Rag Quilt Tutorial

My son has recently become very attached to his rag quilt so I knew it was time to make another one.   I used 1 yard of 4 different kinds of flannel, white thread, heat-n-bond, spring scissors and letters printed from the computer. 

To start out you need to cut your squares to 6x6.   

 I did 28 squares in each of the blue fabrics and 32 in each of the green fabrics.

Sew two squares together with an X with the wrong sides together.  Then sew 4 squares together to form a square, keeping all of the seams on one side with a 1/2 inch seam allowance. 

I then printed out lettering from the computer font that I wanted in the size I wanted.  My letters were no larger then 7x7.

Take some heat-n-bond or another brand and trace the letters onto the paper side of the adhesive.  Cut around the letters.  

Iron the adhesive with the textured side on the wrong side of the fabric and the paper side away from the fabric and follow the manufactures instructions.  

Cut the fabric letters out, following your trace line.

Then take some contrasting fabric and made a square around the letters.  Just large enough to fit each letter. Then appliqué the letter onto the square and sew around the outside of the letter with a straight stitch.  You can also do a zig zag stitch but with the straight stitch it lets the letter fray a little and that is what we are going for with a rag quilt.  Then sew close to the edge of the square with the letter already attached onto the seamless side of a four square square. 

I went ahead and sewed the 4 letter 4 squares together in one strip with an empty one in front of the letter A square. (The fifth plain 4-square isn't showing in this picture.)

I put together the final two rows of squares switching off the starting squares colors.  (Sorry about the missing picture but look at the top to see the pattern I used.)  After the main body of the quilt is sewn together I started with the two edges.  (The only reason why I didn't do just another row is 4 squares is because I ran out of the blue poke-a-dot fabric because I'd used some of it for another project.  You can simplify this quilt by added another row of squares.  You would need 8 of each green squares and 12 of each blue square.)

For the edges you need eight pieces cut 8x8,

eight pieces cut 5x8,

eight pieces of 1 3/4x8,

eight pieces of 2 1/4x8 and,

the the final four pieces you need to cut 25.5x8.

(Sorry for the lack of pictures.)  Sew two wrong pieces together like earlier with an X.  With the long piece, I did a criss cross across.  Then sew the strip together with the long piece in the middle.  Finally, sew the two strips to each side of the main four square sections.

Then finish the edges by sewing a 1/2 inch seam around the edge.  Next, all of the seams need to be clipped.  I clipped every 1/4 inch on all of the seams and also the seams around the letters.  This part is messy and long and tedious.  Be prepared to have pieces of flannel all over and a cramped hand.  If you don't already have some this would be the time to invest in some spring scissors.

The final step is to wash the quilt a few times to help the seams fray.  Make sure you clean the lint trap of your dryer before and after you put the blanket in the dryer.

Ta-Da!  All done. 

If you have any questions don't hesitate to contact me.  I know there is some gaps in my tutorial so for some needed help go to these links:  

Knit and Tonic

Green Apple Orchard

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