Bell Street Quilt Pattern – A Beginner-Friendly Irish Chain Quilt

I’m so excited to introduce the Bell Street Quilt Pattern, the newest addition to my Classic Quilt Series.

Bell Street was inspired by the traditional Irish Chain quilt, one of the earliest and most recognizable quilt designs in American quilting history. Irish Chain quilts use simple patchwork to create a beautiful secondary chain pattern that flows across the quilt. I wanted to create a fresh take on this timeless design while keeping the piecing approachable for quilters of all skill levels.

The Bell Street Quilt Pattern was designed with 2½” precuts in mind, making it perfect for jelly rolls, fat eighths, fat quarters, or fabrics from your scrap stash. The pattern teaches an easy strip-piecing method for making nine-patch blocks, helping beginners achieve accurate results while making the quilt come together quickly.

It’s a versatile quilt you’ll enjoy making again and again, whether you’re sewing a thoughtful gift or creating a quilt to use in your own home.

What Makes the Bell Street Quilt Special?

The Bell Street Quilt Pattern is beginner friendly and designed to work with a wide variety of fabrics and precuts.

Every piece in the quilt—including the background—is cut from 2½” wide strips, making cutting simple and efficient.

The pattern includes six sizes:

• Baby – 40″ x 40″
• Lap – 50″ x 70″
• Large Throw – 70″ x 70″
• Twin – 70″ x 90″
• Queen – 90″ x 100″
• King – 110″ x 110″

Whether you love scrappy quilts, coordinated fabric collections, or timeless prints, Bell Street easily adapts to your personal style.

One of my favorite things about this design is how different each quilt looks simply by changing the fabrics. Because the piecing is balanced with plenty of background fabric, every collection creates a completely different personality.

Today I’m sharing several Bell Street quilts I’ve made to hopefully inspire your own version.

Bell Street – Honey Garden Version

One of the very first Bell Street quilts I made used Honey Garden by Juliana Tipton for Cloud9 Fabrics, and it’s still one of my favorites.

I fussy cut the tiny bees from the Bee-utiful print and paired them with the Dogwood floral in a soft coral for the Irish Chain blocks. This is the 50″ × 70″ lap-size quilt, made from a fat quarter bundle of the ten prints in the collection. For the background, I used Cloud9 Cirrus Solid in Ash.

I also shared a quilt binding tutorial using this quilt, where I walk through my favorite machine binding method step-by-step. If binding is something you struggle with, I think you’ll find it helpful.

Bell Street – Iris version

This version holds a special place in my heart.

I made it using Liberty Fabrics prints paired with a rose-colored background fabric from Art Gallery Fabrics. As I was writing the pattern and searching for the perfect name, this quilt brought the name Bell Street to mind.

I chose the fabrics in memory of my mom, Iris. The Irish Chain blocks feature a Liberty floral with irises, and while gathering inspiration, I found myself drawn to old family photos taken at our house on Bell Street.

I’m a child of the 70s, and ditsy florals, dried roses, and warm burgundy tones remind me of home. When I was little mom loved crafting. She dried flowers, and glued them onto her toll painted ceramics, and handmade fabric-covered picture frames. She shared her love of creativity with me, and working on this quilt brought back so many great memories.

This quilt was longarm quilted by my friend Pam on her Gammill, using the Playful Roses pantograph. I love how it turned out, it feels like a true heirloom piece that will stay in our family for years to come.

Bell Street – Patriotic Scrappy Version

I couldn’t resist making a patriotic Bell Street quilt from my scrap stash.

I started with a jelly roll of Lori Holt Bee Basics prints, pulled the red and blue fabrics, and mixed them with older favorites from my stash. For the background, I used a jelly roll of low-volume prints, giving the quilt a soft vintage feel while still letting the patriotic colors stand out.

This quilt is still waiting to be quilted, and I’ll share more photos once it’s finished.

Bell Street – Independence Day Version

To celebrate America’s 250th anniversary, I made another patriotic Bell Street quilt using the Independence Day jelly roll by Sweetwater for Moda Fabrics.

For the background, I chose Meadow in Vanilla, a subtle tone-on-tone print that keeps the quilt bright and classic. The blue striped fabric from the collection made the perfect binding to finish it off.

This version has a timeless Americana feel and is one I’ll enjoy displaying every summer

Which Bell Street Quilt Is Your Favorite?

One of the things I love most about the Bell Street Quilt Pattern is how much the quilt changes with different fabrics. Whether you choose florals, modern prints, scraps, or classic patriotic fabrics, the timeless Irish Chain design always shines through.

I hope these quilts inspire you to create your own Bell Street quilt. I can’t wait to see the fabrics you choose and the unique version you make.