I've seen alot of mention of making a fat quarter quilt...now I know what a FQ is but is it cut down to make squares?...or is it used in it's FQ square...I know I ask the silliest questions but I am so tierd of making nine patch quilts squares and really would like to venture out to something a little more challenging and fun....the FQ has me confused now...I am a collector of FQ's so I guess I need to learn what to do with them now...lol

It's jusst another type of cut of fabric. Yard/metere/fat quarter. All different cuts. The way you cut up your fat quarter, now that's how your quilt is made!

Just go to a local Joanns or quilt shop and check out the books that have quilts made out of fat Q's. Get some ideas from there!!!!!

Check out this site. Lots of coordinated fat quarters available, but also lots of ideas for things to do with them!

http://www.fatquarterquilters.com/

Fat quarters are cut 18 by 22 inchs so it is much easier to cut up. I like to buy 2 of the same fabric when Joanns has a 99 cent sale. That way I know I have 1/2 yd of fabric to use.

Rose Marie,
great tip! I always look at the block of the month fat quarters, too. Sometimes that pattern is only available for the duration of the BOM quilt and only in that cut. I too, tend to buy 2 of each...or one and then hope it's there still when I figure out what I'm doing with it.
Granny Cat,
I also have this site for fat quarter projects if you're interested....
http://www.fatquartershop.com/freequiltpattern.asp
Best of luck with your new patterns!!

I also have quite a collection of FQ's too. I have wondered what to do with them and when I ask my mom she says "Sew something!" She makes purses, place mats, napkins, coasters, whatever. I haven't started any of those projects yet.

Isn't the term 'Fat quarter quilt' - a term for making a quilt solely out of lots of different fat quarters?? You can cut them up into different blocks and patterns etc. - that was my understanding, correct me if I am mistaken please :lol:

I thought it was just a quarter of a yard, but cut square.. But I don't even know what to do with them, so what do I know? :oops:

Thank You for not knowing what to do with them either Maggiebooboo I am in great company...lol...well I do like working with them because they are a smaller piece of material to work with but for some reason I almost thought you were supposed to leave them in that big square and sew them together to make a quilt...at least the project would be done in no time...haha...Thank You to retrogirl and Harmony for the websites to learn from you really have all been so helpful to a green beginer like myself...

I didn't know what they were either, but saw a few quilts at the store using these and asked why were they made up like that, and the reply was that sometimes they were the same price as yard goods, but just smaller.
In Canada here only Walmart has them at lower than $8.00 for 4 in the quarter.
Sure would love to see a Joann's in my travel to the US next year.
I bought some and will be incorporating them in my next bright quilt.
http://quiltingforfunandmorefun.blogspot.com

For some fun and fast FQ quilts, the Turning Twenty series by Tricia Cribbs are great! Most of the tops can be finished in a day. Instructions are provided for cutting and sewing together the pieces. Your local quilt shop should have them in stock or they are available from FriendFolks - P.O. Box 322 - Graham, TX 76450. You can also visit them online at www.FriendFolks.com. Hope this helps.

I love collecting fat quarters for the wide variety of fabrics for different quilts that I have in mind. Joann's is where I get a lot of mine when they have them on sale.

There's also a series of 3 books called "Laps from Fats" by Ellen Replogle from Good Intentions Press. There's enough patterns in these three books to keep you inspired and quilting for years! I haven't checked this out yet, but here's a website:

www.goodintentionspatterns.com

I just happend to remember that the quilt in my avatar is the first one I ever made from one of these books, all using fat quarters from JoAnn's. Since then I've made several, and have plans to make several more. I LOVE lap quilts!

Harmony that is so pretty I noticed your avatar but could'nt see all the design ..it is really pretty is that a nine patch design?...I have never been more inspired to quilt then I have since joining this group...I seriously thought you all would boo me out of the group after I posted this question...instead I have a bunch of great websites to visit now and get my sewing machine going...haha

You'll never get boo'd here! You'll only get support and help (if you ask for it). This is the most awesome site ever, and you'll have quilting friends here in no time!

I use fat quarters alot in quilts that use lots of different shades of a color.
I buy plastic containers at the Dollar Tree Store that are the right size to store them. Then keep them on a shelf.
Fats are so easy to cut up.
When at Joanns 99 cent sales I pick up all the ones that speak to me and as I said before, always get 2 of each. Most patterns that use more than a couple of colors are good for using fats.
Harmony, your quilt is beautiful. Keep up the good work.
Here is an online fabric shop that has fats at 25 for $25.

www.pieceworkcompany.com

When I buy fabric that I REALLY like, I'll buy 1/2 yard more, then take that 1/2 yard and get my fat quarters from it.

One of the projects I'm working on now is a fat quarter quilt - it's from Fat Quarter Quilts by M'Liss Rae Hawley. The pattern I'm doing is a variation on the Irish Chain (I love that design) called Road to Ireland. It's for my DH's nephew in UK and his dad's family (DH's BIL) is Irish. I'm making it out of 6 FQ in green (that's the chain/road) and yellow Peter Rabbit fabric (He likes bunnies too). It's a neat book that you can still find at Amazon.

I have that one. Have made quite a few from there.
Like I said before....I LOVE fat quarter quilts!

I am addicted to Joann's fat quarters when they are on sale for 99 cents also. However, if it's a fabric I really like, I look for the same thing on the bolt. Often it's on sale for 30% off and if it's originally 2.99 (and sometimes I'm lucky and it is) then I might buy half a yard for the same price as the fat quarter.

I love having all those fat quarters in their handy little storage whatsis thing - I do a lot of quilting with "scraps" and some applique and those fat quarters are just right for that. Also have a fantastic swing bag pattern that takes 2 fat quarters, 2 zippers, and some leftover batting.

Fat quarters are what brought me to this site. I was surfing and looking for what to do with them because my SIL had given me a package saying there should be enough to make quilt. I don't particularly like the fabrics but want to sew something (simple) so I can let her know that her gift was appreciated. Like you, I had no idea what to do with these chunks of fabric but through this site I learned that there are actually whole quilt patterns for them. Books full of 'em!
My FQs shrank when I pre-washed them so only one of the 20 was still 18x22. The rest ranged from there to about 15x19. Not one yielded the number of strips called for in the pattern.
The pattern is called "Wickedly Easy Quilts" and I found it through a link on this site at
http://www.byannie.com
After all this FQ research, I'm excited to start making quilts using them.

Thanks for the new website to check out ...I know what you mean I have had so many questions answered because of this board ...questions I thought were probably silly but I asked anyway and found I was not alone alot of folks had FQ's and had no idea what the heck to do with them....well now we can just make those pretty quilts can't we?...haha

I just saw a post yesterday where someone listed all the different size squares you can get and how many of each from one fat quarter. I have spent a half hour looking for it to no avail. I know - I should have book marked it - but didn't.

Does anyone know where I can find it again.

Thanks! Pat

Pat, check about.com's quilting info for basic cutting instructions. It goes through charm sizes, fat quarters, fat eighths, etc.