Houndstooth Rag Quilt Pattern from A Vision to Remember

I sewed my first rag quilt with this Houndstooth Rag Quilt pattern by Bobbie at A Vision To Remember. She has patterns, fabric, and ready-made items for sale in her etsy shop - the perfect place to pick up your own supplies for this project. In fact, all the fabric I used for this rag quilt was sent to me by Bobbie, along with a free copy of the pattern when she kindly asked me to participate in this tour. Below I'll share how long it took, supplies I found helpful, why this pattern doesn't require as much cutting of pieces as I feared, and more photos! Be sure to use the schedule at the end of the post to visit the other blogger's sharing their rag quilts this week.

This was my first rag quilt ever, and I call it a success! If you have experience making a rag quilt, this pattern would be easy, I'm sure. If you are wondering how to make a rag quilt because you've never done it before, Bobbie's pattern takes you though step-by-step. It's really just two block styles sewn in an alternating pattern (solid block, diagonal stripe blocks). I love the way the diagonal stripe blocks are created. I thought it was going to involve a ton of cutting and assembling of little pieces, but it doesn't! Bobbie really made it simple and quick. You can buy the pattern HERE.

How long does it take to sew a rag quilt? I spent a couple hours one night cutting, then I spent a couple hours over two other nights sewing, then clipping the seams and finally washing it to achieve the frayed rag look. So, say you have a baby shower coming up this weekend and you want to make this Houndstooth Rag Quilt pattern for a baby shower gift - if you have an entire Saturday to devote to it without many interruptions, you could make this. Or, if you are ahead of your game, set aside three to four evenings to work on it and you have it done in no time.

What are the specifics of this houndstooth rag quilt pattern? The finished blanket is 46" by 46" square. I sewed my rag quilt without the border the original pattern calls for which adds about 3" in all sides, so my blanket is closer to 40" square. My version is made with cotton fabrics from Riley Blake with a layer of flannel batting in between. You'll need about 8 yards of fabric, or 10 1/2 yards if you include a batting layer. You'll have a few leftover squares and/or large scraps, so you can make a coordinating pillow or other accessory if you like. The instructions give actual yardage requirements for each fabric type, as well as measurements for ribbon to add to the border.

What supplies were helpful while sewing this rag quilt? (some amazon affiliate links included)

If you are going to make a rag quilt, I learned that you definitely want short bladed scissors to do all the snipping of the seams. You do A LOT of seam clipping, and having the right tool really saves your hand and helps you enjoy the project much more. I followed the recommendation of Bobbie and invested in a pair of Heritage spring loaded rag quilting snips. They are really high-quality and made all the cutting painless and as quick as could be. I can see using these for other projects from now on as well.

I also used my handy Thread Cutter for Chain Piecing (video above) to slice the connecting threads when after I chain pieced the blocks (chain piecing means I didn't cut the thread on my machine after I sewed a seam connecting fabric on a block and just went on to sewing the next block. This results in "chain" of blocks with a short line of thread between each. Then you cut that connecting thread chain to get each separate block. It saves time when sewing a lot of blocks one after the other). I love this tool - especially since it was created by a social media friend of mine, Jamie of Sunflower Quilts and her mom. If you want to buy your own cutter, they are in (re)production and will be available for pre-order on their website in April, with shipping in May.
Computer - to watch movies while I sewed (Ha!). (I watched Regarding Henry on Amazon Prime and Groundhog Day on Netflix)

Houndstooth rag quilt pattern