The Whimsical. A DIY Disappearing 9 Square Baby Quilt.

You will need

• Fabric- You will need 10 different patterns/colors ( you can choose whatever colors and patterns you want). One for the backing and 9 for the front of the quilt. You can choose to buy an 11th color in 1/2 yard for a binding or use the colors you already have to make a binding. 

1. Backing-1 yard. *** I had to trim the front of my quilt down a little to be the same size as the backing. Its the width that didn't match up quite the same. So buying a little extra in width won't make much of a difference. 
2. Front- 1/2 yard of each color ***You could get away with buying 1/4 yard of each color, but if you make a mistake ( like I did when I was going through the motions) you'll be wishing you had a little bit more fabric. Also if you buy 1/2 yard of each you will have enough of whichever colors you want to make your binding. 
3. Batting- 1 yard ***I bought the pre-washed batting from Jo-annes in king size. That way I am able to use this binding for multiple projects 

• Sewing Machine - I have a Janome DC1050 which is a basic sewing machine, so you don't need anything fancy to make a quilt.
• Walking Foot- I didn't use one, but they suggest it for making quilts.
• Thread- I used white, pink, and a blue to match the backing
• Iron 
• Ironing Board 
• Scissors 
• Rotary Cutter 
• Fabric Cutting Mat

*Note: sew all fabric together with a 1/4" seam 

If you want to use the fabric I chose:

Backing(1yard): Keepsake Calico Fabric-Bird Cage

Front(1/2 yard each): Keepsake Calico Fabric-Large dots on black 

           Keepsake Calico Fabric-on seafoam 

           Keepsake Calico Fabric-Bed and Breakfast Floral 

           Keepsake Calico Fabric- Crosshatch Pink

           Quilters Showcase Fabric-Damask Gray Tonal 

           Quilters Showcase Fabric-Damask Aqua and White 

           Quilters Showcase Fabric- Scroll Pink and White 

           Country Classic Cotton Quilt Fabric Solid-White

           Country Classic Cotton Quilt Fabric Solid-Gray

Batting(1yard): Warm and Natural-King Size http://www.joann.com/warm-and-natural-king-size/12378360.html

Binding: I used the Solid Gray and Crosshatch Pink after I cut out the front squares

Cutting Fabric 

I got the idea to do the disappearing 9 patch from here.

Cut 3 (4.5"x18") strips or 4 (4.5"x13.5"). 

I chose to do 4 (4.5"x13.5") because a half cut yard is 18" in length. So if you do it right you should be able to get all 4 strips out of the 18" side.

Then cut your strips into 4.5"x4.5" squares. Which will end up giving you 12 (4.5"x4.5") squares of each color. 

Next put your 4.5"x4.5" squares 3x3 like this picture. You can lay them out in so many different ways. Thats what makes this quilt so fun! The versatility!

Sewing Fabric Together 

Then sew three together into three rows. 

Followed by sewing those three rows together making it a large 3 square by 3 square. 

When I first saw how to make a disappearing nine square it said to make it 12.5"x12.5" by squaring it up. I chose to make mine 12"x12" though. So that I would have 6" squares to work with.

***Make sure that every time you sew your fabric together that you press your seam open with an ironing board. 

One you have them all sewn together into one square, cut it down the middle length wise and width wise. 

It helps if you have a 6"wide ruler because then you can line it up with the edge and cut straight down the middle without fussing too much with it. 

Then it will leave you with 4 (6"x6") small squares. 

You can lay them out SOOO many different ways. These are just some examples of ways you can lay them together. There are so many different combinations. So have fun! I chose the top left.

Sew your 6"x6" squares together into a 2 square x 2 square larger square.

Followed by sewing 3 of those squares into a long strip. 

Then sew those 4 strips all together. 

***Remember to Press those seams open with your Iron every time you sew. 

This will give you a quilt top that is 6 (6"x6") squares by 8 (6"x6") squares. 

Stitching in the ditch

Now lay your backing face down on your working area.  Followed by your batting. Then lay the front of your quilt facing up.

 Pin it all together with saftey pins so it doesn't move around on you. Then stitch in the ditch along the rows. 

I sewed down inbetween my 6 rows, and then inbetween my 8 rows the other way. I didn't worry about sewing the little lines in each of the 6"x6" squares. 

Here  is a video on how to stitch in the ditch.

