I buy fat quarters when I am planning a quilt that has a lot of variety in it. I have tons of fabric so that isn't the problem. I was making several jar quilts and wanted each jar to be different so the fat quarter were the way for me to go. I made a bunch with bugs, food, toys, etc. and that way I could get a lot of variety without buying more fabric.
I believe it depends on what project you are working on.

If you check at your local quilt shop, I think you might find that a 1/4 yd of material is about the size of a fat quarter and that it might be cheaper if you have to purchase material. I would use my stash for my colors instead of purchasing more material. It should be fairly easy to do.

Theoretically, a regular/long quarter of a yard should have exactly the same number of square inches of fabric as a fat quarter (assuming it's cut from the same fabric)

The difference is in the shape of the piece.

A regular quarter-yard is 9 inches long by width of fabric.

A fat quarter is 18 inches long by one-half the width of fabric.

A lot depends on the size of the individual pieces and if the print is directional or really large on which is the better buy for one's purpose.

Marcy J - can you please share the pattern name and a photo of the fabric you'd like to use? That will help alot in trying to determine if the layout is going to be affected by fewer fabric choices.

did you mention that you only have 4 fabrics that coordinate? and the pattern needs 16 DIFFERENT fabrics? IMHO is will be very hard to get the same pattern look with only 4 fabrics instead of 16. Test the pattern by making 1 block with the fabric and see how you like it. Or maybe you can just use the 4 fabrics in a different pattern. There is no need to cut you fabric into fat quarters- just cut the pieces according to the pattern from the yardage. If you really like this pattern then maybe you can just buy a few fat quarters to add to the mix. Or think outside the box by adding other fabrics from you stash that fit in but may not be "coordinated" .

The name of the pattern is Four by Four by J. Michelle Watts. I purchased the pattern on line. Thanks for your help.

It looks like the pattern has no one fabric touching the same fabric.

Will you list the link that you used to buy the pattern since you can not show a pic of the pattern itself. I am having a hard time finding this pattern on line. thanks!

Purchased from Annie's Quilts.com

I see your pattern. My opinion is that you need more than 4 different fabrics to make this successfully. The more the better.

I see the pattern, it looks like a nice easy one to put together.

I sketched it out in EQ real quick, to get a feel for it, and I think it looks OK with 4 colors, but I think it's more interesting with 8. I didn't mock up 16 but the pattern examples serve for that!

Let's see if this helps you visualize it too:

4 colors:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]479016[/ATTACH]

8 colors: (just pretend these colors actually go together, I didn't spend a lot of time on the colors, LOL)
[ATTACH=CONFIG]479017[/ATTACH]

Help!! I still can not see the pattern and now I am really courious as to what it looks like. Actual link please!!!

I just Googled "Four by Four by J. Michelle Watts" and this is the site that I looked at:

http://jmichellewatts.danemcoweb.com...-downloadable/

Looking at the pattern this could be totally scrappy or controlled, coordinated color/pattern........and look good......not to agonize over.....just have fun and see what happens..this could be a great stash buster

I agree with Treaureit 100% with what she has to say.

I have a large stash, so I always go there first and pull what I can. If I need more fabric then I go shopping. I take the fabric I already pulled from my stash with me so I make sure everything goes together.

I also only cut what I need from my yardage.

Just audition your fabrics and use them as the fq's. Get creative and have fun with the patterns. It really isn't life or death. If you hate it when finished you can donate it to a good cause, or you can look at your creativeness and say "I did this".

Thanks for posting your pattern - i LOVE J.Michelle's patterns btw. I'd say use the fabrics you have, add a random sprinkle of a few others from your stash. I don't know what your primary colors in your existing fabrics are - I'd throw in some black, gray and/or white and another contrasting color or 2. Absolute worst case if you really don't like it when you're done ~ it will be an awesome charity quilt to a senior, hospital, fire dept, or other organization. Please show us what you come up with!

Do you ever find that fat quarters are sometimes really thin material. When I buy the ones from JoAnn's and they are all folded up on the cardboard sometimes they aren't really worth the money even at $.99. I usually do what the others do and just buy yardage of what I like and cut from that. Makes more sense to me and not as much waste.

Sewnoma;- thanks for the link. I think that you should use more than 4 fabrics to make the quilt pop. Remenber that all fabrics do not have to be "coordinating" Try many different colors/patterns from your stash. Try to think outside the box for colors/patterns. Or you can buy 4-8 fat quaters to add to the fabric you already have.

sewnoma. Thank you for putting those sketches from your EQ

It really helped me to see the pattern in four and eight colors. Marcy j.

I would never cut into yardage to get fat quarters! Some patterns call for WOF, and if you've cut your yardage into FQ, you can't cut WOF.

Just my personal opinion. Cut as you go, as you need.

If you need fat quarters just cut your own from your fabric...Easy to do...