For those people who have "sewing machine envy", you DON'T need a fancy machine. I have a basic Singer, non electronic. I can go through 12, yes TWELVE layers of flannel at the joints. This is my 3rd one. However, clean out your machine after your done sewing. I just get a scrap of flannel to clean up the lint. Thank you for your videos.
I had a Singer treadle that my Mother in-law had converted to an electric. I make handbags and wish I would have never given that machine away. That's awesome that your machine can do that. I have an old Montgomery Ward's machine that does pretty good for my handbags. And thanks for the tip about the lint.
I am making a rag quilt for my grandson that is autistic. Thank you for your video..........I have referred back to it several times because I'm a beginner. Thank you for making your instructions so easy to follow.
Tamara, your video is top notch! I am a “seasoned “ quilter but this is my first rag quilt. To make clipping easier, I clip as I go...first as i form a row and then when I sew the rows together - gives my 72 year old hand a chance to rest! Love your advice on how to wash & dry the quilt (other RU-vid videos give no washing tips). My little granddaughter will be getting this rag quilt next month for her second birthday... thank you. Blessings
Thank you so much for your kind words Sharon! And the fantastic tip when it comes to snipping, so smart! I love rag quilts so much, and would you believe that for the longest time I had no idea I was quilting when I made these lol! I have since come to love normal quilting as well. There is just so much you can do. I am sure your granddaughter will love your rag quilt, I am making my niece a butterfly rag quilt at the moment. She is excited for it and that is what makes it so much fun to sew!
I am making my third rag quilt using these instructions. I love them - I use of so many scraps of batting that are left over from my regular quilts. Also, a great stash buster.
I am so glad to hear that! Happy sewing 🧵 I will warn you...it’s addicting once you start😉💕🥳let me know if you have any questions, I would be happy to help!
I'm wanting to make my first rag quilt. I've been watching tutorials and yours is my favorite. Your instructions are excellent and thank you so much for the washing and drying tips.
Thank you - great video. After I lay out my quilt, I use a water soluble marking pen and mark each square with row and position. I.E. for row one, my squares would say 1-1. 1-2, 1-3 and so forth. Next row would be 2-1, 2-2, 2-3, etc. Really helps keep me straight and the marks wash right out.
To get that super fluffy tight look in the seems it is best to wash the quilt afterward in hot water. I stitch tightly the top stitching and it causes the beautiful wrinkled look all over the fabric as well as the ruffle fringe.
Thank you for this video. I am just getting back into sewing and starting to learn quilting. Can't wait to make a quilt for my 1st great grand baby due in August.
Congratulation Lis!!!! I have some tutorials planned for April and May all around items you can sew for babies. I hope you will enjoy them. Happy Sewing!
Excellent ! Your fast , very clear instructions and I feel very confident to make this , thankyou very much , I’d be very interested in other tutorials you make , great washing machine tips thankyou
Just followed your tutorial and made two quilts!! Very easy to follow and great tips on washing and drying. I couldn't believe how much stuff I shook off the blanket before putting it in the dryer.
Ha Ha!!! YES!!! There is so much ragging that happens in the beginning, it slows down over time 😂 I am glad to hear you made two quilts! That means the first one didn't scare you off 😉 So glad the tutorial could help!
Oh my goodness. I think I can actually DO this!!! I am getting so depressed trying to learn to sew. It is over whelming. I am an ARTIST not a seamstress. Thank you for a project I can actually understand. My first grand daughter has been born. She just outgrew her 0-3 clothes. Not ready to mess those up quite yet. I need to learn to SEW first! :)
Great tutorial, thank you! I’ve made a rag quilt in the past and love the extra tips & tricks you offer in this video - it’s going to make my next one go far more smoothly. :)
Thank you for s great video I made my very first rag quilt and for my first one I think it came out OK.And ya it was so much fun to made so a big thank you.
Hi, although I've watched this video so many times I am still confused and I will try to explain myself let's see if you can understand me. Once I've sewn my strips together just the way you said making one side flat going one way, then the other side going the other....and it's all sewn it seems that now that corner in the middle is flat. Do you know what I mean? I can snip all areas, except the inner corner as it's sewn down. Did I do something wrong? Do I have to unsew the inner corner? I really hope you understand cuz everything else is going great....I sure hope you understand me....thank you
Thank you for this great video. I made a quilt for my grandson. Not perfect but his mama will cherish it. I bought some fiskers easy action clippers. They worked great for all those little snips.
