How to Make a 9-Patch Rail Fence Baby Quilt

This 9-Patch Rail Fence Baby Quilt Tutorial is so easy to make, and is great for using up scraps as those itty-bitty 9-patches are made up of 1” squares.  But don’t let the small size of the pieces scare you away from trying out this pattern tutorial!  You can definitely use teeny tiny scraps.  Or, you can make the 9-patches the way I did, through strip piecing for a quick and fairly easy baby quilt.

Given that the blocks finish at 9”, it would also be easy to extend this pattern by making extra blocks for a larger quilt, even as large as bed size.

This baby quilt uses two quilt building blocks, the 9-patch and the Rail Fence and combines them into one.  This quilt came about after I first made a baby quilt that combined half square triangles and the rail fence block and started wondering what other shapes I could use as the middle rail of the rail fence block.

And of course, I had some supervision and help with making my 9-patch rail fence baby quilt!

Supplies:

8 Strips 1½” by WOF from a Neutral Fabric (will be called “white” throughout the tutorial).

8 Strips 1½” by WOF from Assorted Colors

10 Strips 3½” by WOF from Assorted Colors

Sewing Directions:

Please note, my directions are going to list specific colors of strips, so that the writing matches the graphics.  You do not need to follow these exact color guidelines; I didn’t even follow these exact color guidelines.  I just wanted the directions to be as clear as possible, so I am listing specific colors, rather than saying “assorted colors” over and over again. 

As a small disclaimer, my finished quilt does not actually have any “white” fabric in the 9-patches either.  I used a combo of pink stripes on white and gold stars on white as my “white” fabric, but thought that was waaaaay too wordy to describe in the directions.  Any neutral fabric will work.  Any single color will work too, as long as it’s distinct from the other colors.

9-Patch Blocks

To make a 9-patch block, start by sewing a white 1½” strip to a blue 1½” strip, using a ¼” inch seam allowance, and press towards the blue strip.  Sew a second white 1½” strip to the other side of the blue strip, and again press towards the blue strip.

The strip set should measure 3½” wide by WOF.  If your strip set is wider or narrower than this – read through this troubleshooting guide – and go back to fix your seam allowance.

Repeat to make 4 strip sets.  Remember, these directions are for a 20 block, 4 by 5 layout, to make a baby quilt that finishes at 36” by 45”.  If you are making a larger quilt, you will need more strip sets so that you can make more blocks.

Sub cut 1½” units from the strip sets.  Cut 100 units total.

Sew a white 1½” strip to a pink 1½” strip and press towards the pink side.  Sew the other side of the white strip to a green 1½” strip and press towards the green strip.  The strip set should measure 3½” wide by WOF.  If your strip set is wider or narrower than this – read through this troubleshooting guide – and go back to fix your seam allowance.

Repeat to make 4 strip sets.

Sub cut 1½” units from the strip sets.  Cut 80 units total.

We need two different 9-Patches for this pattern

9-Patch A will have white squares in the center and the outside corners.

9-Patch B will have colored squares in the center and outside corners.

For both 9-Patch A and 9-Patch B, sew units together by pinning at all seams and sewing a ¼” seam.  Always press towards the piece with the most colored squares.   This will do three things:

1. It will cause you to sew in alternate directions, which will help the whole block to lie flat and smooth. 
2. It will help to prevent darker colors showing through white seam allowances in as many places as possible. 
3. It will make it easy for seams to nest together (for extra crisp points and corners) in future steps.

You should have 100 9-Patch A and 80 9-Patch B.  Every single 9-Patch should measure 3½” square.  If your 9-Patches are larger or smaller than 3½” square, now is the time to go back and fix them.  Having the wrong size now, even if it’s only a teeny, tiny bit wrong, is going to impact the blocks later.

Putting the 9-Patches together to make the center of the Rail Fence Block:

Take two of 9-Patch A and one of 9-Patch B.  Sew together with the As on the outer sides, and the B in the middle.  Orientation of each individual 9-Patch does not matter, rotate right or left to achieve best color placement among squares of assorted colors. 

All four outside corners should be white and the unit should measure 3½” by 9½”.

Repeat to make 20.  (Or more, as needed for your finished quilt size, you need one per block.)

Making 9-Patch Rail Fence Blocks

From each 3½” strip of Assorted Colors, cut four (4) rectangles 9½” by 3½” for a total of 40.

Pin every seam and sew a rectangle to each side of the 9-Patch Unit to make a 9-Patch Rail Fence Quilt Block. 

Repeat to make 20 blocks.

9-Patch Rail Fence Quilt Top

Lay out the 20 quilt blocks in a 4 by 5 pattern, rotating every other block 90* so that the strip of little squares lies horizontal in half of the blocks and vertical in the others.

This is what my blocks look like!

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Sew blocks into rows, and rows into the quilt top.  I recommend sewing blocks together with the horizontal block on top, and the vertical block on bottom, pinning every seam.

At least she waited until the quilt top was sewn together, rather than scattering blocks I was attempting to place…