the standard for fat quarters is 18" by width of fabric...which can vary anywhere from 20" to 22-1/2"...but you definitely should get the 18" measurement...and if all of those miss-measured fat quarters were from one shop I would complain....they need to be more careful in their measurements. If they were off that much in just the ones you bought, they could be off in so many more,and that isn't fair to the customer.