Rag quilts are easy-to-make quilts, perfect for a beginning quilter or even for a seasoned pro who needs to make something quickly. I fell in love with rag quilts because of the soft edges created by the ragging process and how cuddly these types of blankets are!

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One of my favorite gifts to give a new mom is a handmade baby quilt. I recently made a rag quilt for a new mom at our church. I had several yards of camo cotton print fabric I had been saving for the right project and this was it! 

My friend had a baby boy so it was fun using up this black/gray camo print in this quilt. I used a total of four different colors of fabrics from my stash on the front of the quilt and a solid oatmeal-colored cotton flannel for the back. The finished baby quilt measured about 42" x  54".

(You can find quilting fabric and quilting supplies for your project at Fat Quarter Shop.)

Rag Quilt Size Guide

The size of a rag quilt can be easily adjusted to fit your needs. To make a rag quilt larger simply increase the size of the fabric squares or add more squares along the perimeter of the quilt.  If you need a smaller size quilt do the opposite and decrease the size of the squares or don't add as many squares to the quilt. Make sense? Great!

Brainstorming Your Quilt Pattern

I like to sketch out some ideas on graph paper before I start cutting the fabric. This way I know what the finished quilt will kind of look like before I commit to cutting into the fabric. For this rag quilt, I wanted the camo print to be in the center and the remaining fabrics to fill in around it in a symmetrical pattern. 

After I finished sketching out my idea I was ready to cut all of the fabric into 7" squares. My rotary cutter and cutting mat came in handy for this project! If you don't have one yet - get one, they are totally worth it!

   

Batting - To Use Or Not To Use

Typically rag quilts have a middle layer of quilt batting sewn between the top and bottom fabric squares to give the quilt some weight and extra warmth. If you live in a warmer climate you might want to substitute quilt batting for a layer of cotton flannel so your quilt isn't so thick or too warm. You can even leave this middle layer out completely for a very lightweight quilt too. I chose to add quilt batting for the middle layer since I live in a colder climate. 

The middle layer of batting should be smaller than the top and bottom layers of fabric. I cut the batting into 6" squares. Once your batting squares are cut it is time to take all your top, bottom, and middle squares to your sewing machine. 

How To Make A Simple Rag Quilt

Follow along with these easy-to-follow steps to make your own rag quilt. 

Starting A  Rag Quilt - Complete Step-By-Step Tutorial

• Using your sketch determine how many squares of fabric you will need from each of the fabrics you chose for the quilt top. My quilt was 7 rows by 9 rows for a total of 63 squares for the quilt top. 

Cut out all the squares from the quilt top fabric and then cut out the same number of fabric squares for the bottom of the quilt. For my quilt I had a combined total of 126 squares of fabric! 

• Next, place one square of bottom fabric face down, then place one batting square on top of the bottom layer of fabric centering the batting in the middle of the bottom square. Lastly, place one quilt top fabric square face up on top of the batting. This is called a fabric sandwich - isn't it yummy! Repeat this step with all the fabric squares you cut out until they are all made into fabric sandwiches.

• Starting sewing diagonally from one corner of the fabric sandwich to the opposite corner in a straight line. To make this step (and the next) go quicker you are going to want to chain stitch these square sandwiches. Chain stitching means you continue sewing one square sandwich after another without cutting the thread between them. 

How I like to chain stitch is to first sew across the square diagonally then when I reach the other side of the fabric I continue sewing a few stitches past the edge, lift up the presser foot and slide the corner of the next fabric sandwich under the needle, drop the presser foot and continue sewing from one corner to the next diagonally. Keep chain stitching until you sew all of the squares. 

Cut the threads between the chain stitched squares then chain stitch all of the squares across the opposite diagonal of each square until each square has an "X" sewn across it. Here is a picture of what I mean:

 

 

Sewing The Squares Together 

• After I sew all the "X"s on the fabric squares, I lay out the squares on the floor (or another large area) into the pattern I sketched for the finished quilt. At this point, you will be sewing the squares together row by row. You want the seams to show on the top side of the quilt so start by placing two squares of fabric from the first row together with the wrong sides (backside) facing each other. Sew the squares together with a 1/2" seam allowance. Continue sewing until all of the squares are sewn together into rows.

