Another Rag quilt question
 

Wondering if a Rag quilt with Homespun on the front and back/with warm & natural will hold up as well as flannel on one side. I have made them with cotton/flannel and homespun/flannel. Also wondering about the seams, should the stitches be shorter or double stitched when using the homespun?

I use a very short and extremely narrow zig zag stitch for the seams in rag quilts. It is quite a bit stronger and has more give.
Homespun is more open weaved, I don't know that it would hold up as well long term as a tighter woven fabric :) :) :)

The first 3 raggy quilts I made had homespun on the top, batting in the middle and flannel on the back. I gave one away and sold the other two. I've never made another one with the homespun; I decided it wouldn't hold up as well as cotton, thought I did like the look. Now, I normally use cotton on the top and flannel on the inside & back. These have really held up good.

Thanks for the hint about the narrow zigzag, I am going to try it on my next one!

I have used a very narrow zig-zag on materials with more stretch. I don't know if I would use the homespun on a heavily used quilt, but it would be a beautiful fabric choice.

Pat

my homespun raggy quilts have held up for 5 or 6 years now- they get softer/cozier each time they are washed-just like flannel
i've had no issues with them- i've made a number of homespuns quilts- raggy and regular pieced- guys love homespun quilts! all 3 of my brother's requested them after seeing my first one-
i usually double stitch my joining seams on raggy quilts-just because--the zigzag seems like a pretty good idea too- maybe i'll try that the next one. i generally double stitch so if one stitch happens to get clipped during the clipping process chances are the second seam will still hold- that way less chance of having any holes when it comes out of the washer the first time.
when i've had homespuns that seemed really thin i have backed them with muslin- but that hasn't happened very often-once in a while i will find one i really like and want to use but it is just thinner than the others- the muslin works beautifully-and when the quilt is finished there is no way to tell what squares may have that extra layer.

Thank you all for the replys. On the homespun I will give the tiny zig-sag a go. Great tip.
Also I do have a couple of thin homespuns that I thought maybe I should back them. Thank you for that tip as well. I do want to let you all know that I do have the little Fiskar spring sissors but still found them not so good for me, better than my sewing shears but still with my older hands not so good. So I remembered I had some garden shears that are Fiskers with a rounded tip and much larger so the grip is so much easier. I will scan them and show what I am using, maybe it will help someone else. I also found sitting and clipping was a tad more awkward for me. I put my quilt on the kitchen counter and drape the row I am cutting just so it hangs over a bit. So much easier and faster for me.

My second quilt was a homespun with warm and natural batting. 5 years and many washings it's still fantastic! it's my oldest sons quilt and I used 1/4 seams and hand quilted it. No issues!!

Nippers
 

Hope this works, my first photo.
These are the sissors that I use for doing rag quilts.