Charm Pack not square

[coffeebreak]

I am not a scrappy quilter so I don't usually buy charms or any precut smaller than a fat quarter and even then.. I usually like more of one design/pattern than a fat quarter offers...I usually have to have at least 2 FQ's of the same print. But, before I decided pre cuts were not for me, I did buy some on sale at very prominant online fabric stores..and the charms and the cake layers...were not true to size. The charms less than 5x5, the cake layers less than 10x10. I know you can trim to make them all the same size, but the point of buying pre cuts is so you don't have to do that! And then the measurements are off which makes your pattern measurements off and have to recalculate everything.

This is why I just buy yardage. Granted alot of the new patterns/prints etc in pre cuts, don't come in yardage...but if it is something I just have to have...I would buy with my eyes open to 99% chance they are not true to size and prepare to deal with it.

I bought 4 cake layers last Cyber Monday...don't remember the brand but the online store is a good reputable store, so it is the brand that is at fault, not the store....all ready to make a pinwheel quilt with white background and colored HST's with a white dot on colored background. Got the 10x10 as that was the size I wanted the pinwheels to be...easy to piece/match to make the HST etc. Got them, and although they were 10x10 out of the package.. I pre wash everything. I don't want to get a whole quilt done and have pieces shrink and go wonky. Pre cuts I wash in a lingerie bag. But once washed, these cake layers shrunk to anywhere from 9.25x9.25 to staying 10x10. 3/4 of an inch shrinkage is just to much for me to think it wouldn't have distorted the quilt had I not prewashed them. My opinion I know and I do like the krinkled look sometimes, but not all the time! So there sits the 4 packs of cake layers...all different sizes, waiting for me to get the ambition to find the smallest piece and trim all the rest of them to that size.

This is why I buy yardage. I can cut pieces any size I want and have them all the same size first time!

[Jean Sewing Machine]

One of the biggest advantages to buying precuts besides the size and shape is the variety in fabrics in the line. There are almost always more variety that you can get in yardage.

[Liberty]

I've never had that problem with Moda. I buy charm packs (and use them!) all the time. The only problem I've ever had was one had very obvious selvedge.

but even that was square at the same size as the rest.

I've never mixed and matched brands when I use charm packs, so the small difference in 5" interpretation doesn't really affect me. But I will think twice about buying Bernatex!

[Dollyquilts]

My first quilt class I took was a layer cake class. I washed my precuts and really messed my lesson up because of it. It was a Moda layer cake and they shrank quite a bit. I was told not to wash precuts at that class. I love precuts and have mostly purchased Moda and Riley Blake. I've been fortunate that they were all sized correctly so far, but I am pretty new to this.

Dolly

[GrandmaE]

One of the biggest advantages to buying precuts besides the size and shape is the variety in fabrics in the line. There are almost always more variety that you can get in yardage.

I agree with you. I have only just started to purchase pre cuts and it is not for the ease of not cutting but for the ability to get a variety of fabrics. Hope I don't run into problems like those listed. I have already noticed some charm packs and jelly rolls listing 40 pieces instead of 42. This could make issues some patterns.