A cozy butterfly rag quilt

I had bought this fat quarter pack of pretty butterfly flannel a couple years ago, and have had it sitting in my closet ever since. It was going to turn into baby burp cloths, but instead I decided to make a rag quilt. I got some grey minky for the back, and cut everything up into 9 inch squares. 

I paired each flannel square with a minky square and quilted a simple X in each. Then I laid out a 5x6 patchwork top and sewed all the squares into strips, and the strips into a quilt. I used a half inch seam allowance throughout and around the outer edge, and kept the seam allowances on top, to get that signature rag quilt ruffle look. The seam allowances and outer edge have to be snipped with sharp scissors every quarter inch, which resulted in a blister and a hand cramp. 

Pre-wash

After a quick wash and dry, the seams fray and fluff up, making the quilt look so cute! 

Post wash

I learned a few things about sewing with minky. It is hard to cut because it has a lot of stretch. It is also hard to sew because it has a lot of stretch. So to keep everything lined up, don't be afraid to use a ton of pins. And if you have a walking foot, go ahead and set that up. It helps a lot. I had to do a bit of seam ripping with this quilt before I figured out the pins and walking foot combo. Squares were shifting, seams weren't lining up. I wanted to be as precise as I could with this, so I ripped and fixed when needed. 

The back is a little all-over-the-place

Also, something I would take into consideration for next time I work with minky, is the nap of the fabric. I didn't even think of it at all until it was all put together and I flipped it over to see if the quilting all lined up. That's when I realized that the nap of the squares was going in all directions. If I made another of these, I would make sure that the nap was going in the same direction for all squares. 

So despite the frustrations of working with minky, I do think this quilt turned out pretty cute. And it sure is cozy!