Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Wrapped Up in Rags.....

Wrapped Up in Rags: by Rachel
The Rag Quilt



Step 1:

Picking your size & material


I think this was the hardest yet fun-nest part for me! We figured out how big I wanted my quilt to be and went from there. I decided to make my squares 13 and a half inches x 13 and a half inches big. (I wanted a HUGE-un-gous quilt...and man I got one!) Just to be safe I got 6 yards of material for each. Ya I so know that is ALOT but you can cater it to the size you wish! Just remember that you’ll be layering them. (you’ll see)

My mother-in-law (bless her!) and I hopped around the fabric stores looking for good deals and cute patterns all day. I settled on yellow! (its my favorite Happy color!)

Flannel works best with these kinds of quilts.





Step 2:
Ripping and Cutting
Now I was a little hesitant when my sister said, “just rip it down the middle to get a straight line!” I thought “Uuurrrr, ya riiiiiiiight?” But come to find out, you really can rip it down the middle and end up with a straight line. It follows what sewers call “on the grain” equalling a straight line. (Or u can cut them all.....eeek!)
When you figure out how big you want to make your squares, simply make a small slit at the top of your material. Grab both ends and rip apart. By the time you get to the end you will have an equal strip of material. All you have to do now is cut them into squares of your desired size.





Step 3
Layer
Layer: Align your squares evenly on top of each other like so. You can have two layers or more. I used 3. You can even layer it with batting in the middle (instead of flannel) if you are so inclined! :) Don’t forget to pin so they don’t fall out of place. (these little squares are just to show you how to do it. I used 13x13 for the quilt)




Step 4
Leave your mark
Draw an X through the middle of your square. This marks where you will be sewing.
Just follow the lines and sew over.


Step 5
The Layout
1) Layout your squares how you want them...




2) Grab edges...





3) Put together...




4) Sew a straight line on edge. 1 inch width...






5) There you have a flap! Whoop Whoop!







6) Repeat steps with next square until you have a row done. Once you have all your rows sewn, lay them out, and match up seams and repeat the process row by row.




Step 6
Going over the bumps in the road
Now your bound to hit a few bumps in the road. Because of these lovely bumps, I actually broke one of my needles (thank heavens for Joanns!)So as you sew over the seams where the material is all bunched together... please go slowly. It reduces your “clumsiness.” A.K.A: “Rachelidiocy.”
Once you get over your bumps, you should have one side of your quilt with flaps and the other with none.

bump

Just go on over it baby! Slowly...




Step 7
Your Border and the Big Cut

Now after you sew all your beautiful pieces together, it’s time to sew a border. Simply go around the border of the quilt and sew edges 1 inch in. Once you have sewn the border, pull out your scissors! It’s cuttin time! Cut all your extra “flaps” and not your seams. BE CAREFUL!



Step 8
Washa Washa Washa...
Once you finish your tedious cutting, throw your blanket in the wash! Viola! Your done!
I do recommend getting spring scissors when cutting all your flaps. They will help save your hands as you cut! You won’t end up with blisters like me! It turns out oh so cute in the end though.... that’s what kept me going! Finished just in time for snuggling with the hubby this weekend!
Let me know how your's goes! Muah!


44 comments:

  1. Hey sister! I can't see the pictures! I love your blog!

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  2. hi :)
    Thanks for visiting little miss momma and sharing this link. For summer reason I am not able to view the pictures :( Keep me posted on when it starts working--I wouls LOVE to check out this project {I have been wanting to learn how to make on eof these forever}.

    ashley
    http://littlemissmomma.blogspot.com

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  3. Nicely done, Rachel. You're awesome! And the Rag Quilt turned out AMAZING! Cute color choices. It looks so snuggly and warm. I think I might need one to wrap in like a burrito too. You're blog is inspiring...
    miss ya!

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  4. I have just come over from One Pretty Thing. I LOVE this. I saw one of these quilts recently and was so excited to see yours! I have bookmarked this so I will have to start searching for my fabric. This looks like something I can achieve (not like a serious and scary quilt). Thanks for the tutorial.

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  5. Super cute, and looks so cuddly! Thanks for sharing! :)
    -Tiff

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  6. What a beautiful blog you have. I love the quilt also! I have seen these quilts before and wondered how they were made so thanks for the great tutorial.

