Another thing that can throw your fat quarters off is washing the fabric. I have unfolded them from the store and they look great - I always wash all my fabrics before using and sometimes when they come out of the dryer they don't look the same way they did when they went in. I make dolls and clothes so it isn't so critical for me.

Marysewfun

Washing lets fabric revert to its natural / normal state. Whatever that might be.

I have learned to not try to straighten fabric after it has been washed. It just pulls back to what it wants to do.

I pick up fabric at resale stores and sometimes for whatever reason there is not a salvage. I just tug gently on the fabric and it's easy to tell the grain by how much "give" it has.

This where KNOWING your quilt store comes into play. My fat quarters are always perfect, with one selvage showing, and cut correctly. If I purchase a fat quarter from an "unknown" establishment, I actually open it up (it's legal!) to SEE what I'm buying.

Since some fat quarters are actually less than the 18 x 22 anymore, I'm seeing fat quarters without selvages.

Also, more frequently these days, I have noticed the fabric width has gone down from 44-45 inches down to 42-43 inches, so that may have an effect on the 22-inch width also if the shops are cutting right down the middle.

I don't know, but I have always preferred half-yard cuts to fat quarters. I just find it is more usable for me. I feel like I am buying a scrap when I buy a FQ.

I guess I never thought about the selvedge edge being missing from precuts, because I remembered from a junior high school 'Home Economics' class that you could find the straight of grain in small pieces of fabric, if you remember that woven fabric has some 'give' across the grain but almost none on the straight of grain. I just do this automatically when I have an piece that is no longer yardage, before I cut. Doing this will also make it easier to piece because all of the stretchiness will be one direction on any quilt made with right angles, so I get more accuracy. My corners are not always perfect, but at least I know I have done all I can to get it that way. Lol!

I agree.
The problem could also be from not good quality fabric. But then I am a fabric snob when it comes to buying fabric. For as much time as I put into making a quilt I want the best fabric I can afford.

I'm always learning from this board! Interesting information on fat quarters that I've never given much thought. Thanks for posting.

I don't buy FQs very often for piecing, but for applique. When I wash them, I have to worry about shrinkage - and some fabrics shrink a lot! I couldn't depend on the amount of fabric available if I used FQs. I prefer to buy yardage for piecing.