A Warning: Incorrect directions for amount of fabric
 

I have never come across this problem before. The amounts of fabric the directions had me get for a queen size quilt are far, far more than is need. I have a pattern from a 2010 McCall's Quick Quilts called Frosty Afternoon. The one printed in the magazine was throw size which I made.

They also gave a link to get the same pattern in Queen Size. Well, I finally got around to making the larger one, ordered the fabrics and started cutting.

WOW. They said I needed 1 1/8 yds of six different fabrics. Well, as most websites only let you get fabric by the yard, I had to get 1 1/2 yards of most them. When I cut the first fabric I had so much fabric left over I had to double and triple check the instructions as I was thinking it was my error.

Looking back at the throw size quilt it says to get 2 1/8 -2 1/4 yds total of six different fabrics. Whoever converted the directions for the bigger quilt certainly didn't do the calculations correctly.

I only need 3/4 yd to get the cuts I need from each fabric. I have enough to make two queen size quilts. This is a lot of money wasted. I don't know if I want to make two quilts exactly the same but will have to come up with a way not to waste all this material.

In the future I'll think I'll have to check the directions for the different fabrics so this doesn't happen again.

Has anyone else ever run into this problem?

I don't understand how 6 fabrics of 2 1/8 yds would only make a throw size quilt, when almost half the amount of fabric is much too much for the queen size, whether you had to buy a little more. I saw the pattern for the QS quilt and the amount seems fine to me. Maybe I'm missing something, as for such a large quilt I usually plan on 12 or 13 yds depending on the pattern.

I think fabric recommendations are as wide and varied as patterns are written. Sometimes they call for way too much and sometimes there is very little room for error. I always order at least a quarter yard extra to allow for errors. Make pillows or another quilt.

I agree. I always order a bit more and then use it wherever needed. Make pillows, shams, you can even piece your backing out of the fabric you have left. I've used scraps to bind quilts many times and am currently using my leftovers to make a piano key border. Lots of options for the left over fabrics.

One way to do a quick check on the fabric requirements is to do the math. The suggested fabric for your pattern was 1 1/8 of 6 fabrics. That is a total of 243 inches. With 40 usable inches, that much fabric should give you a maximum of 9,720 square inches (less after accounting for seam allowances).

A standard queen size quilt is 90 by 108 inches. Which equals 9,720 square inches. This, if anything, ore fabric will be needed to complete a single queen quilt top.

I think the amount of fabric would make a smaller than usual, queen-sized quilt. If the pattern calls for 6 fabrics of 1 1/8 yards each, that is only a total of 6 3/4 yards. Do you have the dimensions for the finished quilt? With the seam allowances, it doesn't seem like 6 3/4 yards would make a queen-sized quilt unless it is just a coverlet and just maybe. My book says I would need between 6 1/4 and 8 1/2 yards just for the backing depending how much drop on each side and if you want a pillow tuck. As you have seams in the top usually, you would need more.
OK, so I found the pattern, finished size is 91 1/2 inch's by 99 1/2 inches and there is a 10-inch border on it. so, we are good!

Looking at the pattern, it calls for fifteen 8.5" squares to be cut out of each of the 6 fabrics. If your fabric is very wide you might be able to get 5 squares in each width of fabric, but this would require 42.5" of usable width. Most fabrics don't support that. But if that was the case, you could get by with only 25.5" of fabric for the 15 squares.

Most fabric will provide no more than 40" of usable width, so it's more likely that someone would be able to get only 4 squares in one WOF, meaning that they would need another 8.5" in length, or 34". If you actually need 34" of fabric, you may not be able to get it from one yard, given that you may want to pre-wash your fabric (and it could shrink) or your fabric may not be cut straight when you buy it. The pattern maker has to take these things into account when figuring yardage.

So - I side with the pattern writer on this one.

Since you have so much left over fabric, sew it together and you have a backing for the top you just made.

There was probably a typo in the amount of fabric needed. Perhaps just a slip of the fingers on the key board. Most likely a correction was printed for the pattern.

The queen size is 91.5 x 99.5

The pattern calls for cutting 15, 81/2" squares of each of six fabrics. That's 90. 8" finished squares. You lay them out 9 per row and 10 rows(90 squares). That's 72 x 80 in the middle of the quilt.

