I would like to make a monkey wrench quilt. The book that I purchased is the Underground Railroad book and lists the amount of material needed to make a quilt using many different blocks. Since I would like to make it using only one pattern I don't know how to figure out how much material I will need. Can anyone help me figure this out? Thanks. I would not mind buying a little extra fabric but would hate to get almost done and run out!

Hi,
See Boo's note on Scaling patterns. This is a copy of it.
Donna, although figuring additional yardage may seem complicated it really isn't. It is just a matter of reducing the task to it's basic elements, which are the size and number of strips needed. Each pattern will list cutting instructions for the yardage requirements to accomplish the size of the quilt as stated. If you wish to enlarge a quilt, lets say by a row of 6 blocks, figure how much fabric you will need for those additional blocks. The safest method would be to consider all fabric to be 42"wide. Okay are you with me so far? You know that math is coming, but don't zone out on me. This is simple, no quantum physics involved. Grab a calcualtor. If you need additional 6" squares, you will first need to know how many times 6 goes into 42". See told you not hard, so now how many 6" strips you need to cut would be 1 strip for every 7 squares. This is how you would figure additional yardage. It never hurts to buy extra, that is how a stash is built. Before you know it, you will have enough to play a new game called Scrap Quilts.
Boo

Hope that helps. Right now the original message is on page 3.
Would love to see a pic when you are finished.

Thanks so much for the help. I'll sit down when it's quiet around here and figure out how much I need. I was actually going to buy a book just on the monkey wrench quilt but hated to spend the money when I already have the sampler book. Now I can justify the money for the material!

Hi,
My name is Charlie (Charlotte). My math is horrid and I too have difficulty figuring out how much material to buy. I read the reply from Norah and I was able to follow but nothing was said on how much more material was needed to buy to complete the quilt. I got as far as 1 strip for every 7 squares...does that mean 1 yard for every 7 squares? I told you my math is zero. Thank you for the help because I have just started quilting but hesitate because I never know how much material to buy....again I thank you...Charlie

go to -Victorian Quilt Design.com they have lots of charts and good info.
Elaine

since it's a public domain block, you can also tell me how big you want to make the blocks, how many colors you want to use, and how big you want the finished quilt. i can run it all through EQ and give you estimates.

for free, of course. we mathally challenged types gotta stick together! ;-)

Hi, interesting comments on yardage calculations in the chat history area. Is EQ a computer software program specific to fabric area calculations? Is it an expensive type of program. I do not yet have a computerized sewing machine but can borrow my moms embroidery styel computerized machine from time to time.

C&T Author Barbara Brackman Makes the Cover of McCall's Quilting: Vintage Quilts With True Stories of the Underground Railroad

Check out the December issue of McCall's Quilting for a fascinating article by historian Barbara Brackman, profiling real-life heroes of the Underground Railroad in pre-Civil War America. Barbara's most recent book, Facts & Fabrications: Unraveling the History of Quilts & Slavery, and her new online club, Barbara Brackman's Underground Railroad Quilt Club, offer many more photos, quilt patterns, and real-life stories of the extraordinary slaves and abolitionists who struggled for justice in the days of slavery.

I found this post on ctpub.com and thought it might be interesting. They have a link to join Barbara Brackman's Underground Railroad Club. I think it is referring to the December 2007 issue of the magazine but I am not sure.