How to Make a Flannel Quilt

Nothing beats flannel for making a soft, cuddly quilt. You can make almost any quilt out of flannel, but there are a few things you will want to know before working with this fabric. Follow these steps to make a beautiful and comfortable flannel quilt.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Sewing machine
• Quilting pins
• White colored pencil
• Fabric
• Batting
• Rotary cutter
• Cutting board
• Thread
• Iron
• Template plastic
• Ruler

1. Choose a pattern. You can make almost any quilt out of flannel, but easy quilt patterns with chunky pieces--like Amish diamond or bow tie--work best.
2. Determine a size for your quilt. Are you making a wall hanging, a crib quilt, or a king-size quilt? This will determine the amount of fabric that you will need.
3. Purchase your fabric using the measurements on your pattern as a guide. If you do an Amish diamond quilt, you will want to purchase six different fabrics. Make sure that you buy high quality flannel, which is thicker and more durable.
4. Prewash the fabric two times in hot water. Dry it in a dryer both times. Flannel shrinks a lot, and you want it to shrink before you sew it into your quilt--not after. Spray starch the fabric and iron it (without steam) after washing.
5. Cut the various pieces of fabric based on the information in your pattern. The pattern will probably call for 1/4-inch seams, but adjust for 1/2-inch seam allowances because you are using flannel. Label the pieces as you cut them.
6. Stitch the pieces together to make your quilt top.
7. Sandwich the batting in between the quilt top and the backing, with the right sides facing out. Baste or pin the pieces together.
8. Hand quilt a design on each block. Use a template or stitch along the seams (stitch in the ditch).
9. Bind the edges of the quilt with homemade binding (made from one or more fabrics) or with purchased binding. To determine the size of your binding, measure around the outside of your quilt and add 6 inches.

Tips & Warnings

• Flannel will stretch, so use a walking foot on your sewing machine and use a lot of pins to keep it in place.

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