SEW A DIY FABRIC CHECKERBOARD

This diy fabric checkerboard is actually a 3 in one game board. It is a fabric chessboard, checkerboard AND tic tac toe board all in one!

What you will need:

To sew your diy fabric checkerboard & Tic Tac Toe board you will need 6 fat quarters of coordinating fabrics.

The fabric I chose to use is this beautiful set of coordinating prints from Michael Miller Fabrics. It is from their Graydations basics set. This fabric was gifted to me from them and as soon as I saw it I wanted to turn their black and white prints into this fun checkerboard!

• 6 Fat Quarters (18″ by 22″)
• 12″ or 13″ Zipper
• Thin Batting
• Ribbon
• All Purpose Thread
• Sewing Supplies
• Checker Pieces
• Small Chess Pieces

All seams are sewn at a 1/4″ Seam Allowance unless otherwise noted.

DIY Fabric Checkerboard Youtube Tutorial:

Step 1: Fabric Checkerboard

Use Two Fat Quarters with prints that are contrasting (I will refer to them as white & black).

Cut 22″ by 2.5″ Strips – 4 white & 4 black

*Keep the scraps for our zipper pouch later on.*

Lay these strips in an every other pattern (B,W,B,W,B,W,B,W) and sew them all together.

Press the seams open.

Cut 8 – 2.5″ strips from the above sewn piece.

Flip the strips around so they lay creating the checkerboard pattern.

Sew all 8 strips together again.

This will finish at around 15 3/4″ by 15 3/4″

Step 2: Tic Tac Toe Board

Use One Fat Quarter with a print that is solid enough to see stitches on top of it. Try to avoid prints that are too busy.

Cut one piece at 15 3/4″ by 15 3/4″

Sew two horizontal lines (using a contrasting thread)and two vertical lines on this piece of fabric creating the tic tac toe game board.

For myself I tried to sew these lines so they looked scribbled on. To do this I sewed one line back and forth three times.

Step 3: Borders for Both Game Boards

Use Two more Fat Quarters to create the borders.

*Keep the scraps for the zipper pouch later on.*

Cut 4 strips at 22″ by 2.5″ from each Fat Quarter.

Sew one set around the diy fabric Checkerboard and another set around the diy fabric Tic Tac Toe board.

Step 4: Quilting the Checkerboard

Quilt the batting the the checkerboard together.

To do this, use quilting pins or 505 spray to hold the batting and fabric together.

Quilt this together in whatever pattern you prefer. I drew lines from points to points and quilted along these lines.

Trim around the outer edge to square it up.

Step 5: X’s & O’s

Use a Fat Quarter print that stands out against the tic tac toe back board.

Cut 10 – 4″ by 4″ Squares of batting

Cut 20 – 4″ by 4″ Squares from one Fat Quarter.

Place the batting between two pieces of fabric (rights sides facing out) to create the X’s & O’s.

Make 5 X’s and 5 O’s.

Creating the X’s:

Measure 1.5″ in from each corner and mark a line from one end to the other. This helps create a plus sign that will eventually look like an X. At the end point of each plus mark a 1/4″ line inwards.

Sew along the markings and then cut around them using pinking shears once again.

Creating the O’s:

Use a cup or other circular object to trace a circle on the fabric top. Sew around the traced marking and then cut around the outer edge using pinking shears.

Step 6: Zipper Pouch

Finally we get to use all those fabric pieces I asked you to save for the zipper pouch!

To sew this zipper pouch we will use a 1/2″ seam allowance, when not using a zipper foot to attach the zipper of course.

Cut all 4 rectangle scraps at 8″ by 16″ these will be used for the inner lining as well as the outer portion to your zipper pouch.

Add smaller scraps to both ends of the zipper to make it 16″ in length. This can best be seen in the youtube tutorial that was made to go alongside this free pattern.

Attach the zipper to the lining and outer fabrics.

When finishing the zipper pouch sew along the sides and across the bottom of the lining. BUT make sure to keep the outer fabric unsewn across the bottom.

Step 7: Piece it All Together!

Press all the pieces before laying it together.

Lay the checkerboard right side up then lay the zipper pouch along one edge and two sets of ribbons (20″ in length) along the opposite edge. Then lay the tic tac toe board right side down on top of that.

Pin all the way around before sewing a 1/2″ seam allowance around the entire thing, leaving a 4″ opening to turn the project right side out.

Clip the corners away before turning right side out.

Then press along the edge and sew a 1/4″ seam around the entire board one more time. This will close the opening as well as securing the ribbon and pouch in place.

Step 8: Play a game on your DIY Fabric Checkerboard!

Now it is time to play a game of checkers or tic tac toe on your DIY Fabric Checkerboard!

I do want to mention that the zipper pouch is large enough to fit all the X’s and O’s as well as a set of checkers AND a set of small chess pieces. Which is why I mention at the beginning of this tutorial that it really is a 3 in 1 fabric game board.