Frustrated by Fat Quarters
#11
#15
Power Poster
Join Date: May 2008
Location: MN
Posts: 24,666
I feel that grain lines do matter.
#16
Power Poster
Join Date: May 2008
Location: MN
Posts: 24,666
I just finished cutting out my FQ throw.....thank God! I had so much trouble with the FQs. So many of them didn't have a selvedge and that made me question the grain of fabric. They where poorly cut and after squaring off there wasn't enough left for the layout. I used a pattern by Lynette Jensen and it looked so easy. Did I do something wrong? Should I quit and take up knitting? LOL.
The only thing " wrong " you may have done was thinking that all fat quarters will have 18 x 22 inch usable fabric. A very few do. Most do not.
#17
FQ cut wonky...go to a different quilt shop
I know there is a lot of recommendations for worrying about the bias....I don't. My theory is that my quilts don't hang..therefore no sagging like in a skirt you make. And somewhere on ANY quilt a cut will have to be made that is not straight of the grain (think circle). After all the stitching and quilting, I DARE you to figure out which block isn't on the straight of grain.
I know there is a lot of recommendations for worrying about the bias....I don't. My theory is that my quilts don't hang..therefore no sagging like in a skirt you make. And somewhere on ANY quilt a cut will have to be made that is not straight of the grain (think circle). After all the stitching and quilting, I DARE you to figure out which block isn't on the straight of grain.
#19
Super Member
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Centralia, WA, USA
Posts: 4,890
I think this will never be a problem for me. I only buy fat quarters for smaller projects and applique pieces or to add a touch of variety in a quilt (like 2 or 3 for different patterns or colors to mix in). No way would I buy only only fat quarters to make a whole quilt out of them. There's just too much wastage that way. I buy yardage off the bolt for most of my projects. Locally non-sale priced fat quarters run around $3 each or $12/yd. That's about the same as premium quilting cloth. To me premium starts at around $10/yd. You can probably spend more if you want. The difference is a yard off the bolt will give you more material you can use because it isn't already cut into pieces.
Rodney
Rodney
#20
Super Member
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: La Quinta, CA
Posts: 3,918
I use fat quarters a lot and have bought many fat quarter bundles from Connecting Threads. The bundles are all coordinated and seem to be cut by machine. All the edges line up and are the same size, a real nice stack when they come in the mail. Very little ironing required, easy to use and I haven't noticed any missing selveges. I watch for their special sales and clearance, last Black Friday I made out like a bandit and bought 11 bundles, a Christmas present to me!
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
craftybear
Links and Resources
5
09-16-2011 11:03 AM
craftybear
Links and Resources
8
08-25-2011 09:29 PM
craftybear
Links and Resources
10
05-31-2011 03:35 AM
Snorky Lvs2Quilt
Main
16
04-21-2011 09:57 PM