JJBlaine

Also, I suggest covering the end of the washing machine's drain hose with the end of a nylon stocking to catch all those thread bits before they go down the drain and clog up the pipe.

momsbusy

I used batting in mine, but it was cut an inch smaller than my square so that it was not in my ragged edges. I quilted a large heart in the center although I have seen many quilts with X's through the center. I used some regular sharp little scissors to snip my edges. I bought a rag quilt die for my Accuquilt Go for any future ones that I make. It might be worth it to buy the Fiskars rag quilt scissors with a 40 percent off coupon. The cutting is tedious and it might wear out your other scissors.

romanojg

I've made a few. I use the die from accu quilt to cut the squares so no scissors needed. You can use batting, its a little smaller than the block pieces, I either sew an X thru the block to hold it all together or embroidery a design in the middle of each one and one single line around the outer edge of block. I made one for my grandson with his name, etc for him to take naps in kindergarden. He still loves it. My daughter never says anything about it fraying to much so I'm sure its not an issue. You can also make them with fleece, they will curl but not fray.

mengler

I was in a rag quilt phase awhile back. It was the only quilt i knew how to make well. The rag scissors makes the job much easier and eases hand fatigue. If you’re only making one you don’t need the scissors. If you’re planning a slew of them I’d invest. Re batting. Depends on what fabric you’re making the quilt from. If the top and bottom are cotton then I’d use thin cotton batting. I’ve made some different fabrics: denim, fleece, plush cotton knit and for those esp fleece I wouldn’t use batting. Denim makes a heavy quilt. I might use flannel for the BATTING. I don’t like flannel backing but that’s just me. I use flannel for faux chenille or as batting. It’s personal preference. How heavy and how warm. Batting would make a fleece version bulky so I skip it.

janjanq

I don't preshrink my flannel but I do run it through my dryer's steam cycle before cutting the squares. After the quilt is completed I again run the quilt thru the steam cycle in my dryer before running it through the wash cycle. I get less lint that way. Before I started doing this I would have to use a vacuum cleaner or sweater shaver to get the excess lint off. You might also want to consider going to a laundromat and running thru their dryers before washing. Just remember dry first and then wash and dry again. I've made over 40 rag quilts using 3 layers of flannel. (All layers of the squares cut the same size.) I've also made several using regular cotton with flannel in the middle layer.

Tothill

The idea is to make a fringed edge, so cutting on the bias would stop that. Eventually with washing it would still lose the cross threads, but you would not have a nice full fringe, it would be skimpy. I do not think there is anything to do to avoid the lint.

Tothill

I lost track of how many rag quilts I have made. Only a few had batting and only because I bought someone's UFO at a thrift shop. I made a bunch of dog quilts out of it. I do not know where the original maker bought the flannel, but it was awful for pilling.

For kids quilts I have used light weight twill on the back. It is durable for dragging around, playing on the ground and lint tends not to stick to it. I use LQS quality flannel for the tops.

I have used old denim on 2-3 twin sized quilts. Two with the denim to the back, one with it to the front. Those are incredibly heavy quilts. No middle layer on them.

I use a one inch seam allowance.

I have a top loading washing machine. I put the finished quilt through a soak cycle and use an old strainer to strain the loose threads out of the water many times. I repeat the cycle (not draining between), until there is less thread to skim. Then the regular wash and dry.

A tip if you plan to use old jeans. I had a local glass shop cut me Plexiglas squares. I wrote the size with a sharpie on each one. I would open up a seam on the leg of the jeans, then use the Plexiglas template and a marker (remember the edges fray away) to mark the square. Once I mark all the squared, then I cut them out. It can be fun to use the pockets in the quilt.

caquiltingmom

I don't use batting, but I do use a third layer of flannel. The inner (middle layer) flannel becomes an accent color when the quilt gets clipped and washed. I like the weight and warmth of the 3 layers and the added design element of that extra layer.

Treequilter

Using the flannel for batting makes the quilt not as heavy. The homespuns should not have as much lint as the all flannel quilts. Good luck!

ruby2shoes

Just today I finished cutting up flannel, denim and off cuts of batting for another rag quilt. I cut my top and bottom squares one inch bigger than the batting squares. If I sew at 1/2" seams then the batting doesn't get caught in the ragging but I do sew a big X on each square to secure the 3 layers......if I cut at 3/4" then the batting does get caught but isn't obvious in the ragging/fringe. depends on my mood which seam allowance I go with. I always pre-wash my flannel...over here it always seems to shrink a bit. I like the weight of a denim, batting, flannelette quilt as my rag quilts are used by my daughters when cuddling their children at storytime before bed, or when they are sick or upset. No central heating used over here during the nights so a snuggly, super warm quilt is a "must" and a comfort in the middle of the night when you are sitting up with a young one.