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🌹 Explore the ENCHANTMENT of French Rose Quilts
What is a French Rose Quilt
Let’s take a peek into the history behind these lovely quilts and see what makes French Rose Quilts a timeless classic. You’ll find roses grown around the world and widely adored in formal gardens as well as our front yards. Every year we have a new designer selection of roses to beautify our home gardens. Not surprisingly, roses have long been featured in tapestries and quilts for centuries.
The actual French rose plant originated in central Europe. They date back to the Greeks and Romans and later used in Medieval gardens. What makes this specific variety so popular are their lovely double petals. As they bloom, their petals burst out and become a show piece in any garden. These layers of petals are what create the French rose quilt, also known as the rose garden quilt. Layers of fabric are used to depict the rose petals across the quilt top. They are a very popular quilt design.
The Rose of Sharon quilt design is believed to be one of the oldest quilt patterns in existence. The exact date of origin is unknown, but the applique reached the height of its popularity during the 1800s.
Image courtesy of Homestead National Historic Park_Quilt Homestead Experience
How to Make a French Rose Quilt
What’s Different About this Quilt
Now bring in a creative needle-worker and see what happens. While the original pattern is beautiful, we want to add our own style and personal interpretation to this block. First, we want the rose to be more prominent in the quilt block. That means layering petals to add color and dimension. The original turned edge applique design becomes raw edge applique. This creates the furled edges on each block. Before you know it, a beautiful new rose is created, known as the Vintage French Rose Quilt Block!
Typically, most rose garden quilts will have multiple appliqued blocks with the roses layered in different colors. Raw edge applique quilting is used as an easy method to secure the rose petals in place. Sometimes lattice strips join these blocks to create the quilt top. Then it’s quilted with batting and a backing in the traditional quilt style. My favorite method is to rag quilt these blocks together for a wonderful fluffy quilt. That’s exactly how this quilt is made.
Quilt as You Go French Rose Rag Quilt
This is quite an easy quilt for both experienced and beginner quilters. First as a rag quilt, it’s very forgiving as the cutting and quilt-as-you-go assembly process is easy and very straight forward. While making this quilt, you’ll learn helpful quilting techniques that are used to make this Vintage French Rose Quilt. There are also many useful quilting tips. If you are learning how to quilt, you’ll find this to be a beginner ‘friendly’ sewing project.
The French Rose Quilt also allows you to work on each block individually before assembling the quilt. That way you can work each block as you have time. Yet this block goes together quickly using the quilt-as-you-go method, so you can easily line up and get them finished in a day like I did. Whether you’re a skilled quilter or an excited beginner, you’ll find this quilt goes together quite easily.
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Use this layered Shabby French Rose pattern
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How to make a French Rose Quilt Block
French Rose Quilt Block Assembly
Are you ready to create your own Scrappy French Rose Rag Quilt! I’ll share each step of the process, from selecting the perfect fabrics, quilting the raw edge applique roses, to the final echo quilting that captures the timeless charm of these French beauties. Plus, you can watch each step in the video above as I make this gorgeous quilt.
The French rose quilt block can be easily adjusted to whatever you want! The block size is flexible. You may choose to add a single rose to each block or create a design with multiple roses in a larger block for the center of your quilt. You can also create beautiful raw edge applique rose pillows and wall hangings once you know this technique.
Suggested Quilting Supplies
While we each are inspired to quilt in our own individual way, there are common tools that every quilter uses when making rag quilts! Have a peek at what I always use for my rag quilting.
Schmetz Non-Stick Needles are perfect for rag quilting and especially helpful sewing multiple layers of fabric.
12 Pcs Spring Cotton Fabric Pink Vintage Rose Fat Quarters What sold me with this fat quarter bundle are the pastel backgrounds. Having pale blues, greens, and pinks instead of just white or cream added a lot of interest to my finished quilt. Even better, the fabric was much better quality than I expected given the online price.
8 Pcs Vintage Rose Floral Plaid Fat Quarter Fabric Bundles While are all cream backgrounds, the plaids caught my eye. Having a bit of contrast in a quilt really makes it pop, and these prints worked great. There was one print I didn’t use as the flowers were more yellow and orange than the rest. I’ve set it aside for a pillow I’m making for a friend. It’d also be great in a scrappy quilt if you’re finicky about colors like me😊.
Suggested Rag Quilting Supplies
Even Feed Walking Foot My 2002 sewing machine came with one but I didn’t have any idea how to use it. Finally I gave it a try. Its versatility has made this my go-to quilting foot. It works as well for quilting each block as joining the rag quilt seams. A walking foot does a fantastic job keeping multiple layers of fabric in place as you sew. If you quilt and don’t have a walking foot, you really should consider getting one. You’ll love how easy it is to quilt with!
