Question all you quilters
 

Tell me what the difference is in jelly rolls, Charm packs, layer cake? What is the best one to buy? Or just buy fabric and cut the squares of strips yourself. I am new to sewing and I have some fabric, but I want to purchase more and I want the most for your money. What do you usually buy? Please help me out.

cut it yourself it is cheaper

I am not a fan of the pre cuts at all. If you go to modabakeshop.com there are tons of patterns (recipes) and cutting directions and info (weights and measures). I dont think this way of buying fabrics is economical. If you don't have enough squares of a certain fabric you are forced to buy another packet to get that fabric. maybe if you follow only a Moda pattern you will come out even. Dont know. know they are really popular but I just dont get it.

Buying fabric that way gives you pieces of an entire line. It would depend on what you want to make as to what you should buy. I've never purchased any of the precuts, I prefer buying yardage myself. I wouldn't worry about buying fabric in order to build a stash - I would look for a pattern (or design your own) then buy the fabric for that particular project. Your leftovers then go into your stash. It won't take long before your stash is breeding in a dark closet and you have more than you know what to do with!

My question is how many duplicates are in a set of the jelly roll, layer cake, charm pack? And does it matter? Reason for asking is how much to buy of each for an asssortment?

This will give you the info for the Moda layer cakes, charm packs, jelly rolls, etc. and most fabric makers follow this but not all. If you look around online at some of the different fabric sellers, they will usually give you the details on what's in each pack.

http://www.unitednotions.com/equivalent-measures.pdf

Hope this helps. :)

Jodie

Precuts are always going to be more expensive per yard than buying your own. The advantage of precuts, as mentioned, is that you get a group of coordinating fabrics from a single line.

If I wanted to buy precuts, I would first find a book I like such as this one for 10" squares:
http://www.amazon.com/Schnibbles-Tim...dp/1564779866/
Find a pattern you want to make, then shop for layer cakes (or whatever other precut you are looking for) to make that quilt. Typically you need more than one jelly roll or layer cake to make a quilt anyway, so then you know beforehand how many precuts to purchase.

I LOVE Precuts! Yes, they are more expensive, but I really like getting to sew without a lot of cutting beforehand. I also like that you have fabrics from the entire line of fabric, so they are already coordinated. Many LQS owners will not purchase the entire line of fabrics, just a few she likes (or thinks will sell well). Hope we have all given you something to think about.

Linda in Missouri

I am a lover of precuts even though they are more expensive. Today, however, I cut my own layer cake. I am using a pattern that calls for a layer cake. It did not take long to cut the 10" squares and I had a good variety of fabric to use. That is usually not the case and I like the variety of fabrics in pre cut packages. I use jelly rolls, charm packs, and/or layer cakes when I want to make a quick quilt.