Rag Quilt Question
 

I have made many using a 7 inch square that finishes up at 6 inches- my sister has done some that are 8 inches finish at 7- what is the biggest size you have used ? is there any reason not to go larger ? The reason I ask is I don't have a quilt or heavy blanket for my bed , bought some flannel today from Joanns and was hoping to make one quick :) LOL do you think a 12 inch block finish at 11 would work ?

You could certainly do a 12-inch block; however, you probably want to take into consideration the combined limiting factors of batting, distance between quilting lines, and the shrinkage characteristics of flannel. The usual X in the middle of the block might leave too large an area of unquilted sandwich, allowing the flannel to shrink disproportionately to the batting. In addition to the large X, I would quilt a box in the middle of each block to provide enough quilting for the larger expanses.

I agree with prism. Maybe an X and then a diagonal line through the x and a horizontal line. Sort of like a snowflake

I have been working on a rag quilt and added a sandwich border strip 7 1/2" wide and length of quilt. I stitched a long free motion design of loops lengthwise and some going across. I will rag the edges.

I agree...I have done a spiral before and that can look pretty good, but it does shrink up your block more than an X with extra lines would. Please, will you show us when you are done?

I made a rag quilt for my DD and used bigger blocks (cut 13" to finish 12"), layered up all of the blocks and did free motion in the main part of the block, then finished the quilt. It turned out so cute and really helped me improve my fm on my home machine. Also used the fusible batting and the lettering on my sewing machine to put her name and little saying on the blocks. It took a little while to do, but was such a fun project.

Yes you can!!!!

. Love your Santa avatar!

Block size is usually kept small so you don't have to quilt in the block.
Making larger blocks would require some quilting in the block.
Blocks are usually kept small to avoid quilting in the block because denim is very thick and
harder to quilt. Personally I think the smaller blocks 6/7 inches look the best.

rag quilts
 

I just finished two rag quilts (my firsts). DH cut me a 10 square out of a hard linoleum and a smaller one 8 1/2 for the thermolam I used. I was able to do a 49 block quilt in one day. But it does push you to get the clipping done. I did sew x's and tried to keep the stretch the same direction when piecing the blocks. Did straight stitch on the first and zig zag on the second when sewing together liked (zz) the best. On one tutorial I did read that your batting should be 1 3/4 inch smaller that your flannel square, but I got along okay with 1 1/2". Getting ready to make a lap quilt for my Mom. ps.-- DH bought me a long hose extension to fit to the drain hose and when ready to wash these 3 items will run the long hose out the door and down the driveway.

I want to tag on to the rag quilt question if I may. Is there any reason I couldn't piece the entire top together and make a regular sandwich without cutting up the batting and then quilt in the blocks with my long arm? Do you have to cut
the batting and do the sandwich?

well goulash. i wanted to put a photo of mine in here. can't find attachment. anyway i did one with corduroy and cotton squares. maybe 10 inches. i did large X's and did a swirl on the others. started in the center of those sqs and turned and turned them while sewing the swirl. worked well. then put together.

I did it. My first quilt. I didn't have the time, patience, inclination or talent to make it the traditional way. I made it out of flannel and flannel backing. It was a wonderful quilt. I hate the strings that come afterwards tho!!

Good idea to run the hose out the door or go to laundrymat. That way you don't get all the little thread in the drain.

I'm making a rag quilt for my DGS of super hero's. The cotton prints are real busy and I wanted him to see his hero's easily. So I made my block 16" X 18" blocks. I did do some quilting on them. So far it's working out pretty good. I'm almost done. Will let you know how it turns out. I think I will make 2 more for my other DGS'S. I do hate the lint.

found browse and added a pic of mine. I actually did large X's in all the squares and swirls over all of them.

This would no longer be a rag quilt. I think you need to start a separate post because longarming flannel is a completely different technique, especially because of the stretchiness of flannel. I would definitely recommend heavily starching the flannel before cutting the pieces for the top; starching stabilizes the flannel so it doesn't distort as you work with it. (This is not such a problem with a rag quilt because precision is not necessary.) Ordinarily I would also recommend heavily starching the backing before creating the quilt sandwich; however, this may not be a good idea if you are longarming. There is not reason why you can't create a traditionally sandwiched quilt out of flannel; however, there are special considerations if you are piecing flannel and longarming flannel.

Hi, I love rag quilts made with flannel. As suggested by others going with a bigger block will work if you do more quilting. I did a rag quilt for my oldest sun and quilted pictures of his favorite things in each block, after I first went around the perimeter. This can also be a time to use some of the decorative stitch's in your machine. Have fun with it and let your creativity lead you.

when i first took a quilt class it was a rag quilt and we made it 9 in to finish out at 8 in we used flannel and we didnt use batting it was plenty heavy i still have it although my dog put a few holes in it when she was a puppy. i planned to fix it but never got around to it or unburied my leftover squares but i will.
carla m