Fabric Spray Adhesive This has been kept on my quilt table for years with a spare in the cabinet just in case I run out. It’s fantastic for basting fabric and is repositionable, which makes it perfect for quilting. Best of all, it’s so much easier than those safety pins we used for years!
Large Quilt Clips These longer clips are great. I never bought the shorter style as I didn’t think they would hold very well. These are awesome and even come in a sturdy clear case that snaps open and closed.
Spring-Loaded Rag Quilt Snips If you make rag quilts, you’ll love these snippers! I once estimated how many clips I made in a single rag quilt and figured it was about 12,000! No wonder my hands were red and sore when I finished. A simple spring in these snips makes all the difference when you’re making lots of clips. It automatically separates the blades after you cut the clip. This saves so much wear and tear on your thumb which usually does that heavy job with regular scissors.
Making A French Rose Rag Quilt Block
This is a very creative quilt giving you plenty of opportunity to style your blocks exactly as you want. Plus, using the rag quilting method for this quilt simplifies the process immensely. You will begin with a background block large enough to fit your rose petals. My blocks are cut to 13” and finish at about 12”.
Next, layer your rose petals in place to be sewn. You’ll find that using a temporary fabric spray adhesive is very helpful for this step. If you are unfamiliar with this product, check out my fabric spray adhesive tutorial. Once your rose petal layers are in place, a quick spray of temporary fabric adhesive will hold everything in place.
For each quilt block, you will also need a backing square cut the same size as the rose background block. Plus cut a piece of batting that measures 1-inch less than the block. This way the batting won’t interfere with the fraying seams when the quilt is sewn together.
With your French rose rag quilt block ready to be sewn, you’ll see that this is a two-step process. It is much like the quilt-as-you-go method. Frist the roses are quilted in place. Then the echo quilting completes the block and you’re ready to assemble your beautiful new rose garden quilt!
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Whether you’re an experienced quilter looking for a new technique or beginning quilter just getting started, you will love how easy these Ruffled Rag Quilt Borders are to make!
How to Quilt a French Rose Quilt Block
Vintage French Rose Quilting
Creating quilts with these beautiful rose blocks is fun! Layers of petals are sewn in place using raw edge applique. We’ll be using a simple quilt-as-you-go technique to give dimension to the roses on each block. Then a few rounds of echo quilting finishes these shabby rose blocks. Designing and sewing the perfect French rose quilt is much easier using easy walking foot techniques. It helps to capture the charming, fluttering feel of my beautifully layered fabric rose petals!
Since there are two different quilting techniques used for this block, it’s easiest to quilt it in steps. First, place your background block wrong side up and baste the batting in the center. The quilting for this step will not include the backing fabric. This is a technique used to eliminate the chance of getting tucks in your quilt backing as you sew in a circular direction in step two.
Turn the block over with the batting down and the background is facing up. Then baste the rose petals to the block as you desire. You may certainly add any other motifs with your roses. You will often see leaves added behind the rose petals. But you might also think about garden insects such as butterflies or lady bugs.
At this point you will attach each petal layer with raw edge applique quilting. It’s advisable to use an even feed walking foot for this step, as the walking foot will keep all the layers of fabric moving together.
What Is Raw Edge Applique
Raw edge applique is a modern method used for a multitude of quilting designs. It simply refers to stitching along the fabric’s unfinished edge to join it to another fabric beneath. There are many different styles, which means you can choose what works for you and go with it. Here is my quilting tutorial with an example of raw-edge applique sewn close to the unfinished fabric edge. For this rose quilt, we’ll be leaving more fabric between the edge and stitching line. It will allow for beautiful unfurling rose petals!
Raw Edge Applique Tutorial
Raw edge applique is easy quilting for beginners, so please don’t be intimidated. If this is your first time using your walking foot, just give it a try on some scrap fabric to get the feel of how it works. It’s particularly useful for this cotton rag quilt which has multiple layers being sewn at once. Your walking foot will keep those layers in place without any slipping or sliding as you sew.
To start, you will begin quilting on the largest, bottom petal. Sew with a straight stitch around the petal about ½-inch from the outer edge. As you sew around the petal, let your walking foot follow the wavy petal edges. This will create a soft, curving edge. If you choose to keep all your petal layers in place as you quilt, just hold back any edges that get in the way as you sew. You can see me demonstrate this in the quilting video tutorial above.
What is Echo Quilting
With your petals sewn in place, baste the backing fabric to the batting layer. With all three layers together, you will now begin echo quilting. This term simply means your stitching line follows a center motif or pattern for multiple rows, which creates an ‘echo’ of the design. In this case, we’ll echo quilt around the rose with a simple wavy line quilting.
