When you go the jelly roll, layer cake, charm pack route you get a sampling of most fabrics from that particular line. Do the math that way. See if buying whatever the smallest amount you can in yardage of between 9 to 21 different fabrics would be.. I know it's cheap to buy a yardage cut, but 9 different cuts?

yardage is cheaper than pre-cuts --BUT -- if you are new and not yet sure of your cutting skills, I would suggest you buy a jelly roll (or 2) from a reliable source (MSQC or a LQS) and do some basic blocks. This will let you concentrate on your sewing a 1/4" seam, getting blocks square and completing a project fairly quick. Each little bit of success will propel you into the next project and skill. Once you know the price of fabric, you will be able to determine if a pre-cut on sale is actually a good deal. Also, as a suggestion, for your first baby quilt, why not do something like a split rail block. Easy to piece using either 3 or 5 strips,several blocks done at once (sewing WOF then cutting blocks out) and when you do your layout you don't have to match seams. Great way to build some confidence. You can google jelly roll quilts and get hundreds of ideas. HAVE FUN! and Welcome to the happy world of quilting!

Due to arthritis and fibromyalgia I almost always choose pre-cuts. I like that I can buy and entire line of fabric and it will look good in the end product.

Yardage is generally less expensive per yard but I recently decided I'd much rather buy a jelly roll than cut all those sashing strips from yardage. Precuts are also really nice when you want the variety of the fabric line.

For my "I spy quilts" I go thru the remnants section at joann's. I also like scrappy quilts. So I pick pieces I like and they are cheap.

I agree wholeheartedly! I wash all of my fabric before using it, and I avoid pre-cuts for that reason. In addition, accuracy is also important. It takes time to check pre-cuts to weed out the bad ones.

I buy mostly yardage, and a few precuts. Although yardage is less expensive - you can buy a lot more fabric than you need which sits around for years. So, yardage is a little more of an investment than a layer cake which you can use use amost completely. I have never bought a precut that was not a bargain though (can't say that for a fat quarter bundle as I have paid full price if it is a line that I love)

ok i'm going to jump on the band wagon here. first off i use both yardage and pre-cuts. if you buy from a reputable source, msqc, fat quarter shop, ect. you will not get a bad pre-cut. then i rarely buy fabric until its on sale. example i just scored 2 different lines, but coordinating, fat quarters bundles in flannel for $12.98 for 8 pieces. as well they had the yardage for $5.98. so i bought 2 fat quarter bundles, 4 yards and 4- 1/2 yard pieces for $48. my point shop around, wait for sales, sign up to a lot of shops for the daily specials and there newsletters. before you know it you will have more options and information on where and what to buy then you will ever need. hence my small fabric store in my sewing room. but most of all have fun and do what your doing ask questions. you will get lots of answers therefor lots of options. good luck i'm new at this as well and am having a blast learning.

I prefer yardage so I have extra in case I want to add it to the backing. I bought a pack of 5" pre-cuts and they weren't cut correctly so couldn't use them for the pattern I'd wanted. Taught me a good lesson not to purchase again. I do have some jelly rolls stashed somewhere but afraid to use them too for the same reason. Plus I like to starch and press my fabrics before I cut into them so there's a possibility they will shrink on me.

These are just my thoughts.

I buy what I like. Some shops have really good end of bolt prices, $5/yd. I rarely buy precuts though. I can cut them myself and save the money for more fabric! If I like it, I buy it. If I don't then I usually regret it later. So to save time, energy and regret, I just buy larger quantities of fabrics I like. If I must have it and don't have a lot of money at that time, I'll buy 1/4 yard of it and keep the receipt with it, so I know where to get more, should I need it later! Welcome to quilting! Where do you live? There are wonderful things called 'Shop hops.' Your area may have them too!