How to Add a Ruffle to a Quilt
Quilts make attractive bed coverings that keep you warm. Crafting your own quilt offers you many possibilities in matching your bedroom furnishings using several sets of flat sheets, purchasing cotton material or recycling fabrics from old clothes. Adding a ruffle to the edge of the quilt extends its reach down the sides of the bed and makes a beautiful and distinctive effect. You may use fabric that matches the background of your quilt, patterned pieces in the quilt design, or an eyelet lace that complements your quilt colors if you are adding a ruffle to a finished quilt.
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Instructions
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1
Measure the length and width of your quilt and add the two measurements together. Multiply your sum by two. This number is the length you will need to make the ruffle edging. Determine how wide you want the ruffle to be in order to know how much material you need. For example, if you want a 3-inch ruffle, each segment needs to be 4 inches wide to accommodate a half-inch hem and a half-inch seam allowance. A 90-inch by 50-inch quilt top needs a 280-inch strip for the runner. Multiply 280 inches by 4.5 inches for each segment to give you 1,260 inches of fabric in the ruffle. Divide by 36 inches in a yard to arrive at a minimum of 1 yard of 36-inch-wide material to make your ruffle.
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2
Cut your ruffle segments as wide as your ruffle width measurement above. Cut out enough segments to make your ruffle strip. For example, to make a 280-inch ruffle strip, you will need eight segments using a 36-inch-wide fabric or seven segments using 45-inch-wide fabric. If you use standard sheets for the quilt, you will probably need three segments.
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3
Sew your ruffle segments together with half-inch seam allowances, right side together to make one long strip. Hem the bottom edge and run your hem up the edge of the end segments so your strip is hemmed on three sides.
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4
Run a long stitch on the open edge to allow you to gather the ruffle as you go. Fold the ruffle in half and pin the center of the right side of the ruffle to the right side of the bottom center of your quilt. Pin the ends to the top edge of the quilt sides. Pull the gather thread and slowly work the fullness in the strip out so the ruffle gathers evenly around the edge of the quilt. Pin into place, keeping the gathers smooth.
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Sew the ruffle into place once you have it all pinned into place. Press the ruffle open and place on the bed.
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Tips & Warnings
If you use pre-gathered lace, you will need only enough yardage to sew on three sides of the quilt. Add the lengths plus one width to get your total yardage computed. Add extra inches if you need to join lengths of the lace together.
References
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