This is not my cup of tea .. I've noticed a lot of rag quilts and bags members have made . Excuse me but I can't get past the rag part . Don't they come apart ? You know rags fray and come apart :shock: . Do you stay stitch around the squares ? { term from my clothes construction years }, before quilting . Annie

I am not positive on this but I think they are called rag quilts because you sew the seams on the outside front and then clip them so they do fray. They don't come apart beause of the sewing to connect the blocks , as long as you don't clip the seams when you clip the seam allowance(fabric) that is seen. Does that make sense ?

Ok . But in my experience even when stitched some fabrics will fray beyond the stitching . :thumbdown: Maybe fleece is better to use . Annie

I think that "rag" quilt is just a term. They fray like a raggeed unsewn edge. It just is a more "rustic" look, but as sturdy as any other quilt if sewn and clipped properly. :wink:

Thanks for the info . Annie

I was told to sew these with the narrowest ziz zag stitch that my machine will sew, to keep this from happening.

Tanks Amma . Annie

I make rag quilts all the time. Fleece, I find, will not fray very well and that is the whole purpose to give it arustic look. I find using a smaller stitch helps

I use a triple stretch stitch, nothing is moving that flannel!!

I just always use a regular straight stitch and never had a problem

I wonder also!

I have seen ones done in flannel, that stuff frays like mad dont it???
are there patterns/methods for cotton or a certain way to stitch it?

I have used flannel, cotton and homespun and never had any problem of them fraying past the seam line. I only sew one line of regular length stitching.
I make my sandwich...backing, batting and front fabric and stitch diagonally in both directions to hold the pieces together.

I have used all combinations of fabrics. Flannel & cotton, cotton & homespun, and some with the same type of fabric for front & back.

I'm making two right now--and have made many in the past--no troubles. Straight stitch. When snipping--stop before the seam and you'll be fine.

I think all of the forced fraying, tangles and interweaves the ends and helps stop further fraying, too.

I have made several also and use a stitch on my machine that does a double and never had problems.
They are so cozy. I took a class and made a raggy jacket pattern but only used reg stitching . I`m axious to wear as I`ve been waiting for black flannel at the quilt store for binding which finaly came in.
Gale
Will post picture under pictures

ANOTHER RAGG QUESTION:
Does anyone know of a source for calculating yardage needed for different sized ragg quilts> I know it differs depending on size of quilt, size of blocks & size of seam. There must be a chart somewhere?!?!?! but I can't find it.

There are actually a few patterns out there that would give you measurements. Take the size you want the quilt and squares to be and any LQS will be happy to figure it out for you. All of the rag quilts I have given out are loved ,washed,washed..... Since most are flannel, , they are so soft. I am doing one for a toddler now that my strips are the width of a 6 inch ruler and length of the fabric. They are fun and quick, just make sure to get the snip type scissors to save your hands. Have fun, jump in,oh yes, take it to the laundrymat for its first wash/drying, due to all the lint...

AnnaMarie, get a pad of 1/4 rule graph paper and chart your quilt out using the square to equal certain sizes. If you want 6 in finished block, 1 square on the paper would = 2 inches.
you don't have to be exact...draw lines down and across to represent your 6 in blocks. Then count the block you would need to make whatever size you want. Remember to add in the seam allowances.

I cut 7" squares to start--using a 1/2" seam they are 6" finished. I can make 10 quilted blocks--or 20 squares from one yard of flannel. I usually make scrapy ones, but recently needed to know how much fabric to get for two gifts, and I had no idea. So, I paid attention when cutting. Hope that gives you a starting place.

FREE Rag Quilting Basics Tutorial
http://www.sewpractical.com/store/Ws...t=FreePatterns

The only thing I don't like about making rag quilts is cutting the batting into squares. I have the die cut machine with rag die and I still have to cut the batting to fit. I wish batting companies would sell batting in several sizes of squares.

I turn my mat to the back side and cut my batting there. That way I don't get those fuzzies on my cutting surface. I use warn & natural and it isn't all that hard to cut. I use the wide bat, fold it into 4th and cut across the width I need and then subcut into squares. You can get a lot of squares in little time that way.

I usually buy the smallest size package batting, as many as I need so it's easier to handle. Me and king size batting is not a pretty sight. :lol:

I have made several rag quilts for my family and as gifts. I have never had one come undone. I like using flannel because the edges rag up so fluffy. I have used 100% cotton with flannel in between for the batting.

When I am short on money for batting, I bought a $4 blanket from Walmart and tused it for the batting. It was just as soft as the ones I used Warm and Natural on.

Another tip is about scissors. Heritage cutlery makes a pair of scissors just for rag quilting. They cut like a knife through warm butter and do not cause stress at all to your poor hands. I love mine.

My first quilts were rag using primitive colors. I sold them as table runners and throws. They were so much fun to make and people loved them. Now I'm quilting pieced patterns.

I am thinking of making some with 3 layers of flannel, no batting. It does not get that cold out here normally.

Your rag die didn't come with a batting die?? I only have the square die, but I have a batting die that matches it. I can't imagine making a rag quilt with a die cut machine. I think my fingers would fall off from cutting all that fringe!!!
Rose Hall

BellaBoo and Rose Hall - do you use the "GO" to cut your squares? Do you like it? Is there much waste of fabric when cutting with the dies? I've been looking at those for quite a while.

Hi! I have the Studio model because I cut fabric for people into custom kits. I cut rag squares for 10 cents each. I can't imagine doing a rag quilt any other way. Right now I only have the square that finishes to 6 1/2", but hope to add more as the need arises.

Rose Hall
Custom Quilt Kits

Amma, I just made my first rag quilt, for my 2 year old grandson, using 3 layers of flannel. It's plenty heavy! Two layers would probably be enough for a lightweight quilt.

I began with rag quilting, I normally used flannel for the middle, never any issues with anything coming apart- and now I find that they are much easier than regular quilts!

Thank you for the feed back on using 3 layers of flannel :D:D:D

I have made mine with cotton on top and then 2 layers of flannel

Thanks for everyone's help. Barb, I took your advice & figured out the yardage using graph paper - worked great.
Sooooooooooooooooo the fabric came today & guess what? Only 1 piece is flannel & the other is cotton. 10 yds of each!!!! OMG what a DOPE!

Do you think I can still do a rag quilt with one side flannel & one side cotton?

You sure can!!! I have seen many of these and they were really cute :D:D:D

Actually, if you are going to put a batting inside, I like one side flannel and other side cotton.
I had made a rag quilt which I combine flannels and cotton. I had matched the fabrics back and front. I ended up with way too many block, so use the left overs to make another quilt. I added a couple yrs of cotton, the separated the fabrics so I would have all cotton on one side and all flannel on the other. It is still a really warm quilt.