Fabric for Rag Quilts????
 

Hello! I've made rag quilts before using loose fabrics such as denim and flannels but I wonder if you could use regular cotton too? Will they rag out from washing eventually? I know I've seen rag quilts made from cotton fabrics but they rarely seem to rag out as we'd like so I'm asking all of you your opinions and/or experiences.

Thanks in advance. Also, I love looking at all the quilts on this sites. It gives me ideas for future quilts, colors to use together, etc.

Suz in Iowa

I used regular cotton for the one I made for my son and it ragged up fine after the first wash. Never made one from flannel yet so not sure what the comparison is.

I've made rag quilts from both cottons and flannels, and both work very well.

I have one made of cotton and it ragged fine.

I just started sewing in September and have made 10 rag quilts using nothing but cotton on the outside and a square of flannel on the inside. They have all "ragged" just fine - some might take at least two trips through the washing machine and dryer though.

John Flynn takes the practice quilts from shows, cuts them sews them back together, and makes "weed whacker" quilts. They're made with cotton fabric, I'm not sure about the batting.

i couldn't get his web site to load, but this link has a link to his tutorial on this.
http://fabricfolliestwo.com/2007/01/...uilt-tutorial/

I have made them only using flannel but a quilting friend of mine made one with denim for a boy. I have seen a sample in a LQS using something that was sandwiched between the front and the bottom that gave it a little more of that raggedy fringe look. Sorry, I don't remember what it was. Good Luck !!

an extra layer of muslin along with your regular cottons helps your (raggy-ness) a bit fuller- and if you clip fairly close (i clip about every 1/4" they rag quite nicely

Yep they work. I use flannel for the batting.

Have yet to make a rag quilt.