Rag quilts are made by making lots of individual quilt sandwiches and sewing them together. It's a cinch to make a rag quilt once you retrain yourself to position wrong sides together when you sew, a switch from the right sides alignment we're used to.
The backing and batting are also cut into 5-inch squares. You can form a design with backing squares, arrange them randomly for a scrappy look, or even cut them from one fabric.
I recommend you use flannel batting for rag quilts. Flannel is durable, so your square sandwiches won't need to be quilted. It doesn't matter what color you choose -- use a single flannel or mix it up.
After sewing and washing the quilt, the frayed edges of your little sandwiches will eventually be visible around every patch on the front of the quilt. Using contrasting colors within the sandwiches, or varying color value, will give the frays definition. Using colors that blend will make your frayed edges blend with the front of the quilt.
Seam Allowances
We'll use a 1/2-inch seam allowance to sew squares together. Locate the 1/2" mark on your sewing machine's throat plate. Mark it with a Post-It note or strip of masking tape to help you remember to sew a wider than usual seam.
Before You Begin
If this is your first rag quilt, read my Rag Quilt General Instructions before you begin.
