A nine patch is the block most quilters meet first. Cutting nine separate squares for every one of them is the slow way to do it. Susan Claire's tutorial takes two fat quarters, cuts them into 2 1/2 inch strips, and builds the blocks from strip sets instead.
The block measures 6 1/2 inches unfinished and finishes at 6 inches. Two fabrics, one light and one dark, so the checkerboard reads clearly from across the room.
The tutorial has been on Gourmet Quilter for years and is still the one people are sent to, which tells you something about the method. The strip set is worth learning early because it applies far beyond the nine patch, and it quietly removes dozens of chances to cut a square slightly wrong.
The cutting chart in nine sizes, and the arithmetic behind the strip set, are in our guide to the nine patch quilt block.
If this is your first block and you want the whole path written out, from choosing fabric through to binding the finished edge, we wrote it: how to make a quilt, a complete step by step guide for beginners.
Credit where it belongs: the tutorial is by Susan Claire, on the Gourmet Quilter YouTube channel.
