I did a new Raggy Turtle sample yesterday and someone suggested the design have multiple fabrics for the shell, so I took a few photos just now when I redid it! It turned out SO CUTE! You can’t see steps 1, 2 and 3 in this photo but I’ve already done the head, “arms” and “legs” which were done with regular ole marking, tackdown & satin. You will see them later. BEFORE I DID THE EYES, WHICH IS THE LAST STEP, I STOPPED TO TRIM ALL OF MY RAGGY FABRIC INSTEAD OF TRIMMING AFTER EACH LAYER! As you can see below, I first put down a layer of WHITE flannel, then my bright polka dot fabric (that is steps 4 & 5 and it stitched the fabric down with a redwork stitch which is a thick running stitch). Next, I put another layer of white flannel and my fat lime gingham on top of that (steps 6 & 7). Then on the top layer another layer of white flannel and my pink gingham (steps 8 & 9). You COULD trim each layer in between steps, but since this is raggy it’s easier to just let it sew and trim all at once at the end (before the eyes which is step 10!).

So, obviously I start at the top and trim, leaving about 1/8″ of fabric. You can do more or less.

Next I trim my lime fat gingham layer.

Now the bottom layer and as you can see, the head and other parts were done first. Those are regular satin stitch; only the shell is raggy!

Next I take my (dull) little embroidery scissors and I scrape the edges of the fabric to make it fray. You may notice lots of loose crazy long threads. And, as you can see I did the last step which is the eyes.

Lint brush! It’ll pick up any loose threads. If there are any long threads left, just trim them w/ scissors.

Here is the finished turtle! I love how it turned out!! It’s always fun to coordinate fabrics!

This was yesterday’s sample and if you prefer, you can use just 1 fabric (and a layer of flannel underneath)!!

I bought yet another 3 drawer cart at Target today. I WILL have all of my fabric organized by the end of the day and that will be my next blog post! I’m halfway there!!

This post will be filed under “Helpful Posts” on my menu bar along with my previous Raggy post ~ https://www.appliquecafeblog.com/raggy/. Don’t be afraid to try it! It’s fast and has some texture and depth to it!

p.s. after explaining this I see that it might be easier to have Jeff move the eyes step up to 4 right after the satin stitch for the head and other body parts. That way you can do all the shell layers and trim and be done! Hope this doesn’t confuse anyone! We will get it changed before we list it later today!

You may see the cute “raggy/shaggy” designs at Applique Cafe or other sites and wonder “how do they do that?” I get the question quite a bit and was working on a new design today, so I decided to take pics of each step. We have a few raggy designs at AC (click HERE) and there are also some cute ones at www.embroidery-boutique.com! I love her raggy flower and butterfly!

As you can see below my machine has already sewn the 1. Marking, 2. Tackdown and 3. Satin stitch for the strawberry design (not yet listed). This is step 4. Marking for the stem.

The key to a raggy design is flannel. You can use colored flannel, matching flannel (lime fabric and lime flannel) or use a contrasting flannel which I have done on some of the EB designs before (hot pink fabric and lime flannel underneath). It’s up to you and this is plain ole flannel I got at Hobby Lobby! As you can see below I’ve ironed both pieces (note to self: get a new tabletop ironing board asap).

I want my gingham to be diagonal, so I’m laying my fabric on top of my flannel and placed them both down for step 5. Tackdown.

This is step 5. Tackdown below.

Step 6 for this design is called a redwork stitch. It’s sort of a thick running stitch that goes back & forth a time or two to create the thick dense stitch often used in quilting.

Now I’m going to trim my fabric AND flannel around the redwork stitch, leaving about 1/8″ (or more or less depending on how raggy you want your fabric). I’m using 4″ curved Gingher embroidery scissors for this.

This is what it looks like after I’ve trimmed the excess fabric away. As you can see I left about 1/8″, but you could cut closer to the redwork for less shaggy or leave it longer for more. It’s up to you!

Now I’m using my straight embroidery scissors that came with my machine. They are a bit dull and I just scrape the edges until the threads come loose and look “raggy”. As you can see I went ahead and did step 7. the seeds (in yellow).

A lint brush comes in handy. Just roll it across to pick up any loose thread, and if there are any long threads you can just trim those with your scissors and pick them up with the lint brush as well.

Here is what it looks like finished! Sorry for the poor photo quality but it was a yucky rainy cloudy day today. I will get a better picture tomorrow! This is how you achieve the “raggy” look – it’s very fast and very easy! Some designs are all raggy and some (like the strawberry) just incorporate raggy in to one aspect of the design (i.e. tree swing design).

Why flannel? It frays easily and adds a thick layer to your fabric to make it more 3D and quilted looking. You could also use just 2-3 layers of fabric, and I’ve also used just flannel in a raggy design before (see raggy snowman).

Why raggy? It’s personal preference! Some people like raggy designs and some don’t. I like them because they are different, textured and fast and easy to sew!

Do I use Heat N Bond Lite? For this design, YES on the strawberry part of the design and NO on the raggy part. The redwork stitch will hold your fabric down. HNBL is not necessary and would interfere with the fabric fraying properly.