Vintage Jenny | Disappearing Nine Patch

Quilters love a classic and there are few blocks more classic than a Disappearing Nine Patch! In this incredibly simple Vintage Jenny tutorial, Jenny Doan demonstrates how to stitch up this easy block using Charm Packs. First you’ll use your 5″ squares of precut quilting fabric to create a giant nine patch (which is just as simple as sewing nine squares together) and after that, you’ll use your ruler and rotary cutter to quarter your middle square. Flip those squares around and just like that, you’ve created a Disappearing Nine Patch!

Needing some more inspiration to create this beautiful block? While the Vintage Jenny tutorial fabrics are no longer in production (just like a classic quilt they’re a product of their time) check out our suggestions below for five current lines of fabric that make this quilt come together with ease!

Dewdrop Metallic Charm Pack by Whistler Studio for Windham Fabric. Get yours from Missouri Star Quilt Co today!

Dewdrop Metallic Charm Pack by Whistler Studios for Windham Fabrics

Play in the rain with this charm pack! These water-inspired fabrics feature flowing stripes and raindrops in a whole spectrum of colors dotted with metallic spots.

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Dream 5" Stackers by Kristy Lea for Riley Blake. Get yours from Missouri Star Quilt Co today!

Dream 5″ Stackers by Kristy Lea for Riley Blake

This collection features multicolored 5″ squares of rainbows, tonal dots, hearts, and more. Dream is a sweet and simple collection of fun circles made of hearts, rainbows, and tonal dots!

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Hidden Cottage 5" Stackers by Minki Kim for Riley Blake. Get yours from Missouri Star Quilt Co today!

Hidden Cottage 5″ Stackers by Minki Kim for Riley Blake

Get cooped up in the cottage with this charm pack! These floral fabrics are filled with warm, homey colors and patterns that will make any home feel like a cottage in the woods.

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Willow by Whistler Studios for Windham Fabrics. Get yours from Missouri Star Quilt Co today!

Willow by Whistler Studios for Windham Fabrics

This is a beautiful blue, cream, and linen white collection that will appeal to the traditional and modern quilter! Willow features classic florals and delicate foliage but also includes soft and subtle geometric prints, like chevron.

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Love Always, AM by Anna Maria Horner for FreeSpirit Fabrics. Get yours from Missouri Star Quilt Co today!

Love Always, AM by Anna Maria Horner for FreeSpirit Fabrics

Pen a love letter with this charm pack! These hand-picked fabrics are a love letter to sewing and quilting with vividly colored florals, geometric patterns, and more.

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A Brief and Incomplete History of Quilting

Fabric stored and organized for the purpose of quilting.

As we begin to celebrate National Quilting Month, it is important to look back upon our history and appreciate how the art of quilting has evolved throughout our past. Each of us has a special responsibility as a quilter (whether you realize it or not!); we are tasked with keeping an ancient art form alive and well and with every stitch of fabric, we’re sewing the threads of the craft’s future. Whether you learned how to quilt in the traditional way of having the skill passed down from previous generations, or if you’re just finding your way today in a new world of online innovation, you’re now bound within the fabric of your creations. Take some time to celebrate National Quilting Month today and learn a little more about the History of Quilting.

Quilting has a long and storied history stretching back as far as ancient Egypt, piecing together a timeline of humanity from which we draw our crafting skills. While the quilting we know and love today is worlds different from the functional quilting of our past, it still holds a unique place in our hearts and in our history. For generations we’ve warmed ourselves and our families beneath quilts. They’ve been there to protect us, remind us of our past, and comfort us in difficult times.

While it’s not possible to capture the complete history of quilting in one attempt (and we’re by no means experts on the subject!), this guide can serve as a very broad overview of our craft—a guide to remind you that with every stitch you create, you create a stitch within the fabric of time. Many cultures in our world have used quilting as a means to document their history, survive harsh environments, and bring comfort during times of strife. For generations, careful hands have passed down their gifts until they have finally reached us and it is now in our hands to continue the quilting journey. Looking back on our past may be important, but it’s the quilters of today that will keep our craft alive.

Early Beginnings

Pictorial Quilt, 1795. Linen, multicolored thread, 103 1/4 x 91 in. (262.3 x 231.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Dick S. Ramsay Fund, 41.285

Quilting can be traced back to many ancient civilizations within China, North Africa, and the Middle East. An ivory carving depicting the Pharaoh of the Egyptian First Dynasty wearing a quilted mantle, now housed in the British Museum, is recognized as the first known evidence of quilting. During these time periods, the concept of quilting wasn’t all that different than how we see it today. Many original quilted goods were created out of necessity. Many layers “sandwiched” together created a warmer, thicker product that was handy in many different uses. Clothing to both warm and protect the wearer (even to pad the armor of knights!) and bedding was made by quilting different layers of fabric together.

Medieval Europe offers some of the clearest glimpses into the early history of quilting. As with many creative processes, quilting was utilized as a method of storytelling as well as a functional necessity. As cinema has given us the opportunity to visualize a story, early quilts allowed the creator to embellish and decorate with stories from both written and oral traditions. Two of the earliest known decorative quilts are from the 14th century and both capture the legend of Tristan and Isolde. Quilts throughout history have been used and created as both functional vessels of warmth and beautiful works of art.

