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Exploring Quilting Basics

Exploring Quilting Basics: The Five Patch Chain Quilt Block

July 28, 2021September 20, 2021 Post a comment

Hi friends!

This week in the Exploring the Basics blog series, I am chatting about a very basic quilt block: the Five Patch Chain Quilt Block!

Top US quilting blog and shop, Seams Like a Dream Quilt Designs, shares about the Five Patch Chain Quilt block!

This past month on Instagram, 7 other designers and I each explored the block and tried to reimagine it in a new way. Some of us went modern, some of us added curves and I added my favorite units- Half Square Triangles!

The Five Patch Chain Quilt Block

Let’s start with the basic block. 

Top US quilting blog and shop, Seams Like a Dream Quilt Designs, shares about the Five Patch Chain Quilt block!

The block is set in a 5 grid pattern and this version has squares and rectangles.

Chain blocks are very popular as then can really add interest to a quilt design- either as the main block in a quilt or as a secondary block to form a chain around the other blocks. I went searching my patterns to see if I had any with chain blocks; the blocks in my pattern Jelly Roll Jumble are chain style blocks.

My Variation

For my variation of the block, I started by making it all into squares. 

Top US quilting blog and shop, Seams Like a Dream Quilt Designs, shares about the Five Patch Chain Quilt block!

Next, I made some of the squares into HSTs.

Top US quilting blog and shop, Seams Like a Dream Quilt Designs, shares about the Five Patch Chain Quilt block!

I added more HST units and another background color.

Top US quilting blog and shop, Seams Like a Dream Quilt Designs, shares about the Five Patch Chain Quilt block!

I played with color just tweaking a bit from the stock color in EQ.

Top US quilting blog and shop, Seams Like a Dream Quilt Designs, shares about the Five Patch Chain Quilt block!

Quilt with One Block

Here is a quilt using the one reimagined Five Patch Chain quilt block.

Top US quilting blog and shop, Seams Like a Dream Quilt Designs, shares about the Five Patch Chain Quilt block!

Not my favorite. So I added alternating plain squares.

Top US quilting blog and shop, Seams Like a Dream Quilt Designs, shares about the Five Patch Chain Quilt block!

Adding a Second Five Patch Chain Quilt Block

I decided I needed 2 blocks.

And when the blocks were put together into a quilt, this is what they looked like!

Top US quilting blog and shop, Seams Like a Dream Quilt Designs, shares about the Five Patch Chain Quilt block!

I played with color and this was my plan for my quilt.

Picking Fabric

I added another challenge to this project; I decided I could only use fabrics in my stash and I wanted to use solids or tone on tones.

Hmmm… I didn’t have anything that matched my quilt plan so…

I ended up with these Toscana fabrics from Northcott that were leftover from other projects I had done.

Here is one block.

Top US quilting blog and shop, Seams Like a Dream Quilt Designs, shares about the Five Patch Chain Quilt block!

Here is the other block.

Top US quilting blog and shop, Seams Like a Dream Quilt Designs, shares about the Five Patch Chain Quilt block!

And here is what the quilt will look like when it is done!

Top US quilting blog and shop, Seams Like a Dream Quilt Designs, shares about the Five Patch Chain Quilt block!

I went away on vacation for 10 days this month so all the sewing did not get done! But it will be a charity quilt so it will get done when I have time!

What colors would you make this quilt in?

Next week, Tammy and I are back with the A Quilter’s Alphabet series and we will explore the letter W!

Top US quilting blog and shop, Seams Like a Dream Quilt Designs, shares about the Five Patch Chain Quilt block!

happy quilting!

Kate

2 block quiltchain blockdesigning unitsFive Patch Chain quilt block
About Kate

About Kate

Hi! I'm Kate Colleran, a designer who creates quilt patterns, fabric and surface designs. I lecture and teach about quilting. Welcome to my online home!

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