Reply To: calculating fabric needed

[the_professors_assistantKeymaster]

hi there, total, yes, I get a similar number but that would be 5 1/4 of all the same fabric. Let’s say you want to do 4 different fabric blocks. In each row, you’ll have about 8 blocks at the 10 1/2″ size. That means 2 blocks of the same fabric will be in the same row. If you then have 8 rows that means you’ll have that same fabric block pop up about 16 times. In a 1/3 yard you’ll be able to cut out 4 blocks in 45″ width fabric. So with 4 different fabrics, you’ll need 1 1/3 yard of fabric from each of them. Obviously, the more different fabrics you’re using the less the yardage will be for each of them but if you total them up, the total will still give you 5 1/3 yards. Backing would depend on how wide the fabric is that you’re using. If you’re using 45″ width (so there’s a seam down the center), you’ll need about 5 yards of fabric but if you also want to use the same fabric to make binding maybe get a little extra like 5 1/2 yards. There’s is extra wide quilters fabric that can be used as backing but it’s usually pretty limited in selection and more expensive. Hope that helps.