Little Man Rag Quilt

With third trimester well under way, preparing for baby is in full swing. I went back and forth a lot in choosing a baby boy nursery theme, but finally decided on doing all things little man style in browns and blues. I wanted to start with his quilt so I could decorate the rest of his space around it.

To make this rag quilt, I hit up the local thrift store and came home with a blue bed sheet, a huge- fuzzy blue blanket, and a couple of plaid and flannel mens button up shirts. I combined this with all things brown and blue, including jean scraps, from my fabric scrap bin and set to work. In the end, this whole quilt cost me 10 dollars and 3 nap times. That's a great deal! Just the fuzzy backing alone would have cost near 30 dollars if purchased at a fabric store!

My finished quilt measures slightly larger than 36" by 48".

I cut 48 squares 7 1/2" by 7 1/2" and sewed them together, wrong sides together, with a 3/4" seam.

I decided to add a boarder and cut it 4" wide out of the bed sheet.  I attached it both to the quilt squares, and to the blue, fuzzy blanket I was using for a backing, with wrong sides together and a 3/4" seam.The blanket I bought was incredibly soft, but also quite thin so I ended up doubling up on it for the back.

I worried that attaching both backs to the quilt front only on the perimeter wouldn't hold the quilt together very well, so I top stitched (on the squares seams) a few lines through all the layers. Nothing fancy. Just something subtle to make the blanket more durable. When the quilt was all pieced together, I cut snips in all of the seams and threw it in the washing machine/ dryer. This helped make the raggedy look I was hoping for.

Of course, over time with snuggles and more washings the quilt will grow more and more raggedy at the seams and so it will look even better with age. Can't wait to snuggle my newborn in it this fall!