How much fabric to use
01-30-2011, 07:01 AM
#32
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 1,789
i don't always use a written pattern. even when i do I buy a bit more than required in case I mess up(calls for 5/8yd, I buy 1). if i'm using 5" blocks, for ex. i figure how many I need, how many I can get out of a yard. It gets trickier the more complex the block. there are fabric calculaters available but I have never tried one.
01-30-2011, 07:04 AM
#33
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Antlers Oklahoma
Posts: 1,658
Yes I use my EQ also. But if I am just buying because I like it and probable will use it in a quilt later on I buy minimum of 3 yards,4 prob would be better.lol. I have 2 in mind with a black bg so I bought 9 yards of black.
01-30-2011, 07:42 AM
#34
Junior Member
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: NE Connecticut
Posts: 129
What's Wrong with me!!!! I don't measure amounts, don't use a printed pattern hardly ever, and I just do a sketch from a picture or an idea brewing from a piece of fabric in my "stash". Never used that word until I saw this forum!
It's sort of of a play, cut and sew. I have some quilts that I like and some that are great for charity! But I very seldom buy material, just inherit from others or use things that are donated to our sewing group. leftover squares make pillow covers, book covers, pin cushions, table runners, crazy quilts. Maybe all my things should come under the name of crazy, but I enjoy it all. Hope this might help some quilters to loosen up and take a chance! You only come this way once (I think) so enjoy it!
It's sort of of a play, cut and sew. I have some quilts that I like and some that are great for charity! But I very seldom buy material, just inherit from others or use things that are donated to our sewing group. leftover squares make pillow covers, book covers, pin cushions, table runners, crazy quilts. Maybe all my things should come under the name of crazy, but I enjoy it all. Hope this might help some quilters to loosen up and take a chance! You only come this way once (I think) so enjoy it!
01-30-2011, 08:03 AM
#35
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Central Florida
Posts: 535
I do it like this, too, but rounding up to a yard just leaves a 6 inch strip (or 2 more narrow strips if the fabric wasn't cut true to the grain and had to be squared...) so I'd round up a bit more to make sure I had a usable size piece for insurance or stash.
A yard in each color should do.
This is how I do the math.
180squares/4(colors)= 45 squares per color.
I usually use 40" as width. So, 40"/5"= 8 squares.
Which means you can get 8 squares on a 5" strip (selvage to selvage).
Now you calculate how many strips you need to make 45.
45/8=5.6 round this up to 6. So 6 x 5"=30" which is 30/36= 0.83 yard
which you round up to 1 yard and you get a little extra for stash or insurance. See?
Originally Posted by EasyPeezy
Originally Posted by traveling2dals
To DebraK- Let say i have 180 squares at 5 inches and 4 different colors to buy. I think thats 60x60. My own pattern, just blocks.
This is how I do the math.
180squares/4(colors)= 45 squares per color.
I usually use 40" as width. So, 40"/5"= 8 squares.
Which means you can get 8 squares on a 5" strip (selvage to selvage).
Now you calculate how many strips you need to make 45.
45/8=5.6 round this up to 6. So 6 x 5"=30" which is 30/36= 0.83 yard
which you round up to 1 yard and you get a little extra for stash or insurance. See?
01-30-2011, 08:18 AM
#36
Junior Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Oroville, CA
Posts: 105
Originally Posted by davidwent
01-30-2011, 09:06 AM
#38
Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Rochester MN
Posts: 35
The pattern and size has to dictate the needs. That said ... my practice is ... if I see a fabric I just love, I buy twice what i think I need and if I see one I love that is on closeout, I buy all there is. Thankfully my DW doesn't mind and frequently buys some she wants me to use.
01-30-2011, 09:09 AM
#39
Super Member
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: British Columbia
Posts: 2,322
Friends call me the puzzle queen, and maybe it's because I'm a sucker for punishment, but figuring out the pattern with available fabric is part of the fun of quilting. It's good to have enough focus fabric if it's being featured, but when one fabric doesn't quite make it, I go back to the drawing board and re-work the pattern to see what I can do to make things work. I will confess, though, this is less fun when I'm doing a backing. By that stage of the quilt, I generally want it DONE, and having to piece the back because I don't have enough of what I wanted to use can be a pain.
If I'm buying for a pattern, I always pre-calculate how much fabric is needed and buy slightly more, usually rounding up to the next metre.
If I'm buying for a pattern, I always pre-calculate how much fabric is needed and buy slightly more, usually rounding up to the next metre.
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