Amy's Modern Fray

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Ortonville, MI
Amy's Modern Fray

Welcome to my page! I design modern rag quilts with a fresh twist on tradition + quilt patterns that let you create your own.
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You'll find inspiration & light how-to's. Whether you're here to make, learn, or just be inspired~
I'm so glad you're here 🌷

09/13/2026

A Little Refresh ✨

When I first opened my Etsy shop last year, one of the many things I needed was a logo. I settled on my little simple ragged heart, which seemed like a natural fit for a rag quilting business. And while I still love a good ragged heart, over time I realized it never quite felt like "The Modern Fray" to me.

As I’ve created more patterns and developed my own style, I’ve had a much clearer idea of what I wanted my logo to be. Something clean and simple, with a little more of the “modern” side of The Modern Fray showing through.

So I finally gave it a refresh! 😊

The four blocks in my new logo are a minimalist take on the inlay quilt blocks I use so often in my designs. I chose soft, muted colors and kept everything else clean and uncomplicated.

I think this one feels much more like me and much more like what I want The Modern Fray to be. The ragged hearts aren’t going anywhere, though. You all know I’m still pretty fond of those! ❤️

09/11/2026

The Detour That Solved the Case 🚓

Sometimes a quilt has other plans for you! 😊

If you’ve been following along with this police-themed baby quilt, you may remember the layouts I worked up and some of my fabric choices. To complement the police car fabric, I had my heart set on a darker blue for the main fabric as a nod to the Thin Blue Line. My original plan also included a white chenille center strip with four yellow-gold fabric stars, a little like sheriff’s badges.

Once I started sewing, though, I just wasn’t happy with the fabric I’d chosen for the stars. While searching for a replacement, I stumbled across something that sent the plan on a little detour!

This adorable Riley Blake print from the It Takes a Village collection features a little town with houses, roads, buildings and service vehicles, including a police station and police cars. For a baby whose mom and dad are both police officers, it seemed like such a perfect find.

So the little town became my new center focus strip. I still wanted to work in the four stars from my original design, so I shadow stitched them across the strip instead. They secure the layers, leave a subtle star outline on the front and make a cute detail on the back too.

This quilt was requested by a family member who wanted something that would honor both parents and the profession they share. Along with the other fabrics, I think this adorable print was just what the quilt needed to round out their story. 💙

09/10/2026

A Little Label Love ❤️⭐

I love adding a little something extra to my sew-on labels when I’m making a custom quilt. It’s a fun way to add a little surprise to the back of the quilt.

I usually add a small heart or star appliqué with a layer of flannel underneath to give it a little body and dimension. My favorite technique is to center the shape over a tiny detail from one of the inlay fabrics I used on the front. Sometimes it’s a little flower, an animal, or another small object that fits nicely inside the shape. Other times, a geometric print or a little pop of color is all it needs.

I overlap the appliqué and label slightly and attach them with the same machine blanket stitch, so the two look like they were meant to go together.

I’m always looking for new ways to add a little customization to my labels. If you have any fun ideas of your own, I’d love to hear what you do! 😊

09/07/2026

Dragons by Design 🐉

I always enjoy seeing what customers create with my patterns, and Shiela’s baby dragon version of Beautiful Day was such a fun one to see! 😊 When she shared how she came up with those adorable dragon feature blocks, I knew it was an idea I had to share!

We’ve probably all had a project where we can picture the perfect fabric in our heads but just can’t find it. Instead of settling for something else, Shiela created exactly what she wanted using ChatGPT and Spoonflower!

I asked Shiela if she would mind if I shared her quilt and how she created it, and she graciously said yes. Here’s what she had to say:

💙 From Shiela:

I followed Amy’s pattern instructions as closely as possible to make this quilt as a shower gift for a baby boy. The instructions were easy to follow with good explanations, and I so appreciate Amy’s availability to answer questions!

I used eight cotton prints as inlays and light blue cotton for the outside layers, with light blue flannel for the inside layer.

Dragons are not that easy to find in fabric, so I had ChatGPT draw them. I tweaked them quite a bit in colors, backgrounds and cuteness, but it was easy to do with ChatGPT.

I then uploaded the panels to Spoonflower and sized them. I was able to purchase just fat quarters, which was very reasonably priced, especially when the fabric was on sale. They do not charge for this service. In fact, they give you a discount when you purchase the fabric you designed.

I did not want an X through the faces of the dragons, so I experimented and finally came up with a nice serpentine stitch that circles and waves around each dragon. No two are alike.

This was my first quilt ever and definitely my first rag quilt. It has many imperfections, but overall I am very pleased. My husband was very impressed and the recipients loved it.

