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.

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.
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.
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.