Fabric requirements

Comment

Comment by Mary, Tewksbury MA on February 17, 2013 at 8:40am

Nut is harsh- I think there's a lot of personality with the members of QWU!

Comment by Mary, Tewksbury MA on February 17, 2013 at 7:49am

Joan, I might have been hasty when I said your material loss seemed excessive.  I'm using 3X3 to made 2.5X2.5 half square triangles for a baby quilt.  On each HST  I lose 1 of the 3 inches I stated with.  That's 33%!  Guess until you really think about it hard to imagine how much ends up in seams and waste.  But, it's the piecing that's fun and coming up with all those cool blocks makes the waste worth it!

Comment by Mary, Tewksbury MA on February 17, 2013 at 5:19am

Joan, you lose 1/4'" with each seam.  Granted lots of seams in a quilt top but to lose 30%- 46% of your material seems excessive.   

Comment by Carol Ann Hinton on February 16, 2013 at 8:21pm

Uh..Joan?  Do the letters OCD mean anything to you?  ("spent a good part of this morning...")  :-)

Comment by Linda Christianson on February 16, 2013 at 1:54pm

I just noticed I am playing with a lap quilt the same size as your measurements. It says 3 1/2 yards for backing another 1 1/2 yds. for the border, 3/8 yards of every fabric color in the center that is 4 times that, so a lot depends on the pattern. I buy fabric on super sale most of the time, so I always have left overs for scrape quilt. For any twin it takes 7/12 yards for top, full 12 yds, queen /king, 15 yards at least for the top, the back more. I buy for backing 3 to 3 1/2 yds. times 108" to do lots of my queen and King.

Comment by Carol Ann Hinton on February 16, 2013 at 7:49am

Works for me too, Mary.  Your math is right on the button!  I do it the same way.  Sometimes it seems hard to remember that each time you sew two fabric patches together, you lose 1/2" to the seam.  Multiply that by many seams across a quilt top, and you can see how the piecing "eats" up fabric, as opposed to using a single piece of fabric for backing.

Comment by Mary, Tewksbury MA on February 16, 2013 at 4:20am

You need backing larger than quilt top, I add 4" on each side so my top then becomes 59X76.  Fabric is usually 44" but with salvage you lose a little.  I'm generous so I say it's 40".  Top is 76" length, so piece together 2 pieces to get 80".  Width is 59", divide 36" into 59" and it's 1.64yards, which you have to double.  That's 3.28 yards.  If you want binding same color you need to figure out who much you need. I use 2 1/2" binding.  So 52 +68= 120 X2=240+ 12= 252"binding, so I'd need 7 strips 2 1/2" wide for my binding about 1/2 yd material.  If my math is right, I'd get 4 yards for this project.  

I draw picture of my quilt top and figure out the math- I need to see it to know how I'm going to piece backing.  Hope I haven't confused anyone, this works for me.

Comment by Shannon, ON on February 15, 2013 at 9:55pm

The top = 3468 sq in. =2.2 yd of uncut fabric. x2 (includes backing 4.4 yd. Add in binding and many, many seam allowances of 1/4" on each piece.....then the 5+ yardage requirement seems more reasonable.

Comment by Joan on February 15, 2013 at 9:51pm

Interesting!  I've always wondered if there was a rule of thumb about this.  So maybe this is all part of the mystery....!  I'm only a beginner at quilting.  I do remember reading that it depends on whether the blocks are intricate with lots of small pieces or big simple blocks.  

Comment by Linda Christianson on February 15, 2013 at 4:12pm

When I buy fabric I buy it by the yard, which is in U.S. 36" by 44"=1584 sq. in. For your quilt 5.2 yards for 8280 sq.in.  When it comes to a lap quilt the backing is very important for you see it just as much as you do the top. There is also binding at least yard. It also takes a more fabric for the top depending on the seams, big blocks less than small ones. I guess you are reading a pattern? If not look at some of the free ones to get a feel of what you need.