36" = 1 yard
27" = 3/4 yard
18" = half yard
9" = quarter yard

I've NEVER been to any quilt shop or fabric store where you could not ask for inches instead of yardage. In other words, if you need 20 inches, they should be able to either cut 20 inches, or tell you the closest fraction, which in this case you are correct, it would be 5/8. In other words, don't be afraid to say "I need 20 inches, what's the closest to that you can cut?"

I guess I am the odd man out because I would first cut the 12 inch width off the fabric and cut it down to the 2 inch widths. This is my reasoning. The long twelve inches need to be stable, so the length is the most stable side of the fabric. The fabric would give you 20 strips on the first strip after being cut down, You then cut the remaining strip only partially, so you have enough to make up the 8 remaining needed 2 inch strips. Which if it is doubled would be four inches. Then use the width of fabric for the other strips that aren't so long.

Girlfriend, you're right on track. Half a yard would be 18", which is not enough. I always buy more than I think I will need to allow for crooked cutting and my mistakes, so I would up the yardage to 3/4 of a yard (24"). Although 5/8 of a yard is adequate (22.5"), it doesn't allow for mistakes. I always go up a little more and add any scraps to my stash.

If you have a calculator, an easy way to figure out how many inches is in 5/8 of a yard is to do this: 36 times 5 divided by 8. The result is the number of inches in 5/8 yard. This works for all fractions because a yard is always 36.

wow...lots of ways to do the same thing. I finally did the suggestion that said I should measure the 12-inch wide strip and cut the 2-inx12's from that.

Thanks for all the ways of doing it...and yes, it is a good idea to print it all out and put it in a folder.

Thanks to everyone,

Dray

I always allow at least a quarter of a yard for crooked cutting. And don't mind at all getting at least a half yard extra. For all those future tissue holders I make.

I've always wondered how to figure the number of inches in each of the cutting increments...the eights are the hardest to figure out. And yes, I usually had more yardage in case of mistakes, or if I have to prewash. Sounds like you have a degree in math, or you've worked in a quilt store. Thanks!