How to Make A Rag Quilt Plus Free Rag Quilt Patterns

Rag quilts have become very popular these days, and there are many reasons for this.

First, rag quilts are simple and can be a great intro to quilting.  Beginners will find this technique quite easy. To make a rag quilt, the front and backs of each square are sewn so the seams are all on the front of the quilt.  The seams are then snipped to form the ragging look.

These quilts are quick to make, so those who want to give a homemade gift with little time to complete it, may find that a rag quilt to be just the answer!

Rag quilts are cute and very different from a traditional quilt.  They are fun to make and are a nice break from the more complicated quilts that quilters pour their energy into. To learn more about the basics of quilting, there is a topic page to introduce more traditional quilting.

This page has so many free rag quilt patterns to explore!  Not only that, we have a few rag projects that are not quilts at all!

Scroll down to see the creative free rag quilt patterns to make ragged coasters, a ragged purse, and a ragged American Flag!  Those are some amazing folks who thought up other things to make with ragging!

So many of the links below give step by step instructions on how to make a rag quilt. Use these free rag quilt patterns and their tutorials and learn how to make a beautiful rag quilt in no time!

I have made two rag quilts so far. I gave the first one to my daughter’s boyfriend and the second one to my boyfriend.  The rag quilts are loved by both of them (and their dogs!)

To get started, here are a few things to think about before starting to sew a rag quilt.

Fabric Choices

First, it’s important to decide on the fabrics to be used.  I chose three layers of flannel to make warm ragged quilts.  The flannel frays easily…much better than cotton material.

The inspiration for my flannel quilts was actually one I saw in a fabric store that was made with homespun fabric.  This frayed nicely as well.  I fell in love with that rag quilt, but I found homespun fabric from the quilt stores too expensive for the size of the quilts I was making.

It was also a bit difficult to find homespun fabric designs that went well together at mainstream fabric stores. This is most likely not a problem now, yet the homespun fabrics are still on the more expensive side.

Flannel also makes up a nice and soft rag quilt for a baby!  Minky fabric can be used to make the baby rag quilt soft, but I find it more difficult to work with.  If you enjoy working with minky fabric, go for it!

A few of the free rag quilt patterns below show how to make a rag quilt with denim fabric.  Different shades of denim look great in a quilt. 

A free rag pattern below shows how to make ragged denim coasters.  Check it out!  They are very unique and would look great in a casual room.  Think maybe a dorm room?!  They would be a nice graduation gift for someone heading off to college.

Inner fabric options for rag quilts

Some of the free rag quilt patterns below suggest using a layer of quilt batting between the fabrics for the front and the back of the rag quilts. This is definitely an option that some prefer.

I used flannel as my inner layer and liked cutting all of my fabric into the same size squares.  I found it easier and less time consuming. To put in batting, it must be cut smaller than the other fabrics for your rag quilt so that it is not part of the ragged seams.

Another great idea is to make the middle layer a white flannel.  This is ingenious!!  My quilts were plaid, so I chose a plaid color to match the colors of the other fabrics, which made the ragged edges look mottled.

White flannel would make a lovely seam on the ragged quilt.  I’m definitely going to do that on my next one!

Good tools for making a rag quilt

It is quick and easy to cut the layers of fabric with a rotary cutter, mat, and ruler.  Some of the free rag quilt patterns below show how to make the rag quilt using scissors.  

It is absolutely possible to make a rag quilt with scissors, but it takes more time than using a rotary cutter, and the lines are difficult to cut straight.

Spring loaded scissors come highly recommended for making a rag quilt.  There is so much cutting involved with the ragging, and spring loaded scissors make this much easier.

There is a link below to order a great pair of spring loaded scissors!

Tips for making a rag quilt

One thing that would have made my life easier when making the rag quilts would have been to sew the X in the squares first and then square them up after.  I struggled with layering and sewing my squares evenly, which made sewing the squares together more difficult. 

Ragged quilts don’t need to be sewn perfectly since the seams are snipped.  I did find, however, that without having squared up my blocks, I had a few places where some areas of the squares were not sewn together at all.

Another great tip found in the free rag quilt patterns below is to use a walking foot. This really makes sewing the many layers of fabric together much easier. A walking foot is not necessary, but if you have one, it’s a good idea to use it.

Finally, there are several tips for washing the finished rag quilt.  Washing is how to make the seams look ragged instead of just snipped and is a necessary part of the process.

After ragging the seams, there are a lot of fabric strings that will need to be washed out.  This can make a mess of the washing machine and dryer.

One tip is to first run the quilt through the dryer to catch the initial bits of fabric. Be sure to check the lint trap often. Then the rag quilt can be washed and dried again.

Keep checking that dryer lint trap!!

Another tip for washing is to put the quilt in a pillow case if it is small enough.  The tiny pieces will be caught in the pillow case and not in the washer.  Dry the rag quilt in the pillowcase part way during the drying time, then take it out to finish drying.

Once again, keep checking that lint trap!!

For general quilting tips and tricks check this out!

Time to scroll down to see the free rag quilt patterns below and learn how to make a beautiful rag quilt!!