You then add a 10" border(20" added width and 20" added length) giving you a total of 92 x 100 sized quilt.

You only need 27" of fabric (my fabrics are 43" wide) to get three strips which give you slightly more than five 8 1/2" blocks. So I basically only needed 3/4 yard of fabric to get the 15 blocks. They said to get 1 1/8 yds per color -- too much - even if you got 1 yard per color you don't need that 1/8 yd. Most of the vendors I used to get the collection of fabrics I wanted only dealt in whole or half yards so I ended up getting 1.5 yards(1/2 yard too much) of each for most of it. I paid for nine yards when I could have gotten 4.5 yards(using 3/4 yd as bare minimum) or 6 yards if I used one yard per fabric.

I haven't figured it exactly but at today's prices that's a lot of money(to me anyway) for fabric I don't need or want. Plus I made the borders and binding the same as one of the six fabrics used in the blocks.

Thanks for the suggestions about using the excess fabric as part of the backing but I've already bought fabric for that also.

It's a very easy, basic layout pattern and I'll enjoy making this as I did the throw years ago. Just wished the fabric was working out better. I'll eventually figure our a way to use the excess.

Sure hope my daughter likes this quilt.

I understand what you are saying, but the designer of the quilt doesn't know that your fabrics are going to be 43" of usable fabric. As Dunster said, most fabrics don't have that usable width. The designer had to plan for all fabrics, most of which would be narrower and probably added a bit so you would be sure to have enough. I appreciate that designers do that rather than having a situation where I bought just what the pattern called for and was short. I always buy extra and that goes in my stash for other projects. I think if you want to buy exactly what is needed, you'd have to do the math yourself. And as far as the vendors wanting to only sell 1/2 yards, I guess that's their choice. There are lots of quilt shops around. The local ones here will sell in 1/4 and even 1/8 yards.

I don't buy exact yardage. If the pattern pictures shows three fabrics in a block then I buy 2 - 3 yards of each fabric. More if one is the same border. It's much easier and I always have enough or some left over. I don't think I've ever bought less then one yard of any fabric from the bolt. I prefer patterns that use pre cuts though.

I think pattern makers are doomed no matter what they do. I think the standard now for quilting fabric is 42 inches. But there is a lot of variation in that. Some 42-inch fabrics have wider selvages and when you trim them, you may have less then 40 inches of useable fabric, some are very generous, I actually have gotten some fabrics that are 45 inches wide with narrow selvages which gives me at least in one case, 44 inches of useable fabric. Some folks will prewash, some folks will not, and shrinkage varies among fabrics. I had one pattern that called for fat quarters, I decided to pre-wash, yikes 2-3 of them were not fat quarters anymore after washing and I had to add from my stash. And then there is the quilt shops, in my area, one gives you exactly what you want, no more, no less, one will always cut a few extra inches to give you fabric to straighten the edges (I love that shop, go there first when looking for something). I myself always buy a bit more as my ruler has been known to slip or even, I know this is a shocker, I might actually read my ruler wrong OOPS!
Anyway, folks get mad if they don't have enough, and they get mad if they had too much. I always figure the scraps will come in handy for something or at least will find a good home with a teacher or scout leader or fellow quilter who loves scrap quilts.

I totally agree!

That's exactly how I feel!

I'd be comfortable with getting 34" in cuts out of a yard of fabric. Four squares down by four across would yield 16 squares. Another option would be to add another fabric from the collection, for insurance. Then you're only out that one extra cut.

Yes, things have changed in the last few years. I've been forced to round up to the next yard to buy a fabric online. Thankfully they now allow for half yard increments.

The problem is the wording of the amount of fabric and I've seen this in alot of instructions. Pattern says " for throw I needed 2 1/8 -2 1/4 yds total of six different fabrics". The key is a total of 6 different fabrics should equal 2 1/8 - 2 1/4 yds. of fabric, not 2 1/8 - 2 1/4 of each fabric. When you first read instructions it is easy to misread and think you need more fabric than is necessary. I know because I've made the same mistake and ordered way too much fabric.

I also read it as needing 12-3/4 to 13-1/2 yards total.

Another time where experience would indicate to me if that was a reasonable amount of fabric or not. If it read as unreasonable, then I (maybe) would have thought to read the requirements again.

Being a "newbie" can be so frustrating. However - mistakes are great teachers!