bearisgrey-the thing about wanting/needing a little extra is when the cuts on one or both sides of the fabric are quite crooked and need a fair amount of straightening. Most of the time, after a piece has been "straightened" it is less than the half yard or full yard that you purchased. So, are we supposed to buy an extra 1/8 yard to compensate for this or just hope we get a few extra inches??
I have purchased from many, many online shops and only a few have given me really straight cuts on both sides. Most, there can be a one to 3 inch divergenge in size from the top (the fold) to the bottom (the selvage).