Patterns for pre-cuts
 

We have been discussing how to use our pre-cuts and the disappointment in buying a book specifically for 'pre-cuts' but then discover they have you cut 10 inch squares into 4 inch pieces and 5 inch pieces. Also, the same happens with a book on using charms (5 inch squares) . Perhaps someone on this great board will have resources for patterns that use the actual size we already bought? I'd love to hear about them. TiA

If you're looking for patterns for 2.5" strips, I highly recommend that you check out books by Pam & Nicky Lintott. Titles are: Jelly Roll Dreams, Jelly Roll Inspirations, Jelly Roll Quilts, Jelly Roll Quilts in a Weekend and Jelly Roll Sampler Quilts. I have them all and have made numerous quilts from them. Amazon lets you preview the books and of course the reviews by people who have purchased them are valuable too.

I love Moda Bake Shops website for patterns. They have many. I'm not much for buying books anymore.

Missouri Star Quilts has many patterns for jelly rolls and charms.

Have you seen patterns using the squares without re-cutting? This was the frustration a fellow quilt guild member shared, that you have to re-cut them.

Maybe precuts are not the right things for you, maybe just stick to yardage? I have a lot of precuts but generally I use them for the variety of fabrics not necessarily for the size.

Maybe you are right. I like the pinwheel variety we can get from charm packs and other pre-cuts. I do have lots of pre-cuts to use up. Thanks for the ideas folks.

Remember that if you use some of the precuts to make a patch, you will have to recut some of the others to fit. For instance, if you take 2 5" charm squares and make 2 HSTs, they will then be 4.5". If the pattern also uses 'full' squares, they will need to be cut down to fit.
The only pattern where you aren't recutting would be just squares joined together or a jelly roll race. I really like Pat Speth's Nickle quilt books. She uses 5" squares. Yes, there is recutting, but the patterns are lovely and easy to follow.

Sometimes it's done because it is more economical. Cutting a layer cake into fourths to get 5" squares costs less than buying 4 charm packs. In many of the MSQC tutorials jenny will give you options for using either cakes or charms. As someone else mentioned Moda as well as other companies do offer patterns on their websites for specific cuts

Please bear in mind these are just my thoughts and not meant to offend. Unless you're simply planning on sewing squares together, as with a 5 inch charm pack to make a quilt ((which can be very pretty)) you have to plan on cutting, especially with layer cakes - - - and adding additional fabric. I think of it this way: when I buy a box of cake mix, I know I have to add other ingredients to make the cake. The same is true with pre-cuts, especially layer cakes. ((no pun intended)). I think layer cakes are a great jumping-off place because it gives you one or two pieces of an entire collection. Besides, it's a brilliant marketing strategy on the part of our beloved fabric manufacturers. (Thanks Moda, RJR, Robert Kaufman, etc.)

As for patterns, others have mentioned Moda Bake Shop and MSQC is a great resource for patterns. Again, great marketing on their part.

Bottom line, you have to plan on doing some cutting and adding fabric. The pre-cuts are the 'box mix'.