I use to buy 1 yard of a fabric I just couldn't live without. Then I'd go to make something and didn't have enough, so started buying 2 yards. That didn't work either so have gone to buying 3 yards of fabrics I really like. As for fabric collections if I really like it I'll buy 3 yards of 5 to 6 of those fabrics. That is usually enough to make anything I want. I always use wide fabric backs for my quilts because I hate to pieced backs.