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Thread: Cathedral Quilt Help with fabric

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  1. #1
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    Cathedral Quilt Help with fabric

    Hey everyone, I'm new to this site, and new to quilting.. I need a hand trying to figure out what I need for fabric.
    http://thejiltedballerina.blogspot.c...-tutorial.html

    Thats the link to the tutorial I'm using. I want to do roughly a 6 foot x 6 foot throw.
    Can someone just double check and tell me if my calculations are right??

    A note about the materials:
    This will all make sense once you've read through the tutorial
    (8) eight background squares=36"
    for every (16) sixteen background squares you will have 22 windows

    Use the guide below to determine your fabric needs.

    1 yard of 44" wide fabric yields approx (12) twelve 10" squares
    3 1/4 squares for windows (scraps)
    2 1/2 squares for batting (scraps) (batting is optional) - I HAVE THIS ALREADY

    __________________________________________________ ______________

    So I want to make a blanket thats like 6 feet by 6 feet.. Just a throw blanket.. My last blanket ended up being roughly 5x5 and I want this one to be a bit bigger.

    so according to my calculations...

    1 yard = 36 inches

    For the background squares I need:
    6 feet = 72 inches.. so I need 16 background squares by 16 background squares.
    So thats 256 squares total.. if 1 yard does 12 I need 21.5 yards.
    Please double check this because I've been getting yards and feet mixed up...

    For the windows I need:
    (sixteen background squares = 22 windows) so 22 x 22 = 484 windows.
    if a piece of fabric is 44 inches wide that means I can get 13 (3.25") squares from the width and I need 38 squares from the length. (that equals 494 squares so yes I will have some fabric left over but 37 isn't enough)
    38 (squares from length) x 3.25 (dimensions of window square) = 124 total inches in length / 36 inches = 3.5 yards.

    This is my second quilt.. my first one was a rag throw made out of flannel for my baby and I to cuddle with our for him/her to lay on. Its super thick and warm and actually turned out really good for my first blanket! I'm excited to start my second quilt

  2. #2
    Super Member Neesie's Avatar
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    Howdy and Welcome!

    What I do, when I'm confused about needed yardage, is sketch it all out on graph paper. That said, don't count on "1 yard" as actually being 1 yard of usable fabric. Selvages must be removed and as likely as not, the cut ends won't be straight. After you wash and dry your fabric, you may also lose a tiny bit, due to shrinkage.

  3. #3
    Super Member virtualbernie's Avatar
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    You're calculating individual yards of fabric which makes you calculate too much. I came up with 18 yards for the background fabric. You would only be using 30 inches of fabric but have 6 inches waste leftover if you were using individual 1 yard pieces of fabric. I didn't calculate the window fabric but you are probably estimating too much there too. Although too much is way better than too little -- more stash for another quilt!

    I also noted that she used batting. I don't use batting in my cathedral quilts because they are heavy/warm enough without it. The batting probably helps to accentuate the window fabrics but depending on where you live, you may not want the extra weight/warmth of the batting. Just wanted to let you know that you can make one without the batting... Please post pics when you're done!
    Bernie

  4. #4
    Super Member PaperPrincess's Avatar
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    Cathedral window quilts take a whole bunch of fabric, so 22 yards for a throw does not seem unreasonable.

    Here's a tutorial from this board. I know you already have one, but this one is very good:
    Machine Stitched Cathedral Window Tutorial
    "I do not understand how anyone can live without one small place of enchantment to turn to."
    Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

  5. #5
    Junior Member Newby0709's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by PaperPrincess View Post
    Cathedral window quilts take a whole bunch of fabric, so 22 yards for a throw does not seem unreasonable.

    Here's a tutorial from this board. I know you already have one, but this one is very good:
    Machine Stitched Cathedral Window Tutorial
    It has been awhile since I used this tutorial. I think Eddie did some calculations on fabric in the tutorial.

  6. #6
    Super Member beatys9's Avatar
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    Wonderful Tutorial - makes me want to do a CW.

    Quote Originally Posted by PaperPrincess View Post
    Cathedral window quilts take a whole bunch of fabric, so 22 yards for a throw does not seem unreasonable.

    Here's a tutorial from this board. I know you already have one, but this one is very good:
    Machine Stitched Cathedral Window Tutorial
    Shannon

  7. #7
    Power Poster dunster's Avatar
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    You use a 10" square of background fabric to get a finished square that is 4.5". You're correct that you need 256 of these. You can *probably* fit 4 squares across the 45" fabric. That means you need 256/4=66 strips. 66*10"=660"=18 1/3 yards. Of course you would want to get extra for shrinkage, squaring off, etc.

    I have never made a CW quilt, but I don't understand why you need 22 windows for each 16 squares. Can anyone explain this?

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