What Are Fat Quarters and Fat Eighths?
It is never too late to start your quilting journey. With so many innovations, things have become easier, especially in the quilting world. Now, there are wide varieties of precut fabrics available which are useful for almost every kind of quilting project, for example fat quarters bundles, fat eighths, layer cakes etc.
What Are Precut Fabrics?
Many makers of premium quilt shop quality fabrics launch different types of collections. They are in the form of a mix of designs, multiple prints, or solids. Sewists, particularly quilters require different patterns grouped together so these precuts come in handy.
Fat Quarter
It is a quarter yard precut fabric that measures about 18x22 inches. This bundle is called a fat quarter because of its size. A fat quarter precut bunch is wider than a regular quarter yard cut which is 9x44 inches; it is large and pretty thin. Both the cuts give the same square inches, but they are majorly different in shapes and uses.
In a fat quarter fabric bundle, the size is mainly dependent upon fabric width. Generally, a yard is always 36 inches long, quilting cotton material’s width varies from 41 to 45 inches. Which is why it is normal for some fat quarter bundles to have a measurement of 18x20 and 18x22 inches.
A fat quarter is an important piece; the bundle regularly contains 1 from each print from various collections and serve as a good quilting starter.
Why Use Fat Quarters
There are many advantages of using fat quarters, some of which include:
- Makes it easy for the maker to cut large fabric chunks, compared to a typical quarter yard piece. Moreover, the strips are twice longer on the fabric's lengthwise grain.
- It offers versatility, you can use a fat quarter as an applique, patchwork, scrap quilts, etc.
What Can You Make Using a Fat Quarter Bundle?
- Pochi pouch
- Tiny sized bags
- Special Fat quarter fold up basket
- Unique patchwork shower curtain
- Lunch Tote bag
- Tea towels
- Cloth napkins
- Jewelry case for traveling purposes
- Face masks
- Zipper pouches
- Cross body bag
A Fat Eighth Pack
A fat eighth is so named because it is an eighth yard cut fabric piece that measures around 9 inches x22 inches in size. The fat eighth is wider than regular eighth yard long thin fabric with 4.5 inches x44 inches. Just like a fat quarter the length of a fat eighth is dependent upon the width size of fabric.
Other Precut Pieces
Apart from fat eighths and fat quarter pieces, there are some other precuts available such as:
Charm Pack
Charm squares, charm packs or charm stackers, all refer to the same precut bundle. They are a bunch of 5 inch squares. Usually, containing 1 piece of fabric from every print collection; however, duplicates may be seen in the pack together.
The quantity of square pieces depends on the manufacturer. For example, one manufacturer makes a charm pack bunch containing 4, 2.5 inch pieces or this precut fabric in it. You may find duplicate prints; their amount varies in accordance with the fabric collection size.
Charm packs have immense popularity after fat quarter bundles; they are perfect for making pillow-cases, quilts, and small patchwork materials.
A Jelly Roll
Hold up; it is not what you think. This piece of jelly roll is not something you would eat; rather it is very useful in the quilting world. A jelly roll pack is one of the most complex precuts for quilters. Some other names are roll-ups or fabric rolls, having 2.1/2 x 42 inches fabric strips each roll.
A jelly roll comes rolled up as 40 strips per roll. It is convenient in making quilts, strappy bags, bindings etc.
Layer Cake
It is a collection of square shaped fabric pieces of 10 inches fused together using a certain color or a design line. Typically, a layer cake bundle has around 42 precut 10 inches squares stacked together. These bundles are very convenient for quilting or other projects. Precut pieces make stitching easy, and minimize wastage.
Conclusion
Being a first-time quilter is both challenging and rewarding. There are many options to choose from. We recommend you visit Royal Motif Fabrics for your project and reach out to us with any help you may need, either for starting or completing your project.
- Royal Motif
