yweinst

I found the perfect fabric for a obw, the repeat is 18" and I am planning on making a king size quilt. I'm trying to figure out the size rectangle I would get from 6 yards of fabric so that I know how much border fabric I need.

Does anyone know based off of making these types of quilt how large the rectangle would be?

Thanks,
Yael

DebraK

unless you have a specific border fabric in mind, why not wait?

yweinst

I have found the perfect border fabric for it...

DebraK

i see ;-) that answered that question.

PaperPrincess

OK. If you use triangles which are 3.75" high, and you cut your repeats into 18" strips, you can get about 70 sets. You have 6 yards, so you will get 2 sets of strips, or 140 triangle sets. If you cut your strips sets into 36" widths, you will have a bit less waste, and get an additional 10 sets. This assumes that your yardage is cut exactly square. So figure 140 to 150 hexagons. The hexagons finish at about 6.5" high and 7.5" wide. here's a link to a site where you can print off hexagonal graph paper.
http://incompetech.com/graphpaper/hexagonal/
I would first get some tissue paper and make sure that my math is correct on the number of triangles 6 yards will yield, then use the graph paper to determine what layouts are possible (long & narrow? square-ish?) then calculate the size of the finished item.

Scissor Queen

6 yards of fabric will not make a king size quilt. It's not even enough for the backing for a queen size quilt.

yweinst

I'm trying to figure out how much of a border I would need to add to create a king size quilt using the 6.5 yards for the obw center part...

yweinst

Thank you paperprincess!

WTxRed

I found this info on another post:

here is a quote directly from the OBW book:

"How much fabric should you buy? There are very few rules, but there are some guidelines. The size of the quilt depends not only on how much fabric you buy, but also on how many hexagon blocks...you eventually use in the quilt...(and) on how you arrange t he hexagons and on the shape of the finished quilt. To make a good lap-size, twin, or full-size quilt, 4.5 y ards for hexagon blocks or 5.75 yards for octagon blocks is enough. For a queen size or larger quilt, double those amounts to 9 yards for hexagon blocks or 11.5 yards for octagon blocks.

Measure the repeat. If the (repeat) is 6" to 8", which is a short repeat, the fabric will produce a very small project. Larger prints usually feature a repeat about every 24". This is the type of fabric I typically choose. Four to five yards makes a very comfortable lap quilt, and depending on the borders used, it can grow to almost any size.

For Hexagons: 6 repeats at 24" each is exactly 4 yards...Add an extra half yard or yard (4. 5 or 5 yards) to have a piece of the original fabric as a reference."

PaperPrincess

You're welcome, but please double check my assumptions!!! I love OBW's but I'm always amazed at how much fabric they use. Lots of pieces, lots of seams.