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20 Easy Tips to Make a Rag Quilt

I've been making rag quilts for almost 9 years. Below are tips that I wish I had known when I first started making rag quilts and thought I'd share them with you. I hope you find these tips very helpful.

1. You do not have to wash the fabric for a rag quilt before you begin.

2. Use at least two or three different, but coordinating, fabrics to make your quilt from. Don’t forget to buy back fabric to complete your rag quilt (I use a coordinating flannel for my back squares).

3. Eight inches is the most popular square size to make rag quilts with.

4. You can cut twenty 8” squares from one yard (36” Long x 42” Wide) of fabric.

5. When determining the size you want to make your rag quilt, remember to account for seam allowance and shrinkage.

6. When using a ½” seam allowance, squares count as 7” each. When using a 1” seam allowance, squares count as 6” each. (Example using 1” seam allowance: 8 squares across will measure about 48”)

7. You may want to sew an additional row across and down to make up for any shrinkage during washing and drying.

8. Row tags are very helpful to know which row is which when it’s time to sew the rows together. I pin these to the first square of each row. Simply write 1, 2, 3, etc. onto small pieces of paper.

9. When sewing the rows together, you may find that the squares don’t line up. Scrunch one and/or stretch the other to make them line up. Pin if necessary to hold until you get those squares sewn together.

10. Use batting in the middle for warm quilts. Batting can be cut 8” - the same size as the outer squares, or smaller to hide the batting (7” if using ½” seam allowance; 6” if using 1” seam allowance).

11. Use one to several flannel pieces in the middle for lightweight or really raggedy quilts. Cut middle flannel pieces 8” square.

12. The traditional “X” is the most popular method of quilting your rag quilt squares. To do this, sew two rows of diagonal stitches from top corners to bottom corners.

13. Embroidering or appliquéing are two other popular ways to quilt some of your squares.

14. Snip seams as you complete each row; this makes this process less tedious. Snip very carefully so as to not clip through your stitches. Rag quilt scissors are very helpful with this process.

15. Snip seams about 1/8” to 1/4” apart.

16. Don’t forget to sew around the perimeter of the quilt using the same seam allowance you used throughout the quilt.

17. Beginners can use a ruler & wipe-away marker to mark 8” increments on fabric. Cut with scissors.

18. As you become a more experienced rag quilter, you may want to advance to a 24” x 36” cutting mat, O’Lipfa ruler (no smaller than 24” long), and rotary cutter (no smaller than 28mm). If you have a lot of money, an AccuCut machine is very nice.

19. Pay close attention when washing and drying your finished quilt. Clean any lint traps before adding quilt to machine(s). Check regularly and keep traps clean during and after each process. Clean drums of each machine thoroughly, as well, after washing & drying your quilt. *Due to the extreme mess, many people prefer to wash and dry their rag quilts at a Laundromat the first time.

20. A lint roller or two is very helpful in removing any excess strings after shaking quilt outside.