Cross Raq Quilt Tutorial

 

Recently my sweet cousin experienced a miscarriage a few months ago. I don’t know WHY it had to happen but I pray that Jesus will cover her up in overwhelming love through this time. To remind her of his warmth, I decided to make her a blanket. I love rag quilts with all their extreme comfy’ness and lack of precision required. I pray that this blanket can be a blessing for her and hopefully one day her future baby.


Here’s how I made it:

1. Worked out the measurements on graph paper until the cross shape I wanted eventually didn’t look weird. Why can’t I just use a pattern and make life easier?

2. Cut out LOTS of rectangles… and then cut some more. Very helpful to use a rotary cutter and cutting board. I used flannel fabric (love the softness and fraying ability) and 1 small bag of quilt batting.

a.       BORDER/CONTRASTING FABRIC: (teal)

·         8 rectangles (6’’ X 14”)

·         16 rectangles (7’’ X 14”)

b.      CROSS FABRIC: (brown polka dots)

·         8 rectangles (7’’ X 14”)

·         6 rectangles (8 .5’’ X 14”)

·         2 rectangles (10” X 14”)

c.       TOP AND BOTTOM BORDER FABRIC: (white and gray)

·         6 rectangles (7’’ X 38”)

d.      QUILT BATTING:

·         4 rectangles (4’’ X 12”)

·         12 rectangles (5’’ X 12”)

·         3 rectangles (6” X 12”)

·         1 rectangle (8” X 12”)

·         3 rectangles (5” X 36”)

 

I added the extra blocks later on in the project.

3. Assemble sandwiches.

Fabric (right side down), batting (in the center), Fabric (Right side up)


4. Sew sandwiches together.
Stich down the center lengthwise. No need to backstitch since your pieces will all get sewn together later. Don’t worry about being perfectly in center. Mainly this step is to just hold the batting in place.

 

5. Sew blocks together into rows.

Pick a row, any row. Lay wrong sides together and sew a 1'' seam on the adjoining side.

Add the next block, again placing wrong sides together. Warning: This can play major tricks with your mind if you are used to typically sewing right sides together. Finish sewing the blocks in each row together. Also be careful when sewing the adjoining edges together to make sure you have the right one. 

 



 6. Sew rows together.
Now take two whole rows (WRONG sides together) and sew 1'' seam.

Hmmmm, didn't quite look right.

EMME APPROVES!

7. Sew a 1/2 inch seam around the entire blanket.

8. Time to start snipping the ruffles. If you want a lot of fraying, cut the seams every 1-2 inches.
This is a lot of cutting so make sure you have (a really good movie) and really sharp scissors capable of  cutting through all of those layers. I'd love to have these Fiskars scissors  because they have a shorter blade and it allows you to see what you are cutting. It also requires less of a grip to cut all of those layers.

9. Wash and dry the blanket. You may need to empty out the lint catcher every 15 minutes or so in the drying process to prevent your dryer from getting really angry with you.

10. CUDDLE UP! (or GIFT IT)