Begin where you can hide your first stitches under a petal edge. Then start sewing at approximately ½-inch away from the largest petal. As you complete the first round, continue following the previously sewn quilting by ½-inch. You may choose to quilt about three rounds as I did or quilt all the way to the outer edge of the block. You will want the batting corners secured so they don’t get bunched up when the quilt is washed.
With all your French rose blocks quilted, you’re ready to assemble your quilt. Decide if you want to include any other blocks in your quilt. In my quilt, I alternated the rose blocks with 9-patch blocks made from the same vintage rose fabrics. This way I could showcase those beautiful fabrics a bit more!
How to Assemble a French Rose Rag Quilt
What is Rag Quilting
Rag quilting is a quilting technique that involves creating a quilt with multiple layers of fabric, where the edges are intentionally frayed to create a soft, textured look. The frayed edges are generally sewn to the front, showcasing the soft, fluffy look. This method is often quick and fun, making it a popular choice for cozy quilts.
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Rose Quilt Block Layout
Before sewing your blocks together, decide how you want them laid out. Consider the placement, how the colors work together, and that the blocks look balanced together. Once you’re set with your layout, it’s time to begin sewing.
What is Web-Piecing A Quilt
Web-piecing is a popular way of assembling your quilt. All the blocks pre-assembled into chain-stitched rows. Then, with the blocks connected in place the rows are joined with long seams from side to side. This is a very efficient and manageable way to join blocks for quilts of any size.
How to Web-Piece a Quilt
To begin web-piecing your quilt, join the first two blocks from the first row with the backs facing each other. This places the front side of each block facing outwards. Now you’ll sew a ½-inch seam from the top to bottom of these two blocks. This keeps seam to the front so the frayed edges will be visible when your quilt is finished.
Without cutting your threads, add the first two blocks of the second row and sew with a ½-inch seam. Continue sewing the first two blocks of each row the same way without cutting the threads in between the blocks. When you reach the last row, it’s time to cut your thread and get the third blocks attached.
Open the two blocks sewn together in the first row. Place the third block back-to-back with the second block already attached. Join these blocks with a ½-inch seam on the right side of your blocks. Continue chain stitching the third block to each row without cutting your threads. As you are chain piecing, notice how each block forms a ‘web’ of stitching that keeps all your blocks in order.
Continue joining blocks to each row until all your blocks are joined together. Now it’s time to sew the seams joining the rows. Again, with the backs facing each other, sew a ½’inch seam from side to side on the front of the quilt. You may find it helpful to clip or pin your rows to hold them in place as you sew.
How to Clip A Rag Quilt
How to Clip Rag Quilt Seams & Corners
With your last row sewn together, your quilt is finished! At least the sewing part is complete. Now it’s time to clip those seams to get the soft, fluffy look that rag quilts are known for. The clipping cuts the threads into smaller pieces so they will wash away leaving a short fringe along your seam. This is what creates the frayed edges.
When you clip your seams, you will make ¼-inch clips along each seam, clipping every ½-inch. Depending on the size of your quilt, it’s a lot of clipping. This is where a pair of Spring-Loaded Rag Quilt Snips come in handy. You’ll appreciate how much easier these little clippers are to use rather than scissors.
Here’s a free printable PDF How to Clip a Rag Quilt tutorial that will show exactly how to clip your rag quilt. You’ll see the basics plus how to clip seams and corners, too! Once your quilt is clipped, you’re finished…except for a thorough wash and dry to bring those beautiful roses to life.
How to Wash and Dry a Rag Quilt
How to Wash a Rag Quilt
Most rag quilts can be washed in a home washing machine. If your rag quilt is quite large and heavy, it may be worth going to the laundromat to use their large size machines. To wash your rag quilt, put it in the washing machine with a couple towels. The towels will help keep the washer balanced as it spins.
I also recommend you set your machine to a second rinse. This will help remove any loose strings before going into the dryer. After taking your rag quilt out of the washing machine, give it a good shake. I will usually do the shaking outside as there can be a lot of fluttering threads. This way the birds will have beautiful nests with bits of thread from colorful quilts.
How to Dry a Rag Quilt
Now you’re ready to run your rag quilt through the dryer. Absolutely set your timer for 10-15 minutes so you can empty the lint trap. You’ll be amazed how quickly the lint trap will fill up. Keeping it cleaned out will allow more air flow and dry your rag quilt quicker. Once it’s dry, give it another good shake. Again, I do this outside. Then cut off any threads that knotted up along the seams. Now your quilt is ready to be used. Enjoy!
