There was a time when using rags to make a quilt was a sign of economic woes but, with the emphasis today to reuse, recycle, and refurbish anything and everything possible, making a rag quilt can almost seem like an ecologically noble thing to do.
Just because it’s make from scraps of fabric that have been reused and recycled doesn’t make a rag quilt a thing of lesser beauty or value. Some of the finest clothing or pieces of fabric can be used to make a rag quilt. There are no rules.
A rag quilt can be made with minimal pattern or it can be made with a pattern so intricate that only the most skilled hands can produce it. But making quilts from rags is a wonderfully economic way to learn the art of quilting without investing a lot of money in a project that may never get completed.
Making a rag quilt can be fun, too. Consider using a collection of swatches from discarded clothes or bed linens to make a crazy quilt. With this style quilt, anything goes and rags are perfectly suited for this application.
What one person calls a rag quilt another may call a memory quilt. The rags may be pieces of the clothes a baby wore during the first year of his or her life. Pieced together as a quilt, they may keep that same baby warm for years to come while reminding mom and dad of that first year of baby bliss.
One way to make a rag quilt a fun adventure is to collect pieces of fabric that are all the same color. Or perhaps all the same pattern or design motif. Or all the same type of fabric.
When making a rag quilt, the only limits are those of the imagination. It may be easier to consider a rag quilt project one just for fun while reserving finer fabrics for special quilts intended for gifts, display, and other notable occasions.
