Fabric Width
 

At one time, I "assumed" that all cotton fabrics were 44-45" wide. They aren't.

(So did some clerks/associates in some stores, for that matter - even when the end of the bolt said otherwise :( )

Anyway - check what the bolt end says for fabric width - and if you are a "wash before cutting" person - also check the width after you have washed the fabric and before you start cutting it.

This is more important if one does not have any "extra" fabric available and one needs to "plan ahead" before starting to cut.

Many years ago it was common to find fabric in a 36in. width. I know it was that way in the 70's because I still have some. When you looked at the patterns they gave you instructions on what to buy depending on the width of your fabric. Lately it's rather common to find it in 42in. width.

I have not bought fabric that was 44-45 in a long time. Seems most is 40-42 now. I do have some fabric from the 70s that is 44-45" wide. I rarely use patterns, but have needed to make adjustments for a few that were figured for wider fabric and I could not get the required subcuts out of what they said. At least I was using stash, so had more than the pattern listed.

Whenever I figure how much fabric I need I always use a 40" width allowance. If there's more I consider that a bonus!

I always buy more than I need because sometimes I do stupid things with fabric.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ This is me! The last quilt I made was a bit above my skill level and I made soooo many mistakes. I bought more fabric and still was squeezing the background out of what I had.

Lol Barb I also always buy extra. I wonder if this is the manufacturers way of shrinking what you get and hoping you don't notice as they have done with cereal boxes and ice cream cartons lol!

The selvages are getting so wide. Those 70's fabrics Macybaby mentioned seldom had the manufacturer on it, and the selvage was very narrow as well. And yes I still have some, too.

I always calculate for a 40" WOF plus buy more than I need for a given project. If it's for a focus fabric or background I'll overbuy as much as 1-2 yards. For borders/bindings than maybe .5-1 yd.

Even with this plan, I'm still waaaay short on fabric for my current project...sigh. Oh well, another trip to Lancaster in my relatively near term future, lol.

I like this post. I save all my selvedges for use in the garden. They are quite useful when tying up plants.