How to Clip Seams for a Rag Quilt
You're going to LOVE rag stitching! ... and I must warn you that it's addictive.
It's my opinion that rag style stitching is the most fun, easy way to create any project. It's perfect for the beginner because it's so forgiving and will hide many mistakes. There are no seams to "finish" and homespun fabric has no right or wrong side. Rag style stitching is also perfect for the busy creative person because once you get the concept down, the possibilities are limitless. Most projects can be created in an evening or a weekend. We recommend using only homespun fabric for rag style because of its superior fraying ability. Traditional quilting cottons will not fray like the homespuns that you see illustrated on this website. Flannel will fray fairly well but it will "pill" over time when you wash it. Homespun is beautiful, inexpensive and will the perfect fabric for you to create your ragged creations with -- and it only gets softer with each wash! We also recommend using spring action scissors when doing your clipping. This can help tremendously with hand fatigue. We keep several different styles of spring action scissors in the studio but our favorites for the seam clipping are shown in the Amazon links on this page. Almost any project can be adapted to rag style. Just sew your seams inside out and clip the exposed edges. Machine wash & dry your project and you will have fluffy frayed edges where the clipped seams once were. Below are some images and specific instructions for how-to clip your raw edges and seam allowances. |
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