Binding your quilt 

Next you are going to make the binding. 

I watched this tutorial when I was making my first quilt.

Click here to watch that tutorial. 

She shows some great tips on how to do the binding. I don't follow exactly how she does it at the end, because I machine bind the entire thing. 

Cut 11 (2.5"x18") strips. Then sew them together like I show in the pictures below. The bottom strip will be face up and the top strip will be face down. She shows it very well in the video.

Sew the strips (seen in the picture on the right) simultaneously. So the fabric that was face down, will now be the fabric that is face up when you sew your next strip together.

Then they will look like this. That way you use less thread. 

Then cut the thread that is binding them and lay it out flat. 

***Again remember to press your seams open flat with your Iron 

Then fold your binding in half and press it with your iron.

For attaching the binding I do it a little bit differently than the video I put the link for previously.

Here is a video on how to machine bind your quilt. 

Click here for that video. 

Instead of sewing your binding onto the front, you sew it on to the back. Make sure it is lined up with the edge. I use a pink bobbin thread so that its an easy line to follow on the other side. 

Pull the binding around to the front and line it up with the thread line. I used a decorative zig zag stitch for this. 

When you line it up with the pink line ( or whatever color you choose) it should show up on the edge on the front and back. 

Then your front is securely stitched on, and you don't have lines all over the place on the back of your fabric. 

Tada you are DONE!!! Great Job! I knew you could do it. 

Chevron Neapolitan Baby Quilt

DIY Chevron Baby Quilt with Machine Sewn Binding!

FREE PATTERN

This quilt was inspired from a pinterest picture. I did not go to the website or follow her instructions. If you would like to see her way to do this quilt, click here to go to her blog. My blog will go through the whole process and will also show you how to add your binding to your quilt with your sewing machine.

There will be links you can go to that I will add in, that will give you further information on how to do a certain step in the quilt. 

I have attached my legend so that you can have a visual of how it goes together. You can use any colors you wish. 

To make the Chevron Neapolotan Baby Quilt you will need...

***This is based off of your yard width being 45". Fabric widths are not made equal. Some can be between 45" to 60" width. So when you find the fabric you like, see how wide it is and you can adjust how much fabric you want to buy. It never hurts to have more than you need however, what stinks is when you have just under the amount you need. So don't worry about having a little extra. 

• Sewing Machine- Mine is the Janome DC1050
• Walking foot- I did not use one, but when making a quilt most people suggest it
• Iron
• Ironing Board 
• Water Spray Bottle 
• Fabric Rotary Cutter
• Fabric Cutting Mat 
• Fabric Ruler 6"x24"- They sell them lots of places, Joanne's Fabric, Walmart, Amazon, Quilt Specialty Stores etc
• Thread- I used a light blue for my finishing stitch on top, and a dark pink for my bobbin, I used white for my basic sewing together.
• Fabric  

1. Tan and Brown = 12 (6"x6") squares each, buy 1/2yard (18"x45") of each color 
2. White, Blue, Coral, Pink = 6 (6"x6") squares each, buy 1/4 yard (9"x45") of each color
3. Backing = 1 yard ***I used the same pink for my backing, but you can choose a different color, I was just using up colors I already had sitting around
4. Batting = 1 yard, I used this prewashed batting that I had left over from another project
5. Binding = 4 (4"x45") strips, 1/2 yard *** you can do your binding the regular width of 2.5" I just wanted to try something different. I like the look of a binding and I feel like sometimes 2.5" comes out too small for my liking. You can do what is to your liking. 

Making Your Squares 

This is where the 6"x24" fabric ruler comes in handy . I am sure there are different brands, but I use the omnigrid one. It's already 6" wide so it helps to make perfectly squared up 6"x6" squares. 

I just cut out a 6"x 45" strip (or however wide your fabric is). Lay your ruler parallel with the edge of the "width" (45" long) end of the fabric to do this. Then once you have your strip, take the end of the ruler and line it up vertical to your 45" strip. Then you will get awesome 6" squares! You will get around 7 squares from each strip. 

Making your Isosceles Right Triangles 

When you have all of your squares cut, use the 45 degree angle marking that is on your fabric cutting mat. You want to line it up as perfect as you can so that you can get sharp edges.

Making Your New Squares 

Then use the legend that I provided to know which colors get sewn together. 

