I often rescue old quilts from antique stores, and it makes me sad to know nothing about the maker or the date made. I also have many of my grandmother’s quilts – none with a label. But I know the history of these quilts because my mother remembers them all and can give me some background and rough estimate of when they were made. I have documented all the information my mother has shared with me, along with photos of each quilt, in book form – and had copies made for everyone in the family. Please consider labeling your quilts – your friends and family will thank you! And why not take some credit for your artistry and hard work? Don’t artists sign their paintings after all?
So, congratulations to my young friend and his growing family! I hope your new little one gets many hours of cuddle time with her new quilt!
Thanks for reading – happy quilting everyone!