I have seen patterns that suggested you could use homespuns to make rag quilts. I have lots of red/greens and was thinking about making a Christmas quilt. Has anyone used homespun for rag quilts, and if so, how do they fray? How much of a seam allowance do I need and how far apart do I need to moake my clips for them to fray nicely? Also, are they cozy enough to do without batting? I think a cotton batting might be too heave...any thoughts?

When I first learned about rag quilts (years and years ago) it was suggested to only use Homespun because it had a loose weave that would fray very well. Of course now everything is being used. I ended up making a rag quilt out of Jeans fabric and no batting. I would use batting with the Homespun though. I've seen some beautiful ones made out of Homespun.

I made one for my son and his wife. I just love the way it turned out. It ravels just great. You will love working with the homespun for a rag quilt. Oh, I used 1/2 inch seam allowance. I always use 1/2 inch allowance on all my rag quilts.

Homespun will be fine, like Chamby I stick to the 1/2 inch for all rag quilts. As VirtualBernie suggests I would use batting. I used batting for a large denim quilt, it was heavy, but my husband likes heavy coverings.

sometimes i think home spuns were made for raggy quilts! they turn out so wonderful. i too use 1/2" seams, as far as the clipping..i just put my snippers to work and snip, i don't worry too much about the distance between snips, somewhere between 1/4" & 1/2" probably...i figure, once it is washed it is not going to show if they are not perfectly even...they are going to fray enough.
if you don't want to use batting a layer of flannel works well for inside, adds to the raggy edges nicely too.

I hate to admit it, but what is homespun fabric?
I can give you a tip on not using batting. It is fine if you are typing it. I tried it on a quilt I made which was to be light-weight, like for a bedspread. I had it machine-quilted. She ran into trouble, and said if I did it again, I need to get the light-weight batting now on the market. It will machine-quilt much nicer. Neither of us thought of that when we were talking about it before her doing the work.
Mariah.

I really do not know how to explain what homespun is. It is very country looking and light weight. You just need to go to fabric store and look at it.

Good answer! I couldn't figure out how to describe it so I kept my 2 cents worth to myself :thumbup: :lol:

I use homespun on all my rag quilts. I make a 3/4" seam, and clip the seam allowance every 1/4". I use the warm and natural batting, but a flannel or other batting would work well. I personally would not like a homespun quilt without batting because the fabric gets soft and kind of "limp" after a couple of washings. For denim or other heavy fabrics, I would not use batting because the quilt would be too heavy. I always wash the homespun fabric before I make the quilt, because it shrinks and some of the colors will bleed. Someone asked what homespun is.......well, the best I can describe it is that it is a rustic, cotton plaid fabric with a loose weave. It never seems to be woven straight, possibly because it is said to be made with "uneven" yarns. Some quilters love the wonky weave of the plaid, because it gives the quilt "motion", while I struggle to get my plaid squares cut straight :) Most all homespun is made in other countries, as is most of our fabrics now, but as recently as a few years ago, there was still some homespun on the market that was made in the USA. It was more expensive, but a much straighter weave, and the colors were more lasting. I am not sure if it is still available. If you use homespun fabric, don't ever figure your yardage based on the width of the fabric because it shrinks after it is washed. I never figure homespun to be more than 40" in width after washing, and not even that much when you consider how crooked the weave is up close to the selvedge. All things considered, I love the look of homespun for the rag quilts.

I like homespun rag quilts, but I use osnaburg (my spelling may be off) as a batting. It is an unbleached looking loose weave muslin and it frays great for me.