My Sources

http://quilting.about.com/od/beginningquilters/Quilting_for_Beginners.htm

http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to/video/how-to-make-a-rag-denim-quilt-228473/

http://www.expertvillage.com/video/114478_sewing-rows-together-rag-denim.htm

Step 7

Now that you have all these seams sticking out, you need to go in and clip them into small sections to encourage fraying later on. Make sure you also clip the seam around the outer edge. Finally, you can wash and dry your quilt. If you want more fraying, just wash it a second time. Enjoy!

Step 6

Now it's finally time to sew everything together! You want to start with the smaller four square pattern. The thing about sewing a rag quilt, is that not everything has to be perfect. The seams are actually reversed, in that they stick up on the front of the quilt. To do this, you want to place the "sandwiches" wrong sides together (front sides facing out) and sew a 1/2 seam along the edge. You want to do this two squares at a time with the smaller squares. Once you've got them sewn together, you can start sewing the four-square blocks with the solid blocks to create your quilt pattern. Make sure you pay attention to how you're sewing your blocks together! You don't want to get your patter mixed up. Once you've gotten all the blocks sewn together, the only thing you need to do to finish up the sewing is to sew a 1/2 inch seam around the outer border of the whole quilt.

Step 5

Once you have all your sandwiches made, you want to lay out your pattern for your final quilt. The left image is the pattern for the four square block. The right image is of the completed four square blocks and solid larger blocks put together in a pattern.

Step 4

Remember when I mentioned fabrics for layering in the introduction? Well if you didn't that's alright. For this step, you'll need a floral print square, a solid buffer square, and finally a square for the backing. They should all be the same size. First you need to lay the backing square face down. Next, lay down the solid buffer square. Lastly, lay the floral square face up on the stack. You've now created your "sandwich." You need to do this for every square that will make up your quilt pattern, small and large.

Step 3

Now it's time to cut all your squares. To spare some confusion, make sure you keep like fabrics and square sizes together. A good way to save time is to trace your squares connected in rows.

Step 2

The next step is to measure out and draw the squares on each of the fabrics. The first four floral prints we talked about in the previous step will be used to make up a four square block. Each of these small squares need to be 4 3/4 sq. inches, which when they are put together will make a larger square that is 9 1/2 sq. inches. The fifth print fabric will make up the larger solid squares, and must also be 9 1/2 sq. inches. I actually created a cardboard template to keep the squares more consistent and save time. The cardboard square is 4 3/4 sq. inches. It can also be used to measure out the larger squares by just tracing out four smaller squares on the fabric. Don't worry about lines; if you use a pencil, any mark you make will just wash off. If you're still worried, then trace your squares on the backs of the fabrics.

Step 1

The first step is to pick the fabrics you want to use. Generally with a rag quilt, you want to chose more floral prints, but anything is fine. To encourage better fraying, cotton and flannel fabrics work best for this quilt. I have used all cotton for mine. For this particular pattern, you want to have four different prints for the four small block pattern, and a separate print for the larger solid blocks. You then need a solid fabric for the buffer, and either a solid or print fabric for the back of the quilt.

Creating a Rag Quilt

My following posts will cover the different steps in making a Rag Quilt. This is a basic pattern for beginner quilters. A rag quilt does not require perfect seams, and though using a sewing machine is very helpful and saves time, they can also be made using just hand sewing. I will be showing the steps for sewing a miniature four block quilt using a small sewing machine. These are fun and comfortable quilts. Have fun with it and good luck!