Denim and Homespun Rag Quilt Tutorial Part 5

{Nifty Thrifty Denim Rag Quilt Tutorial Part 1}
{Nifty Thrifty Denim Rag Quilt Tutorial Part 2}
{Nifty Thrifty Denim Rag Quilt Tutorial Part 3}
{Nifty Thrifty Denim Rag Quilt Tutorial Part 4}

Part 5

Now that you have all the rows to your quilt sewn together, it's time to move on to sewing around the outside edges of the quilt.

On my quilt, I just used a straight stitch and sewed all the way around the edges on all sides. I used the same seam allowance I had on the rest of the quilt: about 1/4 an inch out past the foot on the machine. You could double stitch if you wanted, but I didn't. When I came to a seam I would spread it out allowing 1/2 to go to one side and 1/2 to go to the other side.

You could fold the whole seam to one side or the other, but that is a lot of bulk. It would be a good idea to press the seam the way you want it to go with an iron before starting to stitch. I didn't, but about 1/2 way through I wished I would have. Sewing would have went a lot quicker and a lot smoother.

Now that you have your seam all the way around the outside, it is time to pull out those snips and start snipping! I went around the outside first. I snipped about every 1/4 inch. Be sure not to snip your stitching. That would be bad.

Once your finished with the outside edges, move to the inside. I did the horizontal rows first, then the vertical. It doesn't matter either way really. Just snip, snip, snip.

When you run into the seams that have ends going in opposite directions {one side sewn pointing up and one side sewn pointing down}, don't panic. Simply snip about 1/8 inch from the stitching on both sides.

This will allow the seam to free up. Then snip, snip, snip about 1/4 inch apart the rest of the way across.

Once you think you are finished with all the snipping, lay your quilt out on the floor and look it over really well to make sure. Once your positive, you have every seam snipped, you can wash and dry your quilt.

I would advise you to go to a laundry mat and use a LARGE machine. Your quilt will be heavy and there will be tons of strings. You wouldn't want to destroy your machine. Better to be safe than sorry.

I will post a pic of my finished quilt in {Part 6} as soon as I get a chance to run out to the laundry mat and wash it.

Good luck everyone! I can't wait to see your results! {Nifty Thrifty Denim Rag Quilt Tutorial Part 6}