new to quilting
 

I am new to quilting and was wondering what the difference is between a jelly roll, fat quarters and charms. Thanks in advance

Hi bhandy 76 and welcome! You came to the right place. I've been quilting for about 6 years and have learned so much and gotten so much inspiration from this board. Jelly rolls are packs of fabric strips that are 2 1/2" wide by width of fabric (about 44") . A fat quarter is a quarter yard of fabric, but instead of cutting it 9" x width of fabric a yard is actually cut and then cut into fourths that are 18 x 22". Charms are pre-cut 5" squares.

Moda came up with some of the "cute" names for various sizes of pre-cuts.

This might help.

http://www.modabakeshop.com/weights-and-measures

A fat quarter is 1/4 of a yard - 18 inches long by half the width of the fabric - The width varies from about 21 to 22.5 inches and the length "should" be 18 inches. (sometimes it is "scant")

If you order strips or squares - carefully read what is in the pack/bundle. Not all distributors use the same numbers/quantities.

Welcome from Southern California. Jelly rolls or Bali Pops are 2.5" pre cut strips. Fat Quarters are cut from a fabric bolt. First cut is a half a yard and then cut down the center where the fold is. Charms are pre cut squares, mostly 5".

Another welcome from Southern California!

Welcome from Michigan. The nice thing about precuts is that they are all from a specific line of fabric so they are all coordinated colors and prints, however, there is no standard number of precuts in a bundle. They generally range from 20 to 40+ pieces, with 40 or so the usual number from name brand manufacturers. You need to read all the details about the specific item you are purchasing, so you know how many are in there. Often the larger bundles will have some repeated fabrics, while the smaller ones tend to all be unique.

Welcome to QB! You can often save money by cutting your own using yardage!!

I find jelly rolls and fat quarters to be the most useful precuts but there are patterns that use layer cakes and charms as well but most patterns I have seen for precuts are jelly rolls and fat quarter friendly so keep that in mind when buying a line and also remember to get a couple yards of coordinating fabrics for borders and binding because once lines are gone it is hard to find the fabric so get what you need when its around

A big welcome from Texas. Have fun with your new hobby.