Can't help with the math but I am liking your fabrics.

Theresa

Thank you! It's designed by Sue Daley, and is named 'Beaujolais.'

It was a splurge with no regrets. :-)

Pretty fabric!

How large do you plan to make your 9 patches? If they are, say, 12" blocks, each square would be cut at 3-1/2" (3" finished plus 1/4" seam allowance). Fat quarters are 12 x 18 (or supposed to be LOL), so you can get ten 3-1/2" squares out of a FQ. Ten squares will make two 9 patches if they are 5 color and 4 solid.

Hope this helps!

Donna

Donna, check your math. I've never made an irish chain quilt, so know nothing about the construction, but made a disappearing 9 patch. If the blocks are, indeed, 9 patches, then a 3 1/2 inch square would make a 9" - 9 patch. You would need 4 1/2 inch squares to come out with a finished 12" block.

Or, at least, I think so (I'm not a seasoned quilter).

bkay

Yes, bkay, you're right! Not enough coffee when I wrote that. :) You'd need 4-1/2" squares to make a 12" finished 9 patch block.

Donna

If you use the 18" block pattern from Quilters Cache, you'd need two strips 2-1/2" wide for each block for a total of 30" length (not counting your background). Fat quarter is 18" x 22" generally. So you could get at least three blocks per fat quarter. You have plenty.

I did a Google search and found a site that said for a king single irish chain with a 13 1/2 in block, you need 9 1/2 yds background and 3 1/8 yd of print. My math says with 30 FQ you have 7 yds of print.

Theresa

Let's say you are doing 12" 9-patches, you need 5 colored 4.5" squares per 9-patch(traditional single Irish chain). You get 16 4.5" squares from one FQ, one FQ gives you 3 blocks. King size quilt is about 108" X 96". Assuming no borders, you will need 9X8 = 72 blocks. About half - 36 will be 9-patches, others are background. You should be able to make a king-size Irish chain with about 12 FQ. You may need a bit more if your blocks are smaller.

Hope this helps!

Hi, I can do this math for you ...I make lot's of Irish chains, I love them. Given it's only a single Irish Chain, you won't need as much chain fabric as you might need for a normal 9-block. I can't get to it until this weekend though, if that's not too late.

Y'all are so wonderful! Thank you for all the replies and advice!

Sharon - I'm in no hurry. At your leisure, and thanks for offering.

I honestly hadn't thought about the size of the squares. I'm basing this off of one I saw, and thinking it was at least 2" squares when finished. I can follow most patterns, but am not confident enough as a quilter to go it alone. Though I'm usually okay at math, I simply can't wrap my head around this one. Sigh. Thanks again, Houzz Quilters! Y'all are the best!