FAQ: Ready to Sew quilt fabric questions

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How do I calculate yardage requirements for quilt pieces I'd like to cut myself?  Our free Microsoft Excel based quilt yardage calculator can take care of that for you.  Click here to download it to your desktop.

If you don't use Excel, we've also created an accompanying Adobe PDF file that covers the details of calculating quilt yardage requirements.  Click here to download it.

Why are the wide width fabrics so much more expensive?  Actually, they're exactly the same price per square inch as the rest of our fabrics.  Here's how we figure:

Standard width fabric is 45" wide and is priced at $0.33/inch ($11.88/yard).  There are 1620 (45x36) square inches per yard in this width of fabric, so each one is priced at $0.00733.  110" wide fabric, for example, has 3960 (110x36) square inches per yard.  At $0.0073 per square inch, that would be $29.04 per yard or $0.8067/inch.  We rounded that down to $0.80/inch to make life easier, which means at $28.80/yard you're actually getting a bit of a bargain!   

You'll notice that we offer these fabrics in the same variety of prewashed, precut shapes available in our standard width products- and that there's absolutely no additional charge.  There's also no additional charge for selecting wide width fabrics in a CYO quilt kit. 

In addition, we offer our 110" wide fabrics cut to a 55" width as well as in "Super Fat" quarters.  If you do the math, you'll see that all of these products are priced appropriately.

How do I account for extra wide width when calculating how much fabric to buy?  Our free quilt fabric yardage calculator lets you enter the width of the fabric you intend to buy and will account for that when it determines your result.  Both the Microsoft Excel based calculator and the accompanying Adobe PDF file contain a detailed explanation of the math behind the calculator.

What's a fat quarter?  A fat quarter is a special kind of quarter yard cut.  Standard fabric web width is 44”/45”, so cutting a regular quarter yard from the bolt will give you a piece of fabric measuring 44”/45” by 9” (1/4 of 36”).  This regular quarter yard cut is often known as a “skinny” quarter yard.

A fat quarter, on the other hand, is made when you cut half a yard (18”) in half along the web width (44”/45”) so it measures 22”/22.5” x 18”.  Quilters like fat quarter cuts because you can cut larger appliqué shapes and other quilt pieces from them.  Now remember, Stitch Simple fat quarters aren’t just any old fat quarters- they’re squeaky clean and ready to sew!  Because they’re prewashed, they will measure 21”/21.5” x 18".  We can’t make the web width any wider, but we do make sure you still get at least 18” of fabric length in every fat quarter.

Want to know which direction the pattern will follow on fat quarter cuts?  Take the following example of striped fabric.

What's a Super Fat quarter?  Super Fat quarters are cut from our wide web width fabrics.  For our 60" wide fabrics, a Super Fat quarter measures approx. 29" x 18".  For our 110" wide fabrics,  a Super Fat quarter is actually 1/4 of the fabric width (as opposed to 1/2 as explained above), but they still measure at least 18 inches in length.  In the end, a Super Fat quarter of any 110" wide fabric will measure approximately 26.5" x 18". 

How much backing fabric should I buy?  We recommend purchasing enough fabric to make a backing measuring at least 2” larger than your quilt top on all 4 sides.  Our 110" wide fabrics have a preshrunk width of 107-108", which means you can use them to comfortably back a project 105-106" wide without any visible seams.  Likewise, our 60" fabrics have a preshrunk width of 57-58", which means they can back a project as wide as 55-56". We also guarantee that the number of inches ordered matches or exceeds the length of the shortest rectangle on all of our Ready to Sew fabric products, so you don't have to add additional fabric to cover the possibility of a skewed panel when you buy from Stitch Simple. 

And if I prefer to use standard width fabric, how much should I buy?  We still recommend purchasing enough fabric to make a backing measuring at least 2” larger than your quilt top on all 4 sides.  When purchasing standard width backing fabric for large quilts, you'll just need to purchase more than one panel and you'll also need to include a 1/2” seam allowance and the removal of selvedge edges in your calculation.  Here’s an example of how to calculate the amount of standard width backing fabric for a standard queen size quilt top measuring 90” x 105” (width x length):

1. Take the width measurement of 90”, add 4” so you’ll have the extra 2” on each side, and then divide it by the preshrunk width of the fabric (all Stitch Simple standard width fabric by the inch has a minimum 42” preshrunk width): 94 ÷ 42= 2.24.  Rounding up from this result tells you that you’ll need at least 3 panels of fabric for a queen size quilt backing.
2. Now you need to include a 1/2” seam allowance and the removal of selvedge edges in the calculation to make sure you will have enough fabric.  To do this, multiply the seam allowance of 0.5” by 2 and then by the number of panels minus one: 0.5 x 2 x (3-1)= 0.5 x 2 x 2= 2.0.  Then add 1" for each panel to cover the removal of selvedge edges (it's generally safe to assume they will be 1/2" wide on each side): 2.0 + (3 x 1)= 5.0. Next multiply the rounded up number of panels needed (3) by the preshrunk fabric width and subtract the exact number of panels needed (2.24) multiplied by the preshrunk fabric width: (3 x 42)-(2.24 x 42)= 126-94.08= 31.92.
3. So long as the final result of the calculation in Step 2 (31.92) is greater than the extra amount of fabric needed to cover seam allowances and the removal of selvedge edges (5 inches), the rounded up number of panels (3) is the correct number to purchase.
4. Now for the easy part, calculating the panel length.  Simply add 4 inches to the length measurement of your quilt top: 105+4= 109
5. Final Answer: you will need to purchase 3, 109” panels of Stitch Simple quilt fabric by the inch.

As you can see, calculating fabric requirements for backing can quickly get complicated if you throw in other considerations such as the direction of the fabric print, different seam allowances or different requirements for extra fabric around your quilt.  If you need help determining how much fabric you need for your project, please do not hesitate to give us a call at 866-610-2577, xt. 1.  We are happy to calculate it for you.  International customers can reach us for free using Skype (our Skype Name is stitch.simple).  

How do I order separate panels of quilt fabric by the inch? Simply add the total number of inches to your cart and make a note in the Order Comments and Special Requests box during checkout telling us how long you want each panel to be.  Say for example, you want to buy 3, 124” panels of Stitch Simple Item No. QT44.  Simply add quantity 372 of product number QT44_7 to your cart and write “Please send 3, 124 inch panels of QT44” in the Order Comments and Special Requests box.

If the fabric I like has a specific up/down pattern orientation, which direction will the pattern follow on quilt fabric by the inch?  All fabric shapes are displayed with the width measurement running from left to right and the length measurement running from top to bottom.  This is also true of quilt fabric by the inch.  Take the following example of striped fabric. 

Where should I place seams when joining panels to make backing for a large quilt?  When joining panels, avoid placing a seam in the center of the quilt back.  The center of the quilt gets the most wear and tear, so placing a seam there will make it more likely to need repair.