Single Irish Chain for a baby.
 

My cousin just had a baby I'm going to make this quilt for him. I was wondering on what size strips to cut for the 9 patch, I was thinking 1 1/2" but then, I was thinking it may be to overwhelming for the white squares, maybe 2" or 2 1/2"? What do you think?

Patti

I usually don't like to do squares smaller than 2 and 1/2 inches. I find 2 inch finished squares are fine to sew but smaller than that are too fiddley. There are certain patterns that call for smaller, like the Oh My Gosh pattern but I have no desire to do that one.:)

What you have to consider is the finished quilt size you want .... and how the Irish Chain will show. The larger the strips/squares, the fewer chains that will result. Also the width of the finished chain block will determine the width/length of your quilt, to get the repetitions of the pattern to be balanced in the fiinished quilt.

It would be time well spent to get out your graph paper, and sketch it out and see what size of strips/squares would work best and show the Irish Chain design.

I'm opposite to Tartan, and don't mind working with smaller strips. For a baby quilt, I'd probably aim for 1" or 1-1/2" finished squares ... but as I said, that's my personal preference. And there's nothing wrong with doing 2" or even larger ... if you like the looks of what will result.

I made a baby sized I.C. Using 2.5 inch strips and was happy with the outcome.