Tuesday 7 May 2013

Fat Quarters to Charm Squares...

Sorry for the delay in posting.  I've been 'working' on the trunk show for La Guilde Acadienne de Clare. 

Pheasant Hill Charm Pack by Moda

The guilde is excited about the precuts that I am bringing.  There are 5x5 inch squares known as charm packs. Layer cakes are 10 x 10 inch squares and jelly rolls are precut into 2 & 1/2 inch WOF or width of fabric. 

The precuts are a quick way to start quilting and they are bundled with all of the colours in a fabric collection- so they are easy to work with- no colour stressing!

What happens if you don't have access to precuts or if you see a beautiful piece of fabric ?

Chocolate Mint Batik

As I've been pre-cutting Fat Quarters and Flabbies ( 1/2m WOF cuts), I'm learning ...

Depending on how generous the cut of a Fat Quarter is, it can be cut into 4 - 10x10 inch (layer cake)  squares or 12 - 5x5 inch (charm pack) squares.  Without the pinking, 16 - 5x5 inch squares could have been cut from the Fat Quarter.

Colour Splash Batiks by Moda

Showing Fat Quarters with precuts

This is using Canadian Fat Quarters, which are a bit larger than the American size. 
 
A Flabbie - can generate 2 Fat Quarters or up to 32 - 5x5 inch squares - close to what is in a 40 piece charm pack.  This cut will also give you 2 & 1/2 inch WOF strips.  39 inches ( 1 metre ) divided by 2 is 19.5 inches...divide that by 2.5 (inches/strip wanted) and it's about 7 strips....maybe 8 if the cut is generous.

If a pattern calls for a charm pack - you would need 3 to 4 Fat Quarters or close to a full metre of fabric.  Knowing how many squares come from a Fat Quarter, allows you to plan your quilt using all fabrics and colours- not just precuts. 

These measurements are before washing, so add a bit more if you are planning for shrinkage. 

Enjoy your fabric!  Have a peek in your stash- it might surprise you at what you have, and how you might consider using it now. 

2 comments:

  1. Oh my - that's a LOT of math. My head is spinning :)

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  2. I am glad your fat quarters are 1/4 of a metre. Around here, the fat quarters might be 1/4 metre or 1/4 yard, and you never really know until you stack them all up to do some cutting.

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