Thread: Is there an easy answer to this?

Originally Posted by quiltingcrazy

I am very new to quilting and am trying to design my own quilt. I have found several blocks that I like but they are of different sizes. How to I know what size to cut if the directions are for a 12, 9, etc. block and I want a block that is much smaller? I bought a calculator to help me but it doesn't address this situation. Can anyone help me to understand the math involved?

I swear, someone needs to run a few "math" quilting classes. Converting most angular blocks to a certain size is soooooooooooo simple, but it just baffles some people. A half an hour class would solve those problems.

Originally Posted by Zyngawf

I think this is the kind of math that a teacher once told all of us that we would use someday, but we just don't know when.

And changing block sizes is just second nature to me.

This is a great site. I had not heard of it before. As for questions on this board; I am 65 and have sewn most of my life but have learned so much from this board that it still facinates me.

Originally Posted by Sunnye

Try this: www.victorianaquiltdesigns.com
scroll down to red lettered things under "free..."
click quilt calculator charts
scroll to Quilty Formulas and click on "request this free..."

They have several things there that are very valuable, I think. Good luck.

EQ is definately the answer. If you want to design your own quilts ask for it for your "toy gift" for xmas. I've owned several versions of EQ and it keeps getting better and better. Dianne said she would resize them for you, but if something happens and she gets too busy, I would also be happy to resize them for you. Happy stitching.

This might not be what you want, but could help. If you know the largest block that you want to make, you could go ahead and make that block. Then you could add simple fabric strips to the smaller blocks to make the smaller blocks the same size as the larger one using the strips around them. You could use a contrast fabric to make the smaller blocks stand out or you could use a background fabric that matches the larger blocks and the smaller blocks will just show up in different places around the quilt. I don't know if this makes sense, but in the end, all the blocks will be the same size for putting them together.