crazy rails quilt-a tutorial

Today I will be sharing a tutorial on how to make a crazy rails quilt. (You can see more photos of my crazy rails quilt here, if you'd like.) My quilt was inspired by a vintage quilt (below) that belongs to Rebecca, who is a member of my modern quilt guild.

Someone in Rebecca's family was on the verge of throwing this quilt away, but her dad stepped in a saved it. I'm so glad that this quilt was rescued. It's a beauty... so inspiring!

This is the kind of quilt that one could sit under and look at the fabrics for hours. I just love it!

 

This quilt isn't complicated, by any means, but it's the sheer number of pieces that makes it challenging. Here is a simple tutorial for you, in case you would like to make a crazy rails quilt of your own! I'm sure that I will be revisiting this pattern myself, before too long. I seem to be unable to make just one version of any quilt. :)

A few things to note:

All seam allowances are 1/4".

Each block finishes at 3".

Each individual "rail" finishes at 1" x 3".

I made blocks by strip piecing, mostly, but I also pieced some blocks individually. I like doing both. Strip piecing saves a lot of time, but I am able to use up smaller pieces by making blocks one at a time. The mix of the two methods gave me a nice variety of blocks to work with in the final layout.

It is a good idea to reduce your stitch length while strip piecing, so the seams don't start to separate while the blocks are being handled or arranged. (I use a stitch length setting just under 2 on my Juki, but all sewing machines vary.)

To make 1 block at a time:

Cut three strips of fabric 1 1/2" x 4".

Sew the strips together and press seams to the side, or open, whichever you prefer. I generally press the seams toward the darker fabrics.

Trim the block to 3 1/2" square. There is very little waste, as you can see. I trimmed from both ends of the block, to ensure that the block is exactly square.

To make 2 blocks at a time:

Cut 3 strips 1 1/2" x 7 1/2".

 

Sew together and press seams.

Trim the strip set to make 2 blocks, each measuring 3 1/2" square.

To make 3 blocks at a time:

Cut 3 strips 1 1/2" x 11".

Sew together and press.

Trim the strip set to make 3 blocks, each measuring 3 1/2" square.

To make 4 blocks at a time:

Cut 3 strips 1 1/2" x 14 1/2". Sew together and press.

 

Trim the strip set to make 4 blocks, each measuring 3 1/2" square.

You could make more that 4 blocks at a time, if you wanted to. Personally, I prefer to have fewer blocks that are exactly the same. Playing with different fabric combinations was a lot of fun!

Strip piecing definitely helps make this quilt manageable. I made these 10 blocks in a matter of a few minutes.

 

One other handy thing....I'm piecing a log cabin quilt (measurements here) that also uses 1 1/2" wide strips. It's nice to be able to cut fabric for both quilts at once!

 

Quilt Sizes:

size	measurements	# of blocks needed	block layout
baby	36” x 36”	144	12 x 12
small lap	48” x 60”	320	16 x 20
large lap	60” x 72”	480	20 x 24
twin	66” x 90”	660	22 x 30
queen	90” x 96”	960	30 x 32
king	108” x 108”	1296	36 x 36

I'm not going to give specific yardage requirements for each quilt size, but if you are guesstimating, a baby size quilt usually requires about 1 1/2 to 2 yards of fabric. A lap size quilt generally uses 3 1/2 to 4 yards of fabric. A twin generally uses between 5 1/2 to 6 yards of fabric. A queen generally requires about 7 1/2 to 8 yards of fabric. A king size quilt can use in the ballpark of 10 yards of fabric. This quilt has more seams than most, so it will probably require more fabric than the amounts listed. These are just very general guidelines for an idea of how much fabric you may need.

If you think making a whole quilt is just crazy, (and it might be!) you could also use the block measurements for placemats. That would be pretty fun, too!

If you use this tutorial, I'd love to see photos of your quilt.

Happy Monday to you!