You are so welcome! I am so glad to hear you got those clippers. They are awesome hey!?!?! And hiding imperfections is the rag quilts best quality! lol, of course as someone who loves to sew I could point out an imperfection in allllll my projects. But I refuse to let that stop me :) Hope you enjoyed sewing it! And I am SURE it was a cherished gift. God Bless You!
I know this is a little bit of an older video, but I am making my first red quilt starting today! I am wondering if when you put this quilt into the dryer the first time do you use a dryer sheet? Thanks for your video. It’s been my favorite so far!❤
Great tips! It's been awhile since I made one, but I'm looking to make another one soon! I've just discovered your channel and you're fun to watch. Thx! 🤗
Can you tell me which spring loaded scissors work best for you? I want to buy a pair but don't want to waste money on ones that don't work well for rag quilting. love your clever ideas.
Use spring loaded scissors your hands will thank you after all that clipping. I made a dog proof rag quilt couch cover from recycled denim and one layer of flannel on the back and I could never have gotten through all that clipping with regular scissors and it looks so nice on the couch
@@TamarasJoyDIY you should try making a rag quilt from old jeans mine was originally for our camping trailer and then I layed it on the couch to take a picture and then I realized it would make a great couch cover so I added an extra couple of rows and side pieces to cover the arms and our dog can't pull it off or tear it with his nails
Excellent tutorial. This is my first time and I love how you explain everything so well. I am kinda stuck on your statement about the number of squares cut, Is it actually 42 squares instead of 48? Thanks for your help!
Hi Kimberly! When I am working with all flannel I do not prewash for my rag quilts. But if I am working with a cotton top and flannel backing (essentially mixing fabrics then I do prewash) I would also prewash if I was using a fabric like red in the mix. Hope that helps!
This is fabulous. Thank you so much. I have a couple of questions. What do you do if you don't have a tumble dryer? When the rag quilt is washed in future, do you still need to wash it with towels?
Good question, Any dryer will do as they are agitating the fibers. I would suggest washing it with old towels for the first few times so the loose fibers don't end up on your other items. But after a while, washing them with other blankets or towels is just fine. Sorry for the delayed reply! Happy Sewing :)
awesome video! very well done.....and the washing/drying tips are awesome.....just made a quilt for a gift....i will include your instructions on washing/drying as well.....very very useful! great job. :)
Thank you for sharing that! I aim to be as helpful as possible 😃 and it makes me so happy to hear that my videos can be helpful. if you end up with any questions just let me know ☺️
Thanks for the washing and drying instructions!! Note to fabric companies: please, please make better flannel prints and solids. It is very hard to find really classy prints, most are revoltingly saccharine and twee in blinding colours. In particular, it is almost impossible to find really magical Christmas prints that give you that warm feeling of being tucked up on Christmas Eve, waiting for Santa and all the holiday magic....in particular prints that appeal across age ranges (Christmas flannel pillowcases are a fantastic stocking stuffer!).
Thank you for your tutorials! You are a wonderful teacher. With so many layers of fabric, is there a particular length of stitch you use with rag quilts? In regular quilting the stitch length is a bit shorter.
Hi Misha, Thank you for your kind words! When I make my rag quilts I just use the average stitch length the sewing machine is set to. No need for adjustments. Happy Sewing!
Nice - I Like the pattern you designed for this rag quilt. Plus I love your polka dot tee shirt. I'm going to try to make my first rag quilt 'scrappy' using pre-cuts. I'm also going to make the backing 'scrappy' with a bunch of cotton flannel scraps I was given with the flannel I bought for a charity project. I'm hoping to use the no cut strip rag quilt method.... tfs
Thank you! I do looooove polka dots! Using scraps is the best part of a rag quilt. I love going through all my scraps to create something new. I hope you will come back and let me know how it goes for you. Happy Sewing!
I've made a couple of rag quilts. The squares are 6" and the batting is 5", as you described. I have trouble keeping the batting in the right position between the flannel. Is there a trick to that? I hope it's not a matter of eye-balling it. I usually fail at that method. Great video.
Hi Karen, I hate to say it, but yes, it is a matter of eyeballing it. You can also pin the batting into place once it is sandwiched in place to stop extra shifting. However when my batting shifts into a ragged seam I don't worry too much. Most of the time it is hidden by the ragging and otherwise you can just trim the excess away before snipping the ragged seams. I hope that helps.
