Free Mrs. Keller's Nine Patch Quilt Block Tutorial

Mrs. Keller is a variation of the beloved Nine Patch quilt block. This scrappy version is a stash buster for sure. The traditional design is made with just a light and a dark colored fabric but you could switch it up however you want. Let's get sewing!

Fabric Requirements for a 10" Finished Mrs. Keller's Nine Patch Quilt Block:

• Light/Ivory: 4 - 2.5" x 6.5" rectangles, 2 - 3" squares, and 5 - 2.5" squares
• Assorted Prints: 2 - 3" squares, and 12 - 2.5" squares

Sewing Directions:

Half Square Triangle Units:

Step 1:

Using the two Light/Ivory 3" squares and the two Assorted Prints 3" squares, sew together four Half Square Triangle (HST) units as shown in the picture below. Trim/square up the units to 2.5" square. You can find my tutorial for making a basic Half Square Triangle at https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/how-to-sew-a-basic-half-square-triangle-block

Nine Patch Unit:

Step 2:

Lay out the five Light/Ivory 2.5" squares and four Assorted Prints 2.5" squares as shown below.

Step 3:

Piece the squares into a typical Nine Patch block. You can find the tutorial for making a Nine Patch quilt block at https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/how-to-sew-a-basic-nine-patch-quilt-block

Rectangle Unit:

Step 4:

The Rectangle unit is constructed just like a Flying Geese block except that a longer rectangle is used. First you draw a diagonal line from corner to corner on the back of the remaining Assorted Prints 2.5" squares and sew them to each end of a Light/Ivory 2.5" x 6.5" rectangle (top image). Then match up the corners, press (2nd image), and trim the seam allowance (3rd image) to create the Rectangle unit (bottom image).

Putting It All Together:

Step 5:

Lay out the Half Square Triangle units, the Nine Patch unit, and the Rectangle units as shown in the picture below.

Step 6:

From here the block goes together like an uneven Nine Patch block. First you sew the units into three rows like in the picture below.

Step 7:

Press the seam allowances toward the Rectangle units as shown below.

Step 8:

Sew the three rows together as shown in the picture below and...

Step 9:

Press the seam allowances away from the center of the block. You're done!

Layout Options:

Here's just a plain layout 4 x 4 with scrappy purple blocks.

The same as the one above but with cornerstones and sashing added. What a difference!

Here's an example done with just a light and a dark.

So with two darks and a light, this is what it might look like:

Put that same quilt on point. It always amazes me how different an on point layout looks!

Conclusion:

I had fun making the Mrs. Keller's Nine Patch scrappy block. I'm always looking for scrappy designs to try and use up my scraps/stash! Other than the four intersections at the corners of the center Nine Patch being a bit bulky, the block was easy to sew together too.

Alternate Layout: I accidently laid out the units wrong at first - turned out to be a nice star pattern!

I hope you've enjoyed this Mrs. Keller's Nine Patch quilt block. If you liked this post and want to see more quilting tutorials like this, simply click here to sign up for my newsletter and also receive a free PDF quilt pattern called Chained Weathervane.

Happy Quilting!

Elaine

P.S. To print a PDF of this tutorial, check out the free app at https://www.printfriendly.com/. 

P.P.S. To figure out yardage for a quilt, check out this post: https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/how-much-fabric-do-i-need