How much fabric to use
#22
Originally Posted by traveling2dals
I never buy enough fabric and have to go back and try to find the same one. Whats an easy way to figure out how much you need for your quilt?
Proplem: The cream color in the newer batch is not the same as the older fabric. I had to tea dye it yesterday. Not a problem since I am doing a "quilt as you go" and am cutting the fabric into blocks. Said all that to say this: try to get your fabric all at one time. The dye lots will be different.
#24
I like scrappy quilts so I use a bit of a LOT of different fabrics. I usually only need to worry about having enough background, border fab and backing, because the rest is all scraps.
Here's a list of approximately how many pieces of each size you can cut from an 18" x 21" fat quarter:
90 2" squares or
50 2 ½” squares or
42 3" squares or
30 3 ½” squares or
20 4" squares or
16 4 ½” squares or
12 5" squares or
12 5 ½” squares or
9 6" squares or
Here's a list of approximately how many pieces of each size you can cut from an 18" x 21" fat quarter:
90 2" squares or
50 2 ½” squares or
42 3" squares or
30 3 ½” squares or
20 4" squares or
16 4 ½” squares or
12 5" squares or
12 5 ½” squares or
9 6" squares or
#26
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Join Date: May 2009
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 7,286
Originally Posted by traveling2dals
To DebraK- Let say i have 180 squares at 5 inches and 4 different colors to buy. I think thats 60x60. My own pattern, just blocks.
For fabric that is 40-44 inches wide (selvage to selvage) that is 40 (inches) divided by 5 (inch squares) = 8 squares per 5 inch strip.
45 (total squares) divided by 8 (squares per strip) = 5.6 strips, lets say 6 strips.
Then 6 strips x 5 inches each = 30 inches. Add enough for straightening the edges and to be safe get 1 yard of each color.
Does that make sense to you? It's easy if you just sit down and think about each step.
#27
This little drill works for me:
1) Decide the size of the quilt & figure the backing. EX: a crib size (45x60) would require about 3 yards for backing & binding.
2) Gather the fabrics for the top and buy enough of each to total the yardage of the backing fabric. EX: for 6 different fabrics in the top, I'd buy about a half yard of each---a total of 3 yards.
Of course, I make mental adjustments according to the pattern, but the total yardage in the top should be AT LEAST as much fabric as the backing. As others have said, buying a quarter yard extra here and there is how scrap stashes are created!
1) Decide the size of the quilt & figure the backing. EX: a crib size (45x60) would require about 3 yards for backing & binding.
2) Gather the fabrics for the top and buy enough of each to total the yardage of the backing fabric. EX: for 6 different fabrics in the top, I'd buy about a half yard of each---a total of 3 yards.
Of course, I make mental adjustments according to the pattern, but the total yardage in the top should be AT LEAST as much fabric as the backing. As others have said, buying a quarter yard extra here and there is how scrap stashes are created!
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