Rag quilts

[blessedmom40]

Has anyone made a rag quilt from material other than flannel? Did it fray and look "ragged"?

[mpattylou]

I made a quilt and mixed flannel squares and woven cotton squares. I used flannel on the back and it worked fine.

[Bubby]

We just talked about this at length last week I believe. I make my rag quilts from three layers of flannel (no batting). Many other quilters use cotton or a combination of flannel and cotton fabric. They say they have good results.

[Smoothiegirl]

I have used denim and homespun, they fray really well. To get the denim to fray more, I used a course brush and brushed the edges outside. It worked really well. I saw this tip on a youtube video. Good luck, they are fun to make but are a lot of work and messy

[JaniceR]

I have made several rag quilts for my kids and grandkids using a mix of flannel and Minky or cuddle fabric on the front, layer of batting, and flannel for the back. I try to be really careful to buy the very soft flannel (some flannel can feel very stiff and doesn't make a comfortable quilt). I would never have thought of using Minky in a rag quilt but saw one in my local LQS. My family LOVES the way this combination feels and everybody wants one! You do have to have patience to work with Minky-it makes a mess while making the quilt but is well worth it in the end. I've also used all flannel for front & back with a layer of batting in between and with the right flannel, they are well loved too! Both combinations are very snuggly I have a lot of fun picking the endless combination of colors knowing my family will love and enjoy them!! Good luck and have fun!

[CarolynK]

I've made two denim rag quilts backed with flannel. They really "ragged" nicely and turned out great. I did use batting because I like it really puffy. I'm getting ready to start another one for a Christmas gift and will do some embroidery on it. They are fun and fast to make.

[Denis]

John Flynn of the Flynn Quilt Frame Co. uses an electric weed whacker to fray his rag quilts. He use to have pics of this technique on his site but I can only find the directions. Scroll part way down the page to read about it.

Flynn Quilt Frame Company: Free Lessons

[Diva Deb]

I made a rag quilt using my husband's old jeans and flannel pajama bottoms. I didn't use any batting and it turned out great. I did nothing special to make the ends fray...just washed it a couple of times.

[Vonnie]

I made a 60" X 90" Minky/flannel/cotton rag quilt.

I used 3 of the Safari Minky layer cakes - they are 11" instead of 10" and only 20 to a cake. https://www.missouriquiltco.com/shop...ari-layer-cake

I used the minky on the back, flannel in the center instead of batting, and cotton fabric on top. Since he (the birthday boy) loves scorpions, I found some fabric with scorpions and mixed it up with guitar fabric and rainbow colored skeletons. He absolutely loved it.

At first it was easy using the spring loaded shears (Fiscars) for clipping the edges but by the time I got through my hands were aching!

[Altairss]

I love doing these, I use the cuddle or Minky or denim for the back. Layer in flannel for the batting and flannel or cotton for the top. If your going to do them invest in the spring loaded shears fiscars I bought mine using a coupon at Joann's. Long scissors make it way to easy to cut thru seams. And to give my hands a break I only work on the clipping for about an hour if its a big quilt.