9 Patch Quilt: Little House on the Prairie-Inspired

Back in late April and into June Effervescent Ethel worked on a hand sewn quilt inspired by the Little House on the Prairie series of books that we are reading for homeschool. This box set is available used on the secondary market if you poke around enough on the Amazon site. You should be able to find a good deal: 


https://www.amazon.com/Little-House-Volumes-Set/dp/0064400409/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1472605779&sr=1-1&keywords=little+house+on+the+prairie

We visited our local quilt shop and were shown fabric reproduction prints from the American 1860s. Effervescent Ethel settled on shades of blue predominately and I helped her to finish the edges of the quilt with complementary seam binding. Please don't fret if the squares don't match up evenly. It is a reminder however, that basting the rows of squares together will help avoid shedding of tears later if the squares aren't even and someone (usually a parent) has inherited the task of seam ripping.


To sew the 9 Patch Quilt-Little House on the Prairie-Inspired, here's our shopping list:


-100% cotton quilt fabric (note for future reference: we are saving the leftover scrap fabric to make a Laura Ingalls'-inspired rag doll sometime this upcoming school year)
-cotton quilting thread (do not be tempted to use off brand, cheap thread)
-sewing scissors
-sewing needles
-square template
-sewing straight pins
-sewing marker, pencil or piece of (tailor's) chalk
-lining: scrap piece of lightweight cotton, batting or flannel; cotton muslin, lightweight flannel or similar
-seam binding
-seam ripper or similar, just in case (My mother was never a fan of seam rippers and I don't remember her reason. I haven't thought about her disdain for seam rippers in years until I wrote that last sentence.)
-time and patience, time and patience, time    and    patience!

From the desk of Cap'n Mad Ellen: Eighteen pieces of fabric in total were cut out to make a front and back.  


Tip #1: once placement of the fabric squares has been determined, take a picture with your cell phone to help you remember which piece goes where. If you don't have a cell phone with a camera (handy), use a pencil and lightly mark the reverse side of each square the correct placement, for ex: Row #1: left side, middle, right side; Row #2 row: left side, middle, right, etc.

Tip #2: for young and/or inexperienced sewers, it is helpful and highly recommended  to baste the fabric squares together. It also is a good idea to draw sewing lines to help guide in sewing the seams straight-or straighter. :)

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