Archive | February, 2011

If basting and binding a quilt isn’t really your thing, and if you don’t particularly like quilting large quilt tops, then a rag quilt is the perfect quilt project for you. 🙂 With a rag quilt, you create smaller (therefore easier to handle) quilt sandwiches, quilt them while they’re still small, and then piece them together to form your quilt. If that sounds confusing, check out my 8-step rag quilt tutorial below.

(Click picture to enlarge)

This quilt measures 23″ x 23″ which works perfectly for throwing in a stroller, or as a wall hanging quilt. Speaking of strollers, rag quilts are great for little ones as they offer a textured material for them to touch and explore.

I have a similar tutorial called Frayed Seams Quilt which uses fleece material as the entire quilt backing. You can check it out for an alternate rag quilt design.

Materials for a 23″x23″ rag quilt:

• 10 quarter yards of varying prints
• 1 yard of fleece (or batting, see note in step 1).
• Coordinating thread

Step 1 – Cut fifty 6.5″ squares from your quarter yard cuts (note: 1 quarter yard = six 6.5″ squares). From your 1 yard of fleece, cut twenty-five 6.5″ squares*.

*If you prefer to not have the fleece show at the seams as it does in this tutorial (see step 4), or if you prefer to use batting instead of fleece, cut twenty-five 5.5″ squares instead. Then, when you make your mini quilt sandwich as described in step 2 (below), make sure the fleece/batting is centered in between the fabric pieces.

Step 2 – Make a mini quilt sandwich: take one fleece square and sandwich it in between two fabric squares. The wrong sides of the fabric should be facing the fleece. Repeat until you have 25 mini quilt sandwiches. When putting these together, plan for how the front and back of your quilt will look.

Step 3 – Quilt all 25 of the mini quilt sandwiches you made from the previous step. For this quilt, I quilted a simple X. Start and end your stitch with a back stitch.

Note: For Steps 4 through 6, use a walking foot if possible (to prevent puckering).

Step 4 – Sew the quilt sandwiches together: Sew 5 rows of 5 quilt sandwiches each, using a 1/2″ seam allowance. The front of your quilt will have the 1/2″ seam, as shown below.

The back will look like this:

Step 5 – Then, sew your five rows together the same way, so that the 1/2″ seam allowance will be at the front of your quilt.

Step 6 – After you’ve sewn all five rows together, sew a 1/2″ seam allowance around the perimeter of the quilt. This quilt requires no binding!

Step 7 – Snip little frays (roughly ¼” apart) along all of the ½” seams including the perimeter seam. Do not cut outside of the seam. Use scissors that have really sharp tips (I used applique scissors). I was able to cut through two fabric layers per snip.

Step 8 – Lastly, throw the quilt in the wash (cold water, gently cycle) and dryer (tumble dry low). Washing and drying the quilt will make the fringes you cut from the previous step soft and fluffy.

That’s it! As always, let me know if you have any questions and I’d be happy to help you out.

Happy Quilting!

I love all the things you can make from scrap fabrics. I whipped up this little bag in 45 minutes using scraps from my latest quilt. Make one yourself! 7 simple steps below.

Materials:

• Scrap fabrics
• Scrap batting
• Coordinating thread
• 10″ long zipper

Step 1: Using scrap fabrics, make the following: Two 8″x9″ rectangles (outer fabric) and two 7″x9″ rectangles (inner fabric). Also, cut two 7″x9″ rectangles from thin batting.

Step 2: Make two quilt sandwiches: Sandwich the batting in between the outer fabric and inner fabric; the wrong sides of the outer and inner fabric should be facing the batting. Quilt the two sandwiches however you like. As shown below, the extra 1 inch of fabric from the outer fabric should be at the top of each panel.

Step 3: Create a seam with the extra inch of fabric: Fold the extra inch of fabric in half lengthwise, then press with an iron. Then fold it over again onto the inner fabric; press again. As shown below, sew the seam down with a straight stitch.

When you’re done with steps 2 and 3, you should have two quilted panels with a finished top seam:

Step 4: Attach the zipper by lining up the finished seam along the length of the zipper. Stitch the quilted panel to the zipper using a 1/4″ seam allowance.

Repeat with the other panel on the other side of the zipper:

Step 5: Unzip the zipper at least half way down. With the outer fabric facing together (the inner fabric should be facing you), stitch a 1/4″ seam allowance around the perimeter (except where the zipper is).

Step 6: Create the base of the bag by puffing out the bottom of the bag, then pinching the corner together as shown below (it’s kind of hard to explain, but hopefully this picture helps).

As shown below, from the corner that you pinched measure 1.5″ and mark a line.

Then, sew a straight stitch along the line. Repeat on the other corner.

Your bag should have two little triangle ‘wings’ at the bottom:

Step 7: Clip the corner ‘wings’ off. And trim off any other unnecessary bulky fabrics, and extra zipper from the ends. Lastly, from the zipper opening (this is why you need to make sure it’s at least half way unzipped from step 5), turn it inside out!
That’s it 🙂 I told you it was easy. How cute is that?! I know it’s only February, but I think I know what all my girlfriends are getting for Christmas 😉