@@TamarasJoyDIY Thanks for your reply and yes that helps a lot. I always try to be too exacting, no matter what I quilt and often take it apart and start from scratch, if that can be done depending on the stitches. Most often I throw it away and keep a little for scraps. Your advice is encouraging.
Thank you for this tutorial - do you make more videos for beginners - maybe a bag?Do I have to follow these washing and drying instructions every time I wash the blanket?
I am glad you liked it! I sure hope to upload more beginner sewing videos in the future so please keep checking back! I do have a tutorial on how to make a drawstring bag if you want to try that one out. As for washing, do the washing process only for the first time. After that continue to wash it with old towels until most of the ragging has taken place. That could be maybe 5 of the first washes. Then just start putting it in with the rest of your bedding being washed.
That’s a great suggestion! To clarify are you wanting the ragging to be brightly coloured but the squares to be white? I have a good video that walks you through an easy way to do this: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-5SUEKtD-iTc.html and you could just do the folds on an angle instead of straight across. Unless you wanted the herring bone pattern. That is a tutorial I will get to making😄
You can but you will need to pre wash your fabric as they will shrink at different rates. And the flannel will rag but the fleece will not so I suggest snipping it quite thin so the ragged edges look nice. Happy sewing!
Yes. It was very helpful. I now know that I don't want to try this at this time of the year. It will be bettter to wait for wearmer weather. It is to messy to do inside.
😂💓😂💓Arvetta this is my favourite comment ever👌 rag quilts can be a bit messy at first. Hope you will make one in the spring though! Because they really are worth it 😉
Hello Starting to think to make a rag quilt but have a doubt. Can i use the sun to dry it????? Do not have a dryer 'cause i'm from Portugal and we've plenty of sun....
Hi Olga, the sun will dry it but the ragging will fluff up using a dryer. I have never done a rag quilt without using a machine washer & dryer. I think if you are using a machine washer the ragging process should still happen without the dryer. You can always do a small 3 square by 3 square test blanket to see how it does first before committing to a larger blanket. Hope that helps! Happy Sewing!
Is there a specific sewing machine that is more suitable for quilting or would any sewing machine work. Are there any features someone would need to look for? Thank you
Hi Mandy, If you are starting out then any sewing machine will do. especially if you are making smaller quilts. I still quilt with my basic machine that has a normal "throat" size, but I have not made a quilt larger than a twin size on it. This sewing machine is a great starter machine: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-RXzoEA_SOzs.html if you are looking around. Another item for quilting would be a walking foot (I believe it comes with the sewing machine I linked to.) Other then that just start sewing! I hope to have a "how to quilt" tutorial up in september. Happy Sewing!
I haven’t done a blanket with cotton but I have seen many people do it. It won’t rag as much but they still look pretty. If you wanted you could try to do the outer layers in cotton and then add a flannelette later as a third inner layer so it can do some fraying to the seams. If you try this let me know how it goes! Tag me on Instagram so I can see!
Hmm...good question! Corner to corner is best as it will hold the corner of the batting down (especially as the blanket goes through the wash). If you do the plus pattern, I would suggest cutting the batting the same size as the squares, then cut out the excess batting before doing the ragging process (this is something I do in the 1 hour rag quilt tutorial). This would help hold the batting down without doing a cross. Another thing you can do is skip the batting all together and just add the third layer of flannelette and you could avoid doing the plus or cross all together. Let me know what you end up doing and how it goes! Happy Sewing!😀
I bought everything but it feels a little thin when I test layer them. I thought I might add some batting in the middle but I don’t want to go back & have to buy more material. Plus the cost is adding up. I have a large bolt of white fleece. Can I just use that in the middle instead of batting? Would it shrink in a different way than the flannel? I don’t want it to buckle or not lay flat because of that. I just cut it an inch smaller than the flannel? I think the sewing machine would scream at me it I tried 6 layers of flannel & 2 layers of fleece when sewing the squares to each other. Thanks. So much!
Hi Lisa! The fabrics will shrink at different rates. I like the idea of using it as a replacement for batting but I would prewash all the fabric first to make sure the fabric will all be pre shrunk. And then of course making sure it is secured by sewing the X on each sandwich so the fabric doesn’t bunch up after the blanket is done. Hope that helps. Happy sewing!
