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I just love flannel...it's so warm, soft and fuzzy ;-)
Do you love flannel, too?
My Mother's family used to spend hours in the evenings snipping all the edges of every square after having sewn their rag quilt together.
Unfortunately, I have an injured right hand (and I'm right-handed!) sew that's not a possibility for me...until NOW!
When I saw that AccuQuilt offered four different types of rag dies, I had to get one...I chose the Go! cozy rag squares Lap Quilt free project idea and purchased the 8.5" Rag Square 55013, the 10" x 10" mat 55111, and also the Square 6.5" 55000 and whipped up this great quilt - six hours from the choosing of fabrics right down to finishing and hanging up on the wall at the quilt shop where I work.
I will be teaching classes in January and February 2012 at
www.jrsewfun.com on this great quilt!
I was thinking: "what's better in the freezing cold of winter than snuggling up on the couch with a good book, a kitty or doggy on your lap, a cup of hot tea and covering up with a warm and cozy flannel lap quilt you made yourself?"
Let's make this FREE pattern from AccuQuilt!
AccuQuilt patterns are created with the idea that you'll be folding your fabric over to do your cutting, so there's no need for rotary cutters or scissors, so extra yardage is already included. If you prefer to not waste any fabric, you could rotary cut or use a scissors first to cut out 9" squares of flannel and 7" squares of batting.
Select five fun flannel colors that you enjoy...
The second color calls for 1 5/8 yards, but if using a rotary cutter for your squares,
then you can buy 1 1/2 yards. Purchase 1 5/8 yards if folding your fabric over to use the AccuQuilt Go! cutter with die and mat.
Your third color choice calls for 2 yards - I found that you will still need two full yards, even if using rotary cutters to cut your preliminary squares. I'm cutting them at 9" so there will be enough around each edge to create a nice 8.5" rag square when sending through the AccuQuilt Go! cutter system.
Here's the set of center square fabrics.
I chose to go rotary first, to save on fabric waste, cutting off the edges to prepare the fabric.
If you use a rotary cutter, you can purchase 2 yards of your main fabric instead of the
2 1/4 yard the pattern calls for.
Prepare forty-nine 7" squares - don't worry if edges are a bit wonky because the AccuQuilt will fix that for you!
Using the Square 6.5" die and 10"x10" mat, cut out forty-nine squares of batting. This goes really fast when you place three squares of batting on your die at once - love this!
Next, create a 'quilt sandwich' using two layers of flannel with your prepared batting square inside, switch to the AccuQuilt Rag Die and prepare your entire quilt - edges will be finished for you!
(I stopped half-ways through to pick the die clean.)
**I like to read "The Quilter's Message Board" and found all these experienced quilters and their experience(s) with cuts they've gotten when using rotary cutters. This is really good to read, esp. if you are teaching your children to sew and quilt and want them to use caution.**
Each square will have the same back and front.
Layer one flannel square wrong-side-up, place a prepared square of batting on top, place a square of the same flannel right-side-up on top and sew an "X" across.
Continue to do this for all squares until you have 16 main color sandwiches, 12 sandwiches of the second color listed on the pattern, 13 sandwiches of the third color choice, and four sandwiches each of the final two color choices.
Run your "X" sandwiches through the AccuQuilt Go! cutter using the Rag Square 8.5" one at a time. Stop halfways through to "pick" the die clean, then continue on. I found that I could easily go through twenty-five sandwiches before it became challening to cut cleanly. I was very impressed with this die! Even though there were plenty of threads stuck in the tiny edges, it kept on cutting like a charm! ;-)
Let's get set to sew all the sandwiches up into a nice lap quilt!
This quilt requires a 1" seam allowance, so it's a good idea to mark that with a sticky-note or painter's tape as a guide while sewing.
I choose Mettler 50w silk-finish cotton for my bobbin and needle threads.
Time to get it all lined up to sew!
Follow the pattern provided, or forge your own path....it's all up to you!
The pre[snipped edges will all be sewn towards one side.
Here's what you'll get!
Keep sewing edges together to create Row 1.
Lay out your 2nd Row.
Now that you have two rows, it's time to join them together.
Pin carefully, matching points.
When you get to the end of your square, then carefully sew, avoiding catching the pre-snipped edges.
Whew! We made it!
Sew carefully, removing pins as you go.
Here's a good picture of how the back looks - it's a good idea to make sure everything is lined up nicely before continuing to sew across. The turtle won the race, right? ;-)
Here's what we have after sewing Rows 1 and 2 together. It's nice, soft, cuddy and fuzzy - I wanted to cover up with it already! This would make a great scarf!!
Time for Row 3.
Oops! A stitch ripper is your best quilting friend :-)
Continue to add rows until your lap quilt sandwiches are all sewn together, then sew all the way around the edges of the four sides of your quilt.
Ta-dah!! All done in no time flat!!
Perfect for the upcoming winter season - what colors will you make yours?
The best part about it:
No hand-snipping - it's already completely finished!
For a more "bloomed" fringe, it is recommended to use a commercial washer/dryer, cleaning the lint trap often as a large amount of lint is released.
There's even MORE
FREE rag die quilt patterns at AccuQuilt!
Have a warm and cuddy winter ;-)
All the Best,
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