Thank you, Amy, for a creative and beautiful pattern! 💙

If you’d like to take a closer look at the Beautiful Day pattern Shiela used, I’ll put a link in the comments. 😊

08/27/2026

Pinning for Precision 📍

There’s a special kind of satisfaction in looking at the front of a finished rag quilt and seeing all those beautiful blocks come together. From the front, those fluffy rag seams look wonderfully forgiving. But when you flip it over, the back can tell a different story. That’s where those little misalignments become much more noticeable.

If you value precision and want a neater, more polished finish, taking a little extra time when joining your rows can make a big difference.

I’m a big believer in using pins rather than clips when joining rows to help prevent layer creep. Those tiny shifts that can happen as you sew add up to misaligned seams by the end of the row.

The key to pinning is not just where you pin, but the order in which you do it. In this video, I’ll walk you through aligning and pinning your seam intersections first, then pinning between them and easing in any slack to keep everything smooth and aligned as you sew.

I hope this gives you a few ideas to try the next time you’re joining your rows. 🩷

08/22/2026

Stitching with a Strategy 🧵

A few of you noticed when I posted my video on lining up inlays that I was only using my middle flannel and top cotton layers to demonstrate centering them. There’s a reason for that!

I like to stitch my inlays through those two layers first and add my backing later. I use a mirrored blanket stitch to attach my inlays, and I don’t want that stitching visible on the back. Once I add the backing, I use an X or another securing stitch through all three layers.

In the photo, the 2-layer strip sandwich on the right shows the inlay stitching on the back. On the left, the backing has been added, hiding that stitching and leaving only the straight securing stitch visible.

Another benefit of working this way is that I can match my thread to the inlay without worrying about how it looks on the back. I used white thread for the inlay here, then switched to royal blue when sewing all three layers together.

Just another little technique that works well for me! 😊

08/21/2026

Shades of a Beautiful Day 💙

I’ve always been drawn to gradients in art, textiles, and really anything that uses a progression of color. There’s something so soothing about watching one shade gently transition into the next.

I knew I wanted to try that idea with a rag quilt, and Beautiful Day felt like the perfect pattern for it. I found a jelly roll collection with a beautiful range of blues, starting with the deepest blue and gradually moving through the shades to a soft, pale aqua.

I originally shared this quilt when I made it, so I’m linking back to that post in the comments if you’d like to see more construction details and find the link to the Beautiful Day pattern. 💙

08/19/2026

Bright Ideas from the Scrap Bin 💡

Hi everyone! After a short break, I'm back working on my police-themed quilt and wanted to share a little technique I find helpful. When I’m working with darker fabrics in my quilt sandwich, I like to line my lighter fabrics with bleached muslin to help keep them bright. I’m using a dark royal blue for this quilt, so I lined the chenille inlay with muslin. The photo shows the difference really well - half of the strip is lined and half is unlined.

Any white cotton will work, but I especially like bleached muslin because it’s thin and doesn’t add much extra weight. I save larger scraps of leftover muslin in a plastic bin just for this purpose. It’s another great way to put those scraps to good use! 😊

08/13/2026

WE’RE ON PRECISION PATROL 🚓🚓

Here’s one of my favorite little tricks for getting precise inlay placement on my rag quilt strips, quickly and accurately.

When I cut my strips, I fold the fabric in half before cutting, which gives me a perfect center fold. When I build the strip sandwich, I simply match those center folds as I add each layer.

For the inlay, I use the center fold again. I place my quilting ruler at the measurement where I want the bottom of the inlay to sit, match the inlay’s center fold to the strip’s center fold, and guide each side into place along the ruler.

It sounds like a lot when I explain it, but once you see it, you’ll see how simple it really is! And I keep a lint roller nearby to catch any stray threads before they get trapped between the layers. 😉

Watch the video to see my precise placement method in action!

08/12/2026

Case Closed: We Have a Design! 🚔⭐

Here’s a little peek at how I sometimes work out my quilt layouts before I ever start cutting fabric.

I’m very comfortable working in Word and using all the fun features like charts, graphics, and shapes, so that’s actually what I use to play around with my quilt designs. I find it really helpful for visualizing proportions and seeing how the colors are going to balance before I commit to anything. I also type out some notes for reference later.

I had a few ideas for this quilt using more strips and star appliqués in a repeating design, but this is where buying my fabric first ended up limiting my design choices. I didn’t buy enough of some of the fabrics to make a few of my ideas work, so I had to do a little modifying.

I ended up with these two options, which relied on finding just the right fabric for the stars. I headed to the quilt store yesterday to audition some red and yellow fabrics. On paper, I favored the design with the red stars, but once I saw everything together, I just didn’t think the red was the look I was going for.

I found a nice yellow/gold that I really like. It reminds me of a sheriff’s badge, so I’m moving forward with that design! ⭐

Address

Ortonville, MI

Website

https://themodernfray.etsy.com/

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