Learn How to Make A Rag Quilt

Doesn’t this quilt just make you want to curl up and take a nap in it?  OR…perfect lap quilt or gorgeous new baby quilt. This super soft quilt is great for the beginning quilter.  A rag quilt goes together quickly…. They also make great gifts and are beautiful and functional as a decorative throw.

My daughter and I have made several rag quilts together recently. They are fairly simple to make and you do not need to have much sewing experience or knowledge to make one. You only use a straight stitch and sew straight lines for the project.

You will need to choose your top fabric, for my quilt.  I used bright colors for my quilt. You will also need a middle layer and a backing layer. All three layers will show on top as the ragged or frayed edges. I like to use cotton woven prints on top and flannel for the inner and back layers. Flannel is soft and cozy plus it frays really well.

To figure up your yardage of fabric you need to decide what size quilt you want to make and how many fabrics you will use. I like to draw a sketch of my quilt to give me a visual reference. Remember that each quilt block will be 1″ smaller when finished because you will be using a 1/2″ seam allowance.

How to Make A Rag Quilt – Tutorial

Things you will need:

• Sewing machine
• Complimenting fabrics
• Matching thread
• Scissors or rotary cutter and mat
• Sewing pins
• Iron
• Ragging scissors are very helpful as well

Begin by pre-washing all of your fabrics. You’ll typically be using 100% cotton fabric that will shrink. It can also bleed. I wash everything of like colors on warm with color catching sheets in the wash. I then dry them on high heat in the dryer. After they come out of the dryer I iron each piece . Now we are ready to cut out our individual blocks.

You will need to cut your top, middle, and bottom blocks before you can sew. Once they are all cut out I like to lay my quilt out on the floor to be sure the pattern works. You will want to have the layers all together at this point.

What this step by step video to see how she completes this simple project!