Nesting Software for fabric layout
 

When I worked at a metal fabrication company I had a free nesting software program that helped me in sales to calculate how many pieces of sheet metal I needed to buy in order to complete a customer's order. So if a customer wanted say 200 pieces of 3' x 4 1/2' rectangles I could go to the program & calculate if it would be best to purchase 4' x 8' or 4' x 10', etc. sheets & how many I needed & it would show me the best layout on the metal. Does anyone know of a free nesting software program for fabric? It should basically be the same as the one I used for metal but was wondering if anyone uses one for fabric & what you use & how simple/complicated is the program?

Then what reason would we have for buying extra? Then how would we have something to contribute to our stash? Then where would we get scraps? If you find such a program, just don't tell me...

Depends on what you plan on making with the fabric. If you're looking at patchwork, then EQ7 would do the job, and it shouldn't be difficult for you to learn. After creating your quilt it can tell you how many of each piece you need, and how much fabric to purchase - assuming your fabric is 42" (I think) in width. You can also print out templates for the pieces.