How To Make A Rag Quilt

comments (0) May 26th, 2010

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DebQuilts, member

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Finished Quilt

Photo: Debbie's pics

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Here is a list of things that you will need to do this quilt,

Fabrics
Self healing cutting mat
Rotary cutter
Sewing machine
A small piece of masking tape
Thread
Scissors
Ruler
Rag Quilt Snips (these are not required, but I highly recommend them)
Seam Ripper
Pins

If you plan to cut your fabric with scissors, you will need a template in the size of square that
you plan to use.
To begin you should decide upon the colors, fabrics and size of quilt that you want to make. I
have chosen a pink/white baby quilt in flannels and chenille. Chenille makes a HUGE mess,
but you can't get that softness from any comparable fabric.

I'm making a crib sized quilt. Mine should measure approx. 50" X 44" when completed.
I used 2-1/2 yards of fabric for each layer (top middle and back)
This totaled 7-1/2 yards of fabric (this estimate is exaggerated for mistakes)
I'm making a baby quilt, using 6-1/2" squares. I need to cut 72 squares for the top, 72 squares
for the middle and 72 squares for the back. Choose how you want your squares displayed in
the quilt. I decided that I want the front of my quilt to be all white, I want the back to be in a
pink and white patchwork, and the middle color I chose was white. I'm going to take a minute
and talk about color here. The 1st rag quilt that I made was in brown tones for my husband, I
had some really ugly pea-green flannel that I didn't want to go to waste, so I used it for the
middle (assuming that it wouldn't show up 'much'). That quilt is the warmest quilt in the
house, it's also the ugliest pea-green that you ever saw on the back!! This color shows up
throughout the entire back, so please keep this in mind when choosing your middle color.

After you have all of your fabrics cut. Stack them so that you can assemble the squares. I
like to make my quilt "sandwich" now. Take a piece of top fabric, middle fabric and bottom
fabric and place them together,,,pin them. I do this now, so I don't get confused as I'm
sewing. I also place them in the order that I want them in now, so I can just sew away once I
get started. It helps me to label each stack, row 1, row, 2, etc. I leave these labels on until
I'm finished assembling.

Start with a sewing machine that has a new needle and plenty of bobbins ready to go. You
will be using a 1/2" seam allowance for this quilt. I like to place a piece of masking tape on
the bed of my machine a guide for my 1/2" seam allowance. To do this, take a ruler and
place it just under the needle on your machine, bring the needle down just enough to touch
the ruler. Now, precisely at the 1/2" mark on your ruler, place a piece of masking tape on
your machine. Viola!! A home made seam guide.

Take row 1 of 'sandwich' (the 3 pieces of fabric that has the top, middle, and back fabrics)
squares and place them within easy reach. On each sandwich, sew an "X". This is the
"quilting" part of the rag quilt. This also will assure that your quilt will last for a long, long
time. : ) I do pin my squares so they don't shift while I'm "quilting". Remember to keep your
squares in order. After you have the first row "quilted", take your 1st 2 squares with the X on
them and place them front sides together. Use the masking tape seam guide as your
guide,,,sew them together. Remember that your seams are going to show on the 'rag' side of
your quilt. Finish sewing your first row of squares.
After you're finished the 1st row, take your snips or small scissors and snip about every 1/4" of
the exposed seam. I like to do this as I go, otherwise your hands get exhausted doing it all at
once. This is a messy job. You will have threads & little pieces of fabric all over the place.

Continue on to sew the next group of blocks together to form row 2. Once you have row 1 and 2, go ahead and sew them together. I like to pin my rows together making sure each seam matches before I sew them.
These seams will be thick! It helps to have one seam allowance to the left and one to the
right as they meet. You will notice that when you snip where you've sewn rows together that
you have to be very careful about sniping where the squares intersect. Do not snip into any
seam allowances or you'll have to resew. Ask me how I know!!

Once you have all of the rows sewn together and snipped, you sew a 1/2 seam all the way around
the quilt and then snip that. Then take the quilt outside and give it about 10 good shakes.
Keep your eyes closed when you do this. You will have a head full of thread!! Now the quilt
needs to be washed and dryed about 4-5 times. Shake the quilt every time you wash and dry
it. You will need to constantly clean your dryers link screen. It is going to build up. Some
people don't like doing this at home for fear of damaging their washer/dryer. I have used
mine for this purpose many times, but you never know. Make sure you make a label for your
quilt! You just created a piece of art & every artist signs their work! I'm looking forward to
seeing your quilt, so please post pictures!! : )