Okay. What *is* a Fat Quarter, anyway?

Hi Sherry It is confusing if you are hoping to find "exact" measurments. A "fat quarter" is a "half yard cut" split in half down the fold (folded selvage to selvage). Since fabric comes in approx 40" - 45" wide it is hard to say what the actual width of your fat quarter will be. The length should be 18" at least, as that is a half yard. Some stores will cut a little more generous. Some cut exactly and then you lose a bit when it shrinks. So yes the 18" should be on the selvage edge and the 22" is half the original width of the fabric assuming that average fabric is 44" wide.

Clear as mud??? VBG

Marilyn in trying to rain again, Alberta, Canada

A typical bolt of fabric is 44 inch width from selvage to selvage. Typically your 44 inches is divided into two, which gives you the 22 inch portion of your fat quarter, and thus the 18 inches goes the other direction. Make sense? Try it this way...cut 18 inches off of your "bolt" of fabric and then cut it in half so that each piece has one selvage edge on it!

Basically it all depends on the useable width of your fabric. Sometimes the bolts don't give a true 44 inch width of useable fabric, and you only get the 17.5 inches.

I hope that helps!

Dannielle

One more thought, for us Canadians.... a fat quarter is a quarter of a metre. A metre being approx 39 3/8 inches. Our fat quarters should measure out approx 19.5 - 20 " x 22" That will also add to your confusion if you happen to have any Canadian "fats" in your stash. LOL

Marilyn in I need to get back to work Alberta, Canada

As others have said, it's a half yard (18 inches) cut in half, which should give the 22". The problem is how many fabrics actually are 44 inches wide? Very few in my experience. Then, how much do they shrink when washed, mostly a fair bit, so cutting instructions that rely on them being a full 18" by 22" are a bit unhelpful if you ask me, particularly if you get unlucky with an edge being off grain. Even if I'm following a pattern, I usually make my own cutting instructions, saves any confusion and allows me to do stuff like cut borders length of grain if it isn't in the pattern that way.

Cheers Anne

Thanks, all. I've made several quilts, honest! But just once a "fat quarter" quilt. Anne, I think you're advice is good, to use your own cutting instructions! Secondly, I am *never* going to choose a pattern that uses up every thread of a fat quarter. These are cut short. They just won't work. I'll just buy a few more FQ's and figure something else out. Thanks!

Sherry

That might have been true at one time - very few bolts of fabric that I buy anymore is 44" wide. When I'm figuring yardage for a project, I figure the fabric will be 40" wide. If it's wider, I'm pleasantly surprised and I have some fabric left over. If it's not, I have enough fabric for the project which I might not have had if I had counted on the fabric being 44" wide.

Donna in Idaho

There are a few online sources that make certain you get a full 18 x

22 when you order fat quarters. They tend to be generous with other cuts too. If a pattern requires every thread of 18 x 22 in both directions, I would probably buy a half yard and think myself lucky to get some leftovers.

Sunny

Absolutely! That's why I clarified with typical. Most that I have been seeing are still 44-45 inches, but I have seen a wide variety of others appearing lately too! And you have to consider it as useable fabric width...which can vary depending on the selvage edge as well!

So much for standards!

Dannielle

No problem, as long as it's bigger! But my pet peeve is the occasional LQS over here that likes the idea of FQs and tries to cut them to yard measurements -they never come out right! And I especially dislike the skinny quarters that a lot of them sell, cut horribly off grain :-p Roberta in D, also a metric place

"Marigold" schrieb im Newsbeitrag news: snipped-for-privacy@mid.individual.net...

As others have said, a fat quarter is a quarter of a yard, just cut so that it is fat and short, not wide and narrow. So a fat quarter is a one yard cut of fabric that is then cut in fourths -- one cut down the center (along the fold) and the other cut across the fabric at 18". For the newbies here's a further explanation of why we use a "Fat Quarter"

-- a regular quarter yard is 9" long X WOF (width of fabric). That 9" length can result in a lot of waste so quilters started using a Fat Quarter which is twice as long -- 18" -- and half as wide so it's still a quarter of a yard, just cut differently so that it's FATTER :-)

PAX, Tia Mary >^;;^< (RCTQ Queen of Kitties) Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about their whiskers! Visit my Photo albums at

Sherry wrote:

I don't mind a regular or skinny quarter cut off grain. That is the size cut I will buy strictly for applique piece purposes for a small project, and most shapes can be cut in any orientation. I can see how it would annoy a piecer though. Debra in VA See my quilts at

Yes, Pat, that was the problem. The pattern was such that there was very little waste to the FQ; hence, nearly every fat quarter ran short, since the pattern went by a 18 x 22 piece. None of them were that big. I got so frustrated I just threw the whole thing in a box. Bleh. I am never doing another fat-quarter quilt based on an 18x22 FT with NO breathing room!!

Sherry

On Wed, 26 Sep 2007 18:36:04 -0500, Donna in Idaho wrote (in article ):

I've always figured 42" wide, but maybe 40" would be better. When calculating yardage, how wide do most of you assume the fabric will be?

Maureen

most of the fabric FQ's i've gotten lately are between 38 and 42 inches, and 18 to 22 inches wide. The last FQ's were ends of bolts and the LQS wasnt stocking that fabric anymore, so i bought what she had left of each. 2 or 3 of each fabric pattern. so annoying to take the time to search out the perfect block pattern/ quilt pattern, colors wanted, then find a fabric you love only to get home and not have enough. BTDT. now i buy more than one FQ if they have 'em. amy

I always figure 40" and hope. I have had some that was a tad tight at that, once you remove selvages and such. If I end up with extra, that is better than short.

Pati, in Phx

Maureen Wozniak wrote:

Actually, a Fat Quarter is similar to the French Quarter, but it is where quilters may like to reside ... the place with good chocolate, cherry chip cake, and other delights! Giggles, PAT

...portion snipped

Another thing to consider is that if you prewash your fabric, then you can also have shrinkage. The actual amount of shrinkage will vary with the density of the weaving of the fabric.

Bev in TX