I've always bought yardage and never fat quarters. I get the concept of color matching when I buy them in sets but how many fat quarters does it take to make a quilt? Is it more or less expensive to buy fat quarters than yardage? Thanks for helping me.

Fat quarters are a great way to pick up a variety of fabrics when you only want a little bit of each. But they do cost more when you calculate a yardage price. You are paying someone to cut the fabric into small pieces.

I bought fat quarters for a recent quilt because I wanted a huge variety of fabrics and didn't want a lot of left overs.

Browse the fat quarter friendly books at your quilt shop or book store. I've used them to fill in when I'm making scrap quilts and need more of some of the colors.

I don't use them that often. I prefer yardage. That being said, a couple of my favorite patterns call for fat quarters and I like a lot of different fabrics in my quilts. I just prefer to buy yardage. Many fat quarter patterns can be more efficiently cut from 1/4 yard, but not all.

Maybe they're a beginners thing when you're unsure about choice of colours? I buy yardage now as FQs are never enough when looking for fabric for a quilt.

I have found too many times that I fall in love with a fabric and then I can't find any more than just a fat quarter!!!!!

I agree with you on this :lol:

I used to not be a fan of fat quarters until the Turning 20 books by Tricia Cribbs came out. Now I love them and collect them just like trinkets for a bracelet. However, that being said, not all shops or stores cut accurate fat quarters. That is the lesson I have learned. I do enjoy taking 9 fat quarters and make a lap throw or blanket out of them. I end up with 50" square blanket and it is perfect for Project Linus.

If you like quilts with many fabrics and colors fat quarters are great. Just about all quilts I make are based on fat quarters. I have a stash of fat quarters that I draw from when I plan a quilt. Then I use about 1 1/4 yard for a border that goes with the fat quarters. I realy like scrappy quilts.

Our quilt shop is great. She will cut any fabric to a fat quarter for us for the same price as a 1/4 yd. so that way we end up paying the same as a yard over all.

I rarely buy fat quarters - I buy 1/2 yards when I want some variety. This gives me 2 fat quarters and is more of use than just 1 fat.

i usually by yardage

Most of the time I buy yardage.

I have more fabric than I could sew in 3 lifetimes. Sometimes I buy FQs when I need a touch of a certain color that I don't happen to have, or when I want a big assortment of one color.

I recently bought FQs for my daughter's aqua and chocolate quilt because I don't love aqua and don't have much of it. I didn't want loads of leftovers and she wanted a scrappy quilt. The FQs fit the bill!

I lovethem, because I love scrap quilts, so I dont need lots.

Have never bought them,but do like other pre cuts ,such as charms.

Try the turning 20 quilt it is made out of 20 fat quarters I have one cut out for my son but hubby has been in hospital this week and I havent had a chance to get started sewing it together yet

Beautiful quilt! I love it...

FQs just look so cute all color coordinated and bundled together. FQs are a big weakness at Int'l Quilt Festival here in Houston every year and when we travel. I love them! Other than that I usually buy in minimum 2 yard lengths.

2 fat quarters gives you 1/2 yard, 4 fat quarters gives you 1 yard of fabric. I have read that 22 fat quarters give you a quilt.....that's 5.5 yards of coordinated fabric. I think Turning Twenty takes that number of fat quarters.It is a good size quilt made from fat quarters.

I recently purchased various fabric called for in a Sidelights pattern I was going to follow. A few of the colors called for a fat quarter of each. To be sure I had the height/width needed for the pieces, I order a 1/2 yd. of each of those, equivalent to 2 fat quarters. "Just building a little stash!!"

Check out Connecting Threads for fat quarters because the price of 4 quarters is the same as their price/yd....no extra charge for cutting.

I have never bought fat quarters. I buy 1/2 yard cuts. This gives me plenty for for several scrap quilts and adds to my stash and I believe is cheaper than buying fat quarters.

I buy both....

I love fat quarters - you can use them so many ways. If you look for sales - groups especially - you can get a lot of variety for a reasonable price.

I collect them! Seriously though, I like fat quarters because I can afford to buy them. I know they cost more/yard, but it's a small investment and I don't feel bad about money being tied up in a big piece of fabric that I don't know when I will use. I also like getting lots of prints in small pieces. I buy solids as fillers in yardage though. And of course, I like backing fabric in yardage.

I like 1/2 yard cuts too. They're fun!

I love your quilt! Besides Star what is the star pattern called? I'm thinking this would make a great college quilt but I'm not sure how to make the star, I'm kinda new at this, can you help?

In Australia we seem to often buy in fat quarters often due to price. We buy fabric in metre lengths (just over a yard I think) and the average price here is about $26 per metre for fabric. I have seen fabric at $53 per metre but this was direct from the United Kingdom. When you think about the Australian dollar being just under the US dollar, our fabric is very costly. Often I will buy the whole range in a design if I like it and often 2 fat quaters or long quarters as this sometimes works out a little cheaper. I use them for applique and quilts. :)

I put them in a drawer & ignore them. I prefer yardage myself, and IF I buy a FQ, I try to get at least 4 of the same kind. Then I put them in a drawer and forget them. :mrgreen: :roll: :lol:

My experience with fat quarters has been that if you buy them for a certain collection, they are fun. But I've bought fat quarters that were put together by the LQS and looked nice, but when I opened them, many were disappointing. I agree with buying 1/2 yards when you can as sometimes the fat quarters are a little thin. Instead of 18 x 22, some were 18ish by 21 and didn't provide me with the amount I needed for my project.

The pattern is a simple star set on point alternating with whole pieces of large prints. I changed the star size a little but you can find a simple star pattern on Quilter's Cache.

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:arS6wSdQpJwJ:www.quilterscache.com/S/SimpleStarQuilt.html+simple+star+quilt+pattern+qui lter's+cache&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&source=www.g oogle.com

Usually buy fat quarters when my LQS has 1/2 price sale. I like them and this does make it somewhat cheaper.

I give them away on my blog on my Fun Fact Friday Freebie game. It's on vacation until I get home from my snowbird trip on April 1st, but I'll restart it with a giveaway. But I also use them a lot in applique when I only need a little bit of something. Art quilts too.

I love scrapy quilts so I buy a lot of fat quarters. My problem now is that I need a lot of scraps to cut 5--1 1/2" squares do I buy a fat quarter, quarter yard, or eighth yard, so I guess we all are always asking questions on how much and what cuts. If you like it, buy it and that's my story and I'm sticking to it

Hi I really like what you have done with these fat quarters. I have so many I must figure out what I can make with the many I have in my stash

I usually buy 1/2 yard and make myself 2 fat quarters.

One of the easiest quilts to make with fat quarter is from the first Turning Twenty book. Twenty fat quarters are cut into squares and rectangles, mixed up, and sewen back together to make interesting combinations. Then the new blocks are turned differntly from it's neighbor and put together block to block. It makes a beautiful quilt and isn't hard to do. I can't remember for sure, but it seems that 25 or 30 FQ make a queen size quilt. And there isn't much waste of fabric.

I mainly buy fqs, love them. I buy bigger pieces for backgrounds & backing. You have to decide what kind of quilts you mostly like to make. I don't like two or three color quilts, I like lots of colors or prints, in my quilts, & I mostly only need a little bit at a time, so this works for me. This way I get buy more different fabrics too, just a little bit of this, & a little bit of that. I watch for them on sale too, & buy them that way when I can. Doesn't seem like so much, money wise either, when you just buy a few at a time...

I really don't like them, or use them, to be honest. I prefer yardage. I have some FQ's, but not a lot, and I'm not buying anymore.