You want to sew your isosceles right triangles at 1/4" of an inch. That's right! You are doing math! I guess I was wrong, trigonometry does come in handy after all. For mine I used the edge of my presser foot as a guide. I was told that it is 1/4" of an inch but I think it could be a tiny bit bigger. 

What matters the most is that you make every single one the exact same.

TAKE YOUR TIME!!! You want your points to be sharp.

When you have your isosceles right triangles all sewn together making a square, press the seam flat with your iron, like this. 

You will have little edges that you cut off (I forgot to take a picture but I'm sure you will understand) so that it is all lined up. 

Making your Rows 

I like to lay my fabric out a few rows at a time. That way I don't make a mistake and sew the wrong angle or pieces together. Refer to the legend to lay them out correctly.

Then I take one square at a time and sew it to the row. Double Check and triple check your angles are facing the right direction. 

Complete one row at a time. Then press the seams flat.

This is what your edges should look like, nice sharp points! 

Finishing the Front 

When your rows are all done, sew each row together, adding one at a time. Then press those seams flat.

Again double check that you are sewing all the angles in the right direction and to the right color. 

Then iron the front out to make it lay as flat as possible. 

Now lay the 1 yard of backing fabric ( I used the dark pink) facing down on the table or work area. (The back of the fabric should be facing up)

Next lay the 1 yard of batting on to the backing fabric.

Then lay the front of your quilt facing up, and safety pin your quilt sandwich together so it doesn't move around. 

Instead of stitching in the ditch, I wanted my chevron pattern to stand out. I picked the zigzag stitch on my machine and set it to 1.0 and 1.0. You can change this to make the zigzag further apart if you wish. The best way to know what it will look like is to test it out on a scrap piece of fabric. 

To do this, sew along the lines where your colors meet. 

***I did not stitch in the ditch or sew anywhere else. This is because I wanted my chevron lines to be the most prominent. 

Making The Binding

To make the binding you are going to cut 4 (4"x 45" strips). 

So basically you will cut the width of your fabric 4 times at 4" wide.

Then you want to lay your fabric strips right sides together like this and sew a line right where my pink thread is. 

I really enjoy this ladies video of how to make a binding. She shows the entire process, but I will be showing you how to sew your binding on a little bit differently. 

Go here to watch the video of how to make a binding. 

Next cut the extra fabric off. It doesn't matter if that line is perfectly straight as long as you sewed it straight.

Then open up the binding and iron the seams. 

Your lines should match up. If they don't match up perfect don't stress too much. You will be folding this in half, and those lines will be sewn to the back side of your fabric and folded over, so you won't see them. Try your hardest to get it as close as possible though. 

Then fold your binding in half and iron it one more time. I like to spray mine with water because it makes the fold sit flatter.

Attaching The Binding 

 To attach the binding with my machine I watched two youtube videos to give me an idea of how to do it. To watch these videos click 

here 

and 

here

I first sewed my binding on to the back of my quilt. This might be a little tricky to line up with the front of your quilt if you want to make your binding fat. 

The way I did it, was I ironed my backing fabric folded under the front of the fabric so that it made a nice line for me to sew on. You could also use chalk or find your own creative way to show you where your front edge is. 

If this seems to complicated and you would rather a flat binding cut the back of your fabric and the batting so that they match/line up with the front.

If you have never done binding before, this video here will show you how to do your corners (keep in mind she will be showing you the version that is sewn to the front and needs to be hand sewn to the back)

***Use a thread that will stand out so that you can see it to follow along, on the front side. 

Now fold the binding over to the front.

See that pink thread I was talking about? Line the binding fabric up with it and start to sew your decorative stitch. I chose the zigzag to keep with the theme. 

You will want to take a scrap piece of fabric and test out which one you want and how long and wide you want it. 

It may take a little practice, I know it will take me some time to get it just right. 

If you did it correctly your decorative stitch should line up with the back. If it doesn't, undo the stitch and learn from your mistake. Notice in the previous picture those tiny holes? Thats because I made a mistake and undid the stitch and just tried again. 

Don't be hard on yourself, and just try again if you make a mistake. Thats how you learn.

The speed at which you show and how fast you feed your fabric through will alter how your stitch looks. So keep it consistent. 

GUESS WHAT!?!??!

YOU ARE DONE!!! Congratulations!!!

***Update: Isn't it so cute in its new home!?!?