Do you have to use the flannel type material or can you make it all from ,100 % cotton ? I have about 30 large cowboy hankies and had used some to make a baby blanket by hand. I only used 4 for that.
Hi Kami! Yes you can use normal cotton if you follow some of the tips I share in this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-_Sya4HdwF-s.html However I want to say, if the cotton hankie is very thin it may be better to use it in a normal quilt. Or is it thicker (which I would assume a hankie would be😁?) If so then it would probably be fine to use in a rag quilt.
im going to try this but in woven cotton, flannel is not good to me :( my question,, how much total yards batting do you need for the middle layer? i am not putting flannel in the middle at all, just the two outer layers and batting in the middle?? thank you in advance
I have made many rag quilts with just the batting in the middle and they have turned out great. As for how much you need you would just use one layer. So half the amount of fabric that you purchase. As for cotton may I suggest you check this video out before you start: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-_Sya4HdwF-s.html This is how I made my cotton rag quilt. Happy Sewing!
I skip the batting and just use a middle layer of flannel. I find it is way too heavy, especially for a baby blanket, if you add all three layers of flannel plus a layer of batting. Alternatively, I sometimes skip the middle layer of flannel and then I do add the batting. Another thing, get yourself a rag snip to cut all those seams at the end. They are spring loaded and are SO much better and easier on your hands than using scissors for this. You will thank me later! lol Just some things to consider before you tackle your own rag quilt. As always, do what works for YOU. All the best! :)
Totally agree Suzette💓 thanks for the suggestions. I too have done all of the above😄 but in 🇨🇦 I like to make nice warm blankets. It really does depend on where you are located as to how warm the blanket will need to be. If the location is a hotter place no extra flannel or batting can work too💝
Great video. Have made a bunch of these and sent this on to a friend. Thank you ( 10:13 I don't know if you had it in the description below, so I'll look, but I use the little rag quilt snips by Fisker I think?)
Hi Corinne, It is a personal choice for sure. If I buy all my flannel for my project at the same time then I tend not to prewash. I haven't found it a problem with my rag quilts. I tend to only prewash when I am dealing with red and white together. And then I would wash all the fabric so it all shrinks at the same rate. Hope that helps. Happy Sewing!
Thanks so much! 😆 that lipstick is my all time fav. Glad you noticed☺️ sadly I don’t think it’s made anymore. It’s by BareMinerals and it’s their creamier lip stain called 82910 flawless matte. Good luck! 💝🤞
Hello, I'm a new subscriber and I'm making a rag quilt for my preemie granddaughter and was wondering if I could use a cotton material with the flannel material or do I have to use all flannel? I'm making it 6 x 8 and using 6" squares with 5" batting. Also, do you think that will big enough for her to use in her crib later on? If her mom doesn't hang it on her wall. Lol. Thanks for any help. I appreciate it. You have such great videos that I just had to become a subscriber. I look forward to learning more about sewing since I'm pretty new to it. Thank you. 😊
Hello! Sorry for the delayed reply. Yes you can use cotton and flannel together but pre washing the fabric will help in this situation as flannel shrinks at a faster rate then cotton. Unless you like the wrinkled up look then you don’t have to. I tend not to but that’s just me being lazy. 6by8 squares should be a nice size as well. Happy sewing! And congratulations on your new granddaughter!!!
Quick question… and maybe I’m just missing it. Lol. When you are ready to sew around your finished quilt… what if some of your fabric edges like from front to back are off just a little? Do I need to trim it and square it up with my rotary cutter first?
Hi Jennifer! Because you will rag the entire outer boarder there is no need to square things up it will all end up hidden. You can trim if it makes you happier though☺️or if the differences are extremely noticeable. Hope that helps!
Thank you so much ☺️! To calculate the size of your blanket it will depend on the size of the square you choose and the depth of the seams you sew. If I were doing a queen blanket I would make the squares a bit larger then what I share in this tutorial but I would keep my seams still at a half inch. So when you do your calculations figure out how many squares wide and long you will most likely need and then calculate how many seams there will be so you don’t end up a bit short or narrow. ALSO....I have a tutorial coming out later this summer with a really nice way to bind a rag quilt which I think would be really nice on a larger quilt. So I hope you will come back to check it out😉 happy sewing 🧵💕
