Storm at sea..how much fabric
 

I am new to quilting (piecing) and I want to make a storm at sea quilt. How do I calculate the amount of fabric needed for a King size bed. I intend to make the traditional pattern using 3 colors (or shades of blue) or I might use 4 colors. I am thinking batiks.
Gwen

Welcome to the board! Storm at sea in batiks would be lovely.
Some more info is needed, however. A king mattress is 76''x 80''. How much will hang over the edge? 5"? 14"? will there be a pillow tuck? As you can see, the dimensions of a bed quilt can vary widely. Also, which is the 'traditional' pattern? there's one with a single sashing and one with a double.
I have the book "Storm at Sea Quilts" by Wendy Mathson.
http://www.amazon.com/Light-Storm-Qu...=wendy+mathson
The precise yardage is calculated by determining the number of each type of patch.

http://emptyspoolsseminars.com/2014/04Mathson.pdf
In general, Storm at sea has lots of seams, which requires lots of yardage. She has a sample quilt, 60X80, and lists fabric requirements of about 10 yards.

all the fabric.

and three or four or more good stitch rippers...

(it is a very challenging quilt design. good luck!)

aileen, not helpful

I was about to say much the same as Stillclock. Quantities - I made so many mistakes when making this pattern... Sorry, we shouldn't be discouraging. It just needs a lot of concentration - but the results are fabulous. I'm glad I made one, though I probably wouldn't do it again.
Mine used the storm at sea pattern for a picture of Christmas baubles, which look curved although there are only straight seams. Very clever.

start with purchasing the 'Storm at Sea' book- that will help you calculate yardage- then do a 'practice block' ... you may decide to table this project for a while. not meaning to be 'negative' but Storm at Sea is a challenging project- for someone stating they are new to piecing it may be best to start with something not quite so 'advanced' . make a practice block with some scrap fabrics...if it goes together well & you decide you do like the process- then by all means jump in there & purchase the fabrics needed for your quilt.

On quilters cache, there is a great paper piecing pattern. I made a pieced one, years ago and did a paper pieced block this last week, the paper pieced block, was easier to square up in the end, no stretched seam with all the bias edges. Have fun. My quilt, was my first pieced quilt, no one told me it was difficult, the hardest thing that I remember, was that I used a striped fabric, and keeping the stripe going the right way. Hang in there, you can do it, I know you can. I don't remember how much fabric that I used, I know that mine is at least 100 x 110.

I calculated the fabric I needed to make a twin size, and ended up needing a 1/3 more of each color than I calculated! I went back to buy more three different times, and the last time I had to order online because the LQS had run out of the fabric and it was from a previous year. BUY EXTRA.

Everyone's comments are correct. I have been quilting for over 20 years and I STILL have to put the borders on mine. It is a difficult pattern so try making one or two blocks (make pillows?) and see if you want to commit to making such a large quilt with this pattern. This is a quilt that demands an exact 1/4" seam. GOOD LUCK!!

The beauty of being a new quilter is you are willing to try. Have fun with it and buy lots and lots of extra fabric. You may even consider a scrappy look like batik blues or greens so you can add more fabric if you get to almost the end and oops. Have fun with it and go slow, you'll do fine.

I've made four of them and have fabric bought for a fifth one. And it does take a LOT of fabric. Definitely get a pattern or book first before buying fabric. And of it says 1/2 yard or 1/8 yard, round up and buy more to help with possible mistakes.

it is one of my favorite patterns. :)