Can anyone tell me how to bind my flannel rag quilt? I'd like an "almost" traditional binding, only I'd like to be able to rag it like the rest of the quilt, not have it smooth. Thank you.

i used 2 1/2 inch flannel strips to bind mine. just like i do regular quilts.i'm not sure what you mean about binding it but not wanting it smooth. i would think you would just rag the edges of the blocks and leave it. not bind at all in other words.

I have only bound it "regular" using 2 1/2" binding. I think at nativetexan said, you can clip the edges. However I would probably stitch all around the edge of the quilt first to stabilize it.

I don't bind my rag quilts, just fray the edges of the blocks. I suppose you could bind it but that kind of defeats the purpose of a rag quilt.

I want it to look finished, and when I made my daughter's, I left the edges raw and clipped them, but I wasn't satisified with the look, I guess I want it to have a binding but also be able to fray it like the quilt.

Well, it is your quilt and since the quilt police probably dont have your address, bind it lol :)

Margie

No the quilt police probably don't, but my son-in-law (who the quilt is for) certainly does have my address. I truly want it to be a nice quilt as he asked me to make him a quilt after seeing the ones (not rag) that I made for my daughter and their children. Because he wanted a "soft" quilt, I thought a flannel rag quilt was the way to go. :roll: And if you happen to run into the quilt police, please don't tell them where I am :mrgreen:

I would just use one or two layers of flannel to bind the quilt, leaving the edges free to fray.

Here's how I would go about doing this. I'd cut maybe a 5-inch or 6-inch strip of flannel. I'd spray starch the inside and iron a fold into it. (The spray starch will sort of glue the layers together.) At this point you could cut the fold if you want, or else leave it and cut after the binding is on the quilt.

I'd fold this doubled layer of flannel strip in half and then unfold it, so the crease tells me where the center of it is.

Note: Adjust the size of the binding strips as needed. I would probably want to bind this kind of quilt with the sewing a half-inch from the edge. Add whatever length you want to that for the fraying effect.

Also, I'm assuming you want fraying on both sides of the quilt. If you just want the fraying on one side, I would lay the binding out flat and sew it on to the wrong side of the quilt through the center fold half-an-inch from the quilt edge. Then I would wrap the flannel to the top side of the quilt and topstitch through both layers, using the stitching from the wrong side as a guide for placing the topstitching. (This would be a good place to use a decorative stitch.) That would leave all the raw edges to be frayed on one side of the quilt.

At this point I would enclose the quilt edge with the binding (aligning the quilt edge with the fold in the binding) and sew it on from the top, perhaps using a decorative stitch. I would then cut the edges of the binding just as if they were exposed seams, so these edges would rag in the washer and dryer.

Instead of using a single layer of flannel folded, you could iron two different flannels together (or even three) to have a more varied color in the frayed binding edge. If doing this, I would spray starch the layers together before cutting. This would keep the layers together and also prevent them from stretching out of shape when you sew the binding on.

Sounds great, thank you sooo much :thumbup:

Wow, please post a picture of your flannel quilt so we can see it.

Karen

I'd love to post one if I can get my friend to show me how, not only am I a new quilter, I'm also an internet novice so I don't know things like cut, copy, paste, or attach

Instead of binding a rag quilt, you can add a border with the same layering as the quilt, stitch a half inch from the outside edge and clip to the stitching the same as the rest of the quilt. It will rag when washed the same as the rest of the quilt. Here is one I did for Christmas this year. They are fast and fun to do.

I do 2, 1/2 seams around the outside edge and rag it as well...

What a clever idea of the border, thanks for the picture...

You can also finish the edges with a chenille strip that will also rag. Cut the strips 1" wide and stack two of them together. Let 1/4" hang off the edge of the quilt and sew down the center of the strips. You can butt the strips together you do not have to sew them together like regular binding, the butted pieces won't show once they are washed. Clip both sides and once washed, you will have a nice edge. Using different colored fabrics for the binding strips give it a different look too :D:D:D

Pic looks great!

I agree.

Rag quilt binding
 

I just take my binding strips and from the back, align the Fold to the top and sew it on. Then bring the two raw edges around to the front. You can sew it down from the front or pin and. Stitch in the ditch from the back. Then you just clip like the rest of the quilt.

Hope that’s going to help . I love the way it looks.

When I make raggy quilts after construction I sew a double seam line all the way around the quilt about 3/4” in. Then I clip it , like all the blocks are clipped.