judykay

How far a part do you cut to make your quilts rag nicely. I have made a few and love doing them but they don't seem to rag nicely. Am thinking maybe they are not cut close enough and am thinking of trying to cut them again but not sure if it will work as the quilt has been washed many times. The seams just seem to lay flat. Any suggestions?

sewnclog

I have made 2 with flannel; one is ages old and my daughter has requested a 'spring' themed one. It was hard to find any floral flannel when I was looking. Homespun frays beautifully but I don't care for the drab colors they offer. Years ago they had some nice colors; yellow; reds, blues, pretty greens but don't remember the brand name but made a jacket with it; was really nice. I wish I could find some pretty homespun again to make another one. Wish they'd make them in more spring type colors; even some pretty florals would be nice.

SusieQOH

I made several out of flannel a couple of Christmases ago. Everyone loved them but I'm tired of making them now!

suern3

My cuts are about a quarter inch apart. I use 5/8 inch seams when sewing blocks together. Makes a nice edge. I don't see why you couldn't do more cuts if you think it will help. What would it hurt to try?

AliKat

I use quilting flannel. Also use the Fiskars rag snips and snip closer that 1/4". f course I use the local laundromat to fluff & dry. No sense messing up my dryer!

Murphy224

I have made one and used flannel and cotton with smaller square of batting. Turned out great and my son loved it, he and his fiance have hinted around that it was about worn out and could use another quilt "when I had the time" LOL. It is over 8 years old. At any rate, no matter what you finally use to make your quilt, you simply must have the spring loaded Fiskars Rag Quilt snips. Your hands and arms will thank you!

MadQuilter

I just gave all the prepared blocks for a rag quilt to my guild's community service - so no, rag quilting is not my favorite. When I had to make one a while back I did try a new method of finishing though. I had a board on my lap with the quilt on top. Then I spritzed the seams with water and brushed the heck out of each seam with a small stiff-bristled brush. OMG, I couldn't believe how much thread I was able to pull out BEFORE it went in the washer. It was also something to do in front of the TV. Hubby appreciated me hanging out with him.

judykay

I think I made the cuts too far apart, am going to try to do more cutting on them but not for a while as I lent my rag cutting scissors out. I do use a 5/8" seam allowance. Thanks for the tip.

romanojg

I like doing the rag quilts from flannel or fleece, no fraying with fleece just curling which is the same look. Instead of doing the X in the middle some times I embroider a design in the middle and other times I do the X and then on the back side where there are no frayed blocks I applique designs, this is really great for young kids. I don't want the babies on the frayed side but with the applique it gives them something to look at on the back side

mountainwoman

I now only make rag quilts for babies and small children, but I do love them! I use flannel exclusively. Initially, I used flannel for all three layers, each layer cut the SAME size, and I still like the technique. However, with three layers of flannel, the quilts tend to be heavy, so I no longer use this method. Specifically, I cut 2 flannel squares, one for the top and the other for the bottom. For the middle, I cut 1 square of batting that is 2 inches smaller than the flannel squares. Typically, I cut 8 1/2" squares of flannel and 1 6 1/2" square of batting; for a newborn, I might do 6 1/2" of flannel and 4 1/2" of batting -never smaller. I use Warm and Bright polyester batting made by The Warm Company -it is about 1/8" thick, so it is very light and works beautifully with quilts where you don't want a lot of volume. Hope this helps!