Fat Quarter Flannel Rag Quilt with Pandas

As I mentioned in the previous post, my church is donating blankets to the Child Advocacy Center again this year.  Several people make the fringed fleece blankets for this project, and I have done that, too, in the past.  However, I've read about how much micro-plastic fleece puts into the water supply and I decided that I wanted to do something different instead.  I got the bright idea to make really simple rag quilts out of flannel fat quarters, and this was the result.

I ordered some flannel fat quarter bundles that each had 12 fat quarters.  I paired up the fat quarters, put scrap batting in between them, quilted them, and sewed the units together.  They take a bit longer to make than fleece blankets, and they are probably a little more expensive, but it was still really quick and economical to make.  This fat quarter bundle was only about $25 and the batting was leftover scraps (some pieced together) that I was thinking about just getting rid of anyway, so that counts as free in my book.  The white quilting thread was not very expensive either.  It came from Walmart in a large spool.

I'm actually really happy with how it turned out.  It gave me an opportunity to practice my free motion quilting, and I found that I really enjoy doing it.  The resulting quilt is very soft and cozy.  And I think that the fringe gives it a nice little bit of interest for a child to play with.  I think it should be very comforting for the child who receives it.

I finished the sewing and the clipping on this one at the quilting retreat, too, but I wanted to wait until it was washed before I photographed it.  Washing makes so much difference in the look of any quilt, but it is really essential for a rag quilt.