Sewing The Rows Together

• After sewing the squares into rows you are now going to sew the finished rows together. Stack the first two rows together, making sure the wrong sides (backside) face each other and the seam lines between each of the squares line up. To make sewing the rows together easier, it is helpful to "nest" the seams of each square along the rows then pin each row together so it doesn't shift when sewing. To nest the seams make sure all of the seam allowances for the squares on the top row face one direction and the seam allowance for the bottom row face the opposite direction. This way when you line up the rows the seams between the squares fit together snugly and there is no extra bulk due to doubled up seam allowances on top of each other.  

Sew the rows together using a 1/2" seam allowance again making sure the seams allowances show on the top of the quilt.

 

Here is my quilt all sewn together before I clip the seams: 

  

Your quilt should be all assembled and sewn at this point! But....we aren't done yet. Hang in there, we are almost done!

• This is a very forgiving quilt however it is important to square up the entire quilt before the next step. I like to lay my quilt on my self-healing mat and trim any wonky edges with my rotary cutter. 

• Next, sew around the entire perimeter of the quilt using a 1/2" seam allowance. (I actually like to sew around the perimeter twice but that is just personal preference.)

Start The Ragging Process

Grab a sharp pair of scissors or spring action rag quilting scissors, which I highly recommend if you think you might make more rag quilts in the future. These spring-action scissors are the bomb when it comes to rag quilting! 

Now, start cutting all of the seam allowances on the top of the quilt and around the perimeter. I usually make cuts about 1/4" to 1/2" apart as I cut the fabric. Be very careful when you are snipping the seam allowances - you DO NOT want to cut through any of the seams! When you finish cutting the seam allowances take the quilt outside and shake it out. Shake it really well and when you think you are done... shake it some more! There will be a lot of small bits of fabric flying everywhere. 

Washing Your Rag Quilt

After shaking the quilt out (forever) it is time to throw it into your washing machine with a few old towels for a quick wash then into your dryer. Do not use liquid fabric softener since it will gum up the ragged edges. Make sure you empty your lint trap because I guarantee it will be FULL when the dryer is done. 

I actually like to wash and dry a new rag quilt several times to encourage the ragging process and reduce the amount of lint produced after each wash/dry cycle. Every time you wash and dry a rag quilt the frayed edges will get softer and softer!

If you are gifting a rag quilt to someone who has never owned one it would be wise to let them know that the quilt will continue to give off lint but it should be drastically less as they use it and wash it.

What Kinds Of Fabric Are Best To Use For A Rag Quilt?

Fabric that frays like cotton or flannel is the best type of fabric to use for a rag quilt. For an extra soft rag quilt, you can combine cotton or flannel with non-fraying fabrics like jersey knit, Minky or fleece. The edges won't be as frayed and fuzzy but the softness of these other fabrics will still give the quilt a nice soft touch.

How Much Fabric Do I Need to Make a Rag Quilt?

The amount of fabric you will need to make a rag quilt will depend on the size of the quilt you want to make. The standard width of a bolt of fabric (WOF) is 42" so depending on the size of your squares you can easily calculate how many squares you can cut from a 42" long piece of fabric.  Remember that graph paper sketch you made earlier? Get it out and use it to help you figure out fabric requirements. Here is an example of how to figure out fabric requirements:

Example: 

Fabric for a baby size rag quilt measuring 30" x 40" requires 48 - 6" squares of your quilt top fabric. Assuming your fabric is 42" across (WOF) you can cut 7 squares for each 42" x 6" section of fabric (42/6 = 42). Therefore for the quilt top you will need about 1 1/4 yards of fabric. You will also need the same amount of fabric for the back of the quilt. If you choose to add batting you will need a 30" x 40" piece of batting of which you will cut 48 - 5" squares.