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  7. ALRIGHT! Just the tutorial I have been waiting for! I am a *new* sewer and I think I may be able to handle this! LOVE it!!! Thank you so much for sharing!:) Lori

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  8. This is seriously a great tutorial!!! It's exactly the one I will be using when I finally sit down a learn to make a rag quilt! Great great job! You rock! thx for sharing this post :)

    ashley
    http://littlemissmomma.blogspot.com

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  9. Looks VERY easy! Thanks for sharing!:)

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  10. I featured this totally awesome project on Little Miss Momma:

    http://littlemissmomma.blogspot.com/2010/05/11-tutorials-i-love-and-you-will-too.html

    Happy Crafting!

    ashley

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  11. what a cute idea...wish I could sew :( Love your blog...glad I found you! now following!!

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  12. I love your rag quilt! I have been wanting to make one with big squares, too! I posted a rag quilt tutorial this week, too!

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  13. So nice and awesome tutorial. I really want to make one of these, but I need to wait for a good sale first. Thank you for sharing.

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  14. Do you think you could do this with tshirts too? I know the fray wouldn't be the same...

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    Replies
    1. I don't see why you couldn't do it with T shirts? Just as long as they arn't too flimsy or soft. That would make it difficult to work with. Cotton may be your best bet. If you try it let me know how it turns out! :)

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    2. Blooming Mommy couldn't Rachel use some sort of stabilizer on the back of the T-Shirt to make it easier to sew. I would think it would give it some body and work almost like cotton material. Just wondering

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  15. http://carolgreen.brianjambor.com/2011/12/06/teach-yourself-to-quilt-quilting-terms/

    Love your tutorial and mentioned it on our blog at fine-air.com - also ReliefShare.org/wordpress

    Keep up the good work :-)

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  16. Im really confused... the first couple steps looks like you are working with 3x3 inch squares but you said 13x13 and later pictures show bigger squares. Was this just for show? Or do I need those smaller squares too.

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    Replies
    1. It was just for show with the smaller squares! Sorry to confuse!

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  17. When you sew your rows together, are the seams sewn open or to one side? Did that make sense??

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  18. I am on my second baby rag quilt. I love making these and very easy to make too.

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  19. This is the first quilting tutorial I've ever seen (and I've really been looking) that made me go, "hey! I can do that!!" Thanks SO much! (p.s. any tutorials on putting a back on this? I know that's not really the point of this particular quilt, but since your tutorial here made so much more sense than the others I've found, I was kind of hoping that you had ideas for this bit as well ;)

    Keep up the great work!

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  20. Flynn,
    Thanks so much!
    As for the backing, I will have to work on a tutorial for that. Im going to so a baby rag quilt so maybe I'll try it on that. Keep your eyes on the lookout for it. :)
    Thanks so much everyone! Loves!

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  21. one thing that makes cutting less tedious...cut as you go. thats what i do, it makes it less repetitive.

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  22. Love your rag quilt! They are really easy to make. I finally did one last year for a baby and I loved the way it turned out.

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  23. Thanks so much! They are super easy! Something a new sewer can start out on. :) Thanks everyone!

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  24. My daughter has collected oodles of soccer t shirts over the years and I would love to make her a quilt out of them all to keep for a remembrance of all the tournaments and competitions but I am not sure I still understand how to do this. Any idea how to help this old mom figure it out...Thanks soccer mom

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    Replies
    1. I would probably make a T shirt quilt out of it then my dear soccer mom! I have seen a few good videos on you tube you can check out. Just type out T shirt quilt and they should give you a bunch of tutorials. :) Heres one to start you out. ;) Good luck and email me if you have more questions. :) Thanks!

      http://youtu.be/JE3jqR2N4KA

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  25. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  26. Thanks for the tutorial! I have been saving all my daughters' T-shirts so I could make a quilt for them! Your DIY instructions are quite helpful!

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  27. Hi, love the tutorial! What kind of seam allowance did you use in the real quilt? I didn't see mention of it yet. I am about to make one myself and planning to do about 6 altogether. Thanks for the great guide!

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  28. I love this! It turned out so cute! What size did it end up? And you said you got 6 yards of each fabric, but how many different fabrics did you use?

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  29. I ended up using a 1 1/2 inch allowance. I'll have to measure how big it turned out. GI-NORMOUS is the size. It covers our queen size bed and hangs over the edges nicly.
    Yes I got 6 yards of fabric each. I got 4 different colors. Hope that helps!
    You guys rock! God luck in your rag quilt adventures!

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  30. Where can we see the finished quilt afteryou washed it?

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  31. What kind of fabric did u use

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