Quilting Comes to America

The Stars and Stripes quilt from the Missouri Star Quilt Company.

Practicality was key for early American settlers. In a new environment, isolated from the known world, quilts found their purpose in the form of warmth. Most of the early American quilts were not focused on aesthetics, but rather were created from the limited resources available. They used whatever materials they had on hand, recycling outgrown and damaged clothing (and at times, even other, older quilts!) into new quilts. These quilts were purely for functionality and keeping warm.

If protection from the elements wasn’t beneficial enough, quilting developed another function in early colonial America—social interaction. As we all know, quilting is no easy task. The laborious process is well-loved by many, but before modern revolutions such as pre-cut materials and sewing machines, quilts had to be made entirely by hand.

Pictorial Quilt, ca. 1840. Cotton, cotton thread, 85 1/2 x 67 3/4 in. (217.2 x 172.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mrs. Franklin Chace, Gavin Ashworth photograph

The quilting bee, a social gathering where women came together to socialize and quilt, was a way for many early settlers in America to not only continue working on their projects, but  interact with their community and have fun while sewing during the long process! For many, quilting was a relaxing activity and something to look forward to, especially when able to gather with their fellow quilters. These social gatherings, along with sewing at home, allowed the opportunity for quilting to be passed on as a generational skill. Mothers would teach daughters the basic stitches and then in turn, would pass those skills on to their children, creating a lifetime of heirloom quilts with nostalgic memories layered within the fabric. Quilting became a popular activity for major life events in which entire quilts were completed within a day due to limited time with neighbors whom early settlers might have only seen a few times a year. The Victoria and Albert museum states, “particularly in north America … there is a tradition of a quilt-making ‘bee’ for a girl about to get married, with the aim of stitching a whole quilt in one day”.

These gatherings and the first boom in quilt popularity gave birth to many of the vintage blocks that we still use and gain inspiration from today. Early American crafters, much like the earliest quilters, told stories with their projects by sewing the world around them. The pinwheel block utilizes motion, demonstrating the prairie winds of which they traveled. Star blocks captured the night sky and the importance of light in a vast, unexplored wilderness. These blocks have been passed down for centuries until they became the staples of quilting that we know and love today.

Modern Quilting

The Sunset Cabin quilt from ModBLOCK Volume 5.

Today, quilting is more accessible than it ever has been. We live in a world of pre-cut fabrics available at the press of a button and instructional videos that can be watched online from the convenience of our homes. Quilting isn’t entirely a necessity as it once was, we can instead use it as a creative outlet and pastime.

The world of quilting continues to change as the world we live in evolves. Modern quilting utilizing bold color designs and prints, once an impossibility due to limited technology and supplies, has brightened the artform in unimaginable ways. Geometric and fractal quilting are growing in popularity as a new generation of quilters piece their first works, many of which have learned their craft online rather than through the traditional in-person learning process. As the world changes, so does quilting. Regardless of what the quilts of tomorrow look like, we can remember where they came from and keep their memory alive within our patchwork. So pick up an old pattern today and try something new— replace the background with a bold, modern color or add some abstract designs into your block but remember that with every stitch, you’re continuing the timeline of quilt history.

Bow Tie Party Quilt

The Bow Tie Party Quilt from Missouri Star Quilt Co. Watch the free quilt tutorial today.

2020 is the year of staying home. It’s the year of sweatpants and old t-shirts and not knowing if I even own makeup anymore. There’s nowhere to go and no one to impress.

The Bow Tie Party Quilt from Missouri Star Quilt Co. Watch the free quilt tutorial today.

But sometimes I just want to feel fancy. I long for sequins and heels and sparkling diamond earrings. I want to see my husband in a well-tailored tux with patent leather shoes and a dapper bow tie. Is that too extreme for ANOTHER movie night at home? I think not! 

This week Jenny is whipping up a quick and easy Bow Tie Party quilt using precut jelly roll strips. These little bow tie blocks are so chic, you’ll be feelin’ fancy in no time!

The Bow Tie Party Quilt from Missouri Star Quilt Co. Watch the free quilt tutorial today.
Watch the Latest Tutorial from Missouri Star Quilt Co!

Tile Style Quilt

The Tile Style Quilt from Missouri Star Quilt Co. Watch the free quilt tutorial today.

Have you ever admired a stained-glass window and thought, “That’d make a great quilt block!” 

We quilters find inspiration everywhere we look! We see quilt blocks in the facets of sparkling diamonds. We see quilt blocks in patchwork fields of wheat and corn. And this week’s new quilt was inspired by…a tile floor!

The Tile Style Quilt from Missouri Star Quilt Co. Watch the free quilt tutorial today.

Click HERE to learn how to transform 2.5 inch strips of fabric into the fabulous Tile Style quilt!

The Tile Style Quilt from Missouri Star Quilt Co. Watch the free quilt tutorial today.
Watch the Latest Tutorial from Missouri Star Quilt Co!

Which Quilt Are You?

Feeling a little stuck creatively? No need to worry! Take our newest quiz by answering a series of incredibly simple questions and find out which quilt block reflects your personality! Once you figure out your personal quilt block, check out the FREE tutorial on YouTube to create a beautiful new quilt! Piece it together with your favorite fabrics and this is one project that will be a direct reflection of who you are!