Cooking Through Generations

When I was pregnant with my daughter, I thought it would be fun to make her a rag quilt. I am always intrigued with them and read on different blogs that they are easy to make. I didn’t get started on the quilt until just a bit before my baby arrived and so it wasn’t finished until a number of months after she was born.

Before I tell you how to make a Rag Quilt, I would like to make a few disclaimers.

1. I don’t sew. So even if you barely sew, you can make one of these quilts. However, if you are a professional sewer and would do things differently than I do here, then please do because your way is likely the right way.
2. Rag quilts are not cheaper than just going out and buying a blanket. If you don’t care what patterns you have and find everything you need on sale it might compare, but chances are you will spend more than you thought you would to make this blanket. However, the feeling of completion is worth the cost!
3. I am not a perfectionist and there were some flaws in my quilt, but the great news is in a rag quilt you can hide some of these and there is room for some error.

Alright let’s get started!

1. Create a pattern that works for you and choose the size you want your quilt. I did a crib sized one. This was 48 blocks that were 7 inches in size, which left room for 1/2 inch seams. It helps to draw out what you are picturing. This is my pattern.

2. Pick your fabric. I used cotton for the top pieces and flannel for the bottom. You can use flannel for all of it, but I found more cute fabrics in cotton. I also bought batting for in between the pieces. Some sources say you can just use layers of flannel for in between but I found one piece of batting made a nice thickness.

3. Cut your squares. I made a 7 inch square out of cardboard for a pattern and then used that to cut out the squares. You can do this however works best for you! I found this the most annoying part of the quilt. I don’t enjoy cutting. I cut the batting in 6 inch squares because that is going to sit inside the block.

4. Sew the squares together. You need to layer the squares. Flannel piece, batting, and then cotton and then sew an X across the piece. Once you finish, you should have 48 squares.

5. Lay the pieces out in the pattern you have chosen. Next, sew the squares together. You will need to sew the blocks so that the edges are sticking up on the front of the quilt. This is the opposite way that you normally sew, so it messes with your head a bit. Sew each row. If I were to do this again, I would sew a generous 1/2 inch seam. There were some spots that my seams were not sewed in quite deep enough that I needed to go fix after it was done. So my advice here is to sew wider rather than narrower.

5. Now you want to sew each row together. This is like sewing the squares together only longer lengths.

6. Next sew around the edge of the quilt. All your seams should be 1/2 inch seams, including these.

7. This step may take some time and make your hand sore. Take a scissors and snip each edge. Snip about 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch apart.

8. Lastly, you need to throw it into the washer and dryer to get that rag effect.

Yay! You did it! The best hobbies are those that you can feel like you completed something at the end.