I bought a sewing machine on sale at Christmas time with the intention of making a rag quilt. I love rag quilts and I have always wanted to make one, but have never taken the time to do it. So after letting my new machine sit in the box for close to six months, I finally decided to give it a try. 
I looked up instruction videos on the internet until I kind of had an idea of what I needed to do. Then I bought the cutest flannel fabric I could find and went to work. It was pretty easy, just a little time consuming. Cutting the fabric squares and batting squares probably took the most time. Here are the simple instructions in a nutshell.1. Buy 5 coordinating flannel fabrics (I bought 1 1/2 yds of each to make a 47 x 47" throw.) Also, buy 100% cotton needled batting ( I only used one small bag.)
2. Cut all fabric into 7" squares. Yes, they do need to be exact. I bought a cutting mat, rotary cutter and one of those sewing ruler things. These made the cutting way easy.
3. Cut batting into 5 1/2" squares.
4. Make a "sandwich" with two squares of the same fabric and batting in the middle, right sides out.
5. Sew an "X" in each sandwich, corner to corner. This will keep the batting in place.
6. Lay out your quilt in a pattern you would like.
7. Pin each row together and sew 1/4" seams. Pin so that one seam faces opposite of the other for easier sewing. (one up, one down)
8. Now sew all the rows together with 1/4" seams, again making sure the seams face opposite each other.
9. Snip all the seams with rag quilt spring hinged scissors. Don't try using regular scissors, your hand won't like it. :(
10. Be sure not to snip too close to the seams, I did and I had to mend some holes after washing.
11. Wash on regular cycle in your washing machine. I added 3/4 cup of vinegar to keep the colors from fading. I also added a little bit of laundry detergent. Dry in the dryer on regular and you have your very own rag quilt!
For better instructions go to: www.beverlys.com/rag-quilt-how-to.
