Wondering How Many Yards of Fabric Are in a Layer Cake?
Winter season is upon us, and it now is the time to get on to sewing. Cold nights and the warmth of a quilt with a cup of coffee are something all of us are looking forward to. Planning to make a quilt on your own for the first time? You must be confused about the layer cake and how much fabric to use, right? Do not worry; this blog has your answer and probably additional information that may help.
Firstly, let us discuss this layer cake and what does it have to do with sewing?
Layer Cake for Sewing
At a glance, it may seem that you have landed on the wrong page, but you have not. Layer cakes, jelly rolls terms, all are used in sewing too. To grasp the concept of yards of fabric requirement for a layer cake, you need to understand it.
It is a collection of a square-shaped fabric of ten inches joined together by a certain color or a design line. A layer cake has around forty-two pre-cut ten-inch squares grouped via design, theme, or other patterns.
These bundles of layer cake fabrics are very helpful for the crafter in making quilts as it offers a wide variety to choose from. The ten-inch squared cut fabrics in a layer cake aid less wastage since they are pre-cut and fit well together. This minimizes not only the leftover material but also the cost.
An added advantage of using a layer cake patch is that it can be resized according to ones needs.
When you decide to prepare a quilt or any other crafting material, we assume a pattern already in your mind, and pre-cut pieces always make the work faster. A layer cake of forty, ten-inch squares are equivalent to 2.78 yards. Let’s do the math.
Forty squares have 4,000 square inches. How did we come up with that? Well, each patch is 10 inches that would make 40 x10 x 10 = 4,000. To calculate the equivalent. yards we need to divide 4,000 by 1440, (4,000 / 1440 = gives us 2.78 yards.
What Size Quilt Can a Layer Cake Make?
The quilt size is dependent on the pattern we choose. If you choose to sew all forty-two ten-inch squares present in the layer cake fabric bundles together to make a patchwork quilt, you will make around seven rows of six-inch squares each. The resultant would be a good throw size quilt of 57 into 66.5 inches.
Using the same patch work and layer cake with addition of a 2” strip between every row and block, you will have yourself a twin size quilt that is 71″ x 82 ½”.
For a queen-sized quilt, at least two layer cakes with approximately seventy-two ten inches square fabric bundles are required. One and three quarters for the shadow with three and a half yards for background. Make sure to secure one yard for binding and nine for backing.
When we talk about king size quilts, the amount increases to three-layer cake fabric with at least a hundred ten inches squares—two and a quarter yards for shadow with four and a half yards dedicated to the background. You will need one and a quarter yards for binding with eleven and three quarters for backing.
Types of pre-cuts and their standard measurement
Some of the manufacturers have their custom pre-cut fabric, but usually, the ones mentioned below are available. Apart from layer cake fabric bundles, there are other types of cuts in fabric available for use.
Fat quarter
It measures 18”x ½ width of fabric cut in rectangles. Most collections of quilts have fat quarter fabrics in every print.
Fat eighth
A patch measuring 9” x ½ width. They are versatile due to their longer length and width. It is an expensive option but adds the most value to the final product.
Charm pack
They are a 5”x5” measuring cut with multiple fabric options available at a reasonable price. The number of squares in this pack is up to the manufacturer.
Jelly Roll
Also known as design rolls is a collection of strips of 2.5” width. The number of strips may vary.
What are Pinked edges?
Such corners are designed to save the fabric from fraying, but it often interferes with the accurate measurement for cutting. Usually, the quilt makers trim these edges off before starting on with the actual work. Be sure not to cut a large chunk!
Pinked edges are found in jelly rolls, layer cakes, and charm packs square fabric.
With this information you are well equipped with the knowledge needed to start on your quilting project. Whenever you decide to get on with shopping, visit www.royalmotiffabrics.com for their wide selection of layer cake fabric bundles. You might make mistakes in the beginning and would want to start over, at that time extra layer cake or two that you bought will be handy.
If you are a first time quilter, we recommend you reach out and get help from Royal Motif Fabrics. They will not only guide you but also provide you with the best fabric choices according to your needs.
- Royal Motif
