Pre cut fabric conversion
 

Hi everyone. This is probably a question that's been asked many a time on the forum over the years but I can't seem to find anything, so forgive me asking it again.

How much fabric is there in each of the following: jelly roll, layer cake and charm pack? It's sometimes hard to know how cost effective it is to buy any of the precut fabric packs/bundles compared to buying a length of each fabric especially in the UK. Here in the UK a metre of fabric can be anywhere between £12-£14 GBP (which is roughly $19-20 USD).

Many thanks for your help.

That's really difficult to answer because the name: jelly roll, layer cake and charm pack, refers to the size of the cut, not the NUMBER of cuts you get in a packet. So like a jelly roll can have anywhere from 20 to 44 strips, which would give you a huge variation in the amount of fabric you would receive. So, a jelly roll is 2.5" X WOF, which is usually 40 inches of useable. 2.5 X 40 = 100 square inches/strip. Multiply by the number of strips to get the square inches. Same for charm packs, 5" X 5" = 25 square inches, layercakes, 10" X 10" = 100 square inches. you really need to pay attention to the info listed to see how many of the precut is in that particular pack. Hopefully, you are excessively diverted by this info.

There are 1584 sqin in a yard of fabric (36x44).
Layer cake with 40 pieces of fabric is 4000 sqin.
Layer cake with 42 pieces of fabric is 4200 sqin.
Charm pack (5") with 40 pieces of fabric is 1000sqin,
Charm pack with 42 pieces of fabric is 1050sqin.
Jelly roll (2.5"x44") with 40 pieces of fabric is 4400sqin.
If you divide these numbers with the sqin in a yard you will get fairly accurate yardage.
I hope this helps.

jelly rolls are 2 1/2" strips by width of fabric....how many strips vary - sometimes only 20 strips, sometimes 40...you have to check the individual one you are looking at to know how many strips there are. 20 strips give you 50" of fabric x width (usually 40-42") layer cakes are 10" squares--again, depends on how many fabrics are in the collection- varies - description should tell you how many- I've seen them with as few 23 and as many as 54...you can get 12 (3 = 30" out of 36" ; x 4 = 40" width of fabric) in a yard of fabric- so if the stack has 24 squares you are getting about 60" x 40" charm squares are 5" squares. (7 x 8 = 56 in a yard) 7= 35"; 8= 40"; sometimes charm squares will have 2 of each fabric - or 4 of each fabric instead of them all being different...and again- how many charms are in the pack vary from pack to pack.

Thank you for your replies everyone. That's really helpful info. Love the reply PaperPrincess! I was excessively diverted by that info, lol.

by the way, what is fabric cut wider than jelly rolls called?? I have two but have no idea what they are called in the pre-cuts world. I'm tired of searching.

Check out modabakeshop.com then click on weights and measures. You might find your answer there

It is the right price if you want all the precut pieces. Sometimes there are cutting errors or fabric not sure of. Please look carefully at them and think of them as quick quilt aids.
You can buy 1/8ths and cut them yourself to have exactly what you want which to me means less wasted money.

i recently did the math on precuts for a project i was working on. like all things, you pay for the convenience of having them cut for you. in no way did it make money sense to buy a cream coloured jelly roll when i had the fabric off the bolt in hand.

aileen

Most of my fabrics I bought (before I became disable) way before there were these names after food (of all things to name them after!).

I recently bought a Tonga Treat package of 20 6" strips. If you calculated the print of each 6" strip of fabric based on the price of $10.00 a yard, the cost would be $33.20. The retail price of this package was $36.99. I bought it at $21.25. That brought the cost of each piece down to $1.06 a piece or $6.37 a yard. I couldn't resist!! You have to be so careful because when you buy this precut items, they are being sold over the NORMAL retail price. But then there is an old American saying, "Time is Money". You just have to make a choice which is: is the precut fabric worth the extra cost over the time you save?? Good luck !!

PS. I find that not too many quilt stores are interested in cutting 1/8 of a yard cut.