I absolutely love doing these! They are so easy and they do not need to be perfect. This is a great beginner’s project.
For a baby rag quilt you will need:(for this project I have used 1 yard of each color).
If you want to use batting you will need about one yard.
You can use flannel or any domestic fabric.
You can use old flannel shirts, dresses, sheets…anything!
Choose any amount of colors you’d like, you can even just use one color!
Do not pre-wash.
Fold the fabric in half, holding salvage ends to the top, then fold again.
Cut every 8 inches.
Take each 8 inch strip just cut, and cut again into 8 inch squares.
I know I have 2 different fabrics showing,
but you will do this with all of your fabric.
Quilting rulers and a rotary cutter make this very easy and fast,
but you can do it with a ruler and scissors too.
If you choose to use batting, any type of batting will work.
This is another good reason to save your scraps, even of batting.
Cut your batting into 6″ squares.
Place the batting in the center of an 8″ square,
with right side of flannel square being face down.
Place another 8″ square on top of the batting,
like a sandwich.
If using more than one color,
you will need to figure out before hand
which colors you want to back which color.
Because this is for a baby I chose not to use batting.
Using straight pins, place one pin on two opposite sides of your square.
Pin though both pieces of the 8″ squares.
Using a ruler and an erasable marker,
draw a diagonal line from corner to corner.
Then draw another line in the opposite corners to make an X.
You can skip these two steps if you think you can ‘eye’ sewing
a straight line to make your X.
Sew a straight line on each of your marks to make an X.
You can use a straight stitch, a zigzag or
any decorative stitch you’d like.
You may use thread that blends in well or one that really stands out.
After all your X’s are sewn in (this is your actual quilting),
you need to lay your squares out and see how you want to put them together.
I chose to alternate squares to give this a patchwork look.
Take your first 2 squares and
using a 1/2 inch seam, sew a straight stitch.
You will want to
make sure your seams are facing up toward you
(opposite of any other type of sewing you do).
DO NOT PRESS.
After you sew your rows together,
you will go through and sew your columns together.
Remember to keep your seams facing upward.
After all of the squares are together,sew a straight stitch all the way around your whole quilt.
Use your scissors to clip about 3/4 of the way down on all of the seams,
including the outside seams.
You need to make your clips about 1/4″ apart.
If you clip too far apart, it will not ‘fray’ well.
Be careful not to cut into your seams.
This is what the back side of your quilt should look like.
After all of your seams are clipped,
run the quilt through the rinse cycle and then dry it.
This is what gives it the ragged look.
Be sure to clean your lint trap after doing this,
it will be full!
If you do a rag quilt larger than a baby quilt
you may want to take it to the laundry mat to wash and dry for the first time.
I can’t wait to try this!
WASH THESE AT THE LAUNDROMAT the first time!! I have friends who have created huge repair bills for themselves by clogging up their washers with these things. It’s worth the hour or so at the laundromat, and the few dollars to wash there, to keep your home washer/dryer from needing repairs.
Some of my friends have used 3 layers of flannel. They say the cheap flannels “shag” better… good news for us, right?! If you have flannel scraps, these look cute with the “scrappy” look. If you have an embroidery machine, you could put designs on some of the flannel squares before you sew them together. You could get really fancy and make a simple design on the back with various colors of flannel.
Yes, Elizabeth, as I stated in the tutorial the first washing needs to be done at the laundry mat. I have washed several baby size (24×24″) in my machine at home with no problems. Anything larger needs a big, strong machine, and dryer!
True, the chap fabric makes GREAT rags! ;o)
Not sure how to do the outer edges of the quilt. Are they frayed too?
Yes, sew a 1/2″ seam all the way around and snip it like you do the rest of the blocks.
[...] also wanted to learn how to do some quilting, so we made a rag quilt for her new great niece. Rag quilts are the perfect beginner project, she was able to finish it in one [...]
Awesome:) I saw this idea in a magazine and their directions were not very clear;).
May inspire me to get out the sewing machine;)
[...] Here is my Rag Quilt Tutorial. [...]
[...] is my free Rag Quilt Tutorial. Learn How to Make a Patchwork [...]
[...] Here is the tutorial for a baby rag quilt. [...]
[...] came across this lovely tutorial via a tutorial blog. That tutorial made quilting really accessible. Essentially, you cut out [...]
[...] 15, 2011 We had a great Domestic Class Tuesday when we did rag quilting. Here is one of the students with her bright and happy rag quilt. All she had to do was the [...]