Why why why can't designers do a better job estimating yardage???

[sewlucky]

Just a vent here. I've just finished cutting the strips for the strip sets for my next project. I bought yardage EXACTLY as listed in the pattern book. I have almost an entire yard of the first two and a quarter yard of the third leftover. I'm glad about the one as I suspected I may be good with it for binding (I'm binding the same as the backing fabric, which is also one of the fabrics in my top) and I bought all they had in the store (and it was nearly a yard less than what the estimates were listed).

This has happened a few times now and while it's an easy way to build stash its not necessarily how I want to do it, and it means I'm spending more on projects than I need to!

I guess i just need to be careful to add the yardage required By digging into the instructions before I shop.

Terri

[K. McEuen]

I'm sure they over-estimate to allow for cutting errors. It's better to have to much than not enough if you happen to make a mistake.

[Claire OneStitchAtATime]

That is frustrating, but I suppose better over-estimated than under-estimated.

[whippetmom]

Just a thought, but maybe they put that much so that people like myself that wash the fabric before quilting, the shrinkage is figured in.

[Vonnie]

Argh - it's way better to over estimate than to under!

A few years back I made QIAD's Rail Fence. I bought the recommend fabric plus a little extra. That little extra was not enough. I sewed together four 2 1/2" strips. The instructions said I would be able to get five 8 1/2 blocks out of each strip set. I was rather new at this then. I found out the hard way that not all fabric is the same width. And they include the selvage in that width! I was only able to get 4 blocks out of each strip set. So back to the store. Murphy's law was in effect. They were out of some of the fabrics. But the had a lot of yardage in one of the prints so I bought it and made a wide border to make the quilt big enough.

[sewlucky]

Oh no! I guess again that's why we need to do some rough quilt math before shopping, lol

Terri

Argh - it's way better to over estimate than to under!

A few years back I made QIAD's Rail Fence. I bought the recommend fabric plus a little extra. That little extra was not enough. I sewed together four 2 1/2" strips. The instructions said I would be able to get five 8 1/2 blocks out of each strip set. I was rather new at this then. I found out the hard way that not all fabric is the same width. And they include the selvage in that width! I was only able to get 4 blocks out of each strip set. So back to the store. Murphy's law was in effect. They were out of some of the fabrics. But the had a lot of yardage in one of the prints so I bought it and made a wide border to make the quilt big enough.

[sewlucky]

All good points! I guess one reason it's frustrating is that I've changed up my original design plan because by the pattern's listed required yardage my store didn't have enough on hand for the project the way I wanted to do it, yet with what I bought for a throw sized quilt I had enough for the queen size I accidentally cut for PLUS more. I would have had lots for my original design, lol.

I know with experience I will get more comfortable knowing what I need

Terri

[sassygranny]

...and then there are folks like me who add a little bit to each yardage requirement, "just in case." I always have tons left over. I guess that's a good thing.

[KnitWitRosie]

Just a vent here. I've just finished cutting the strips for the strip sets for my next project. I bought yardage EXACTLY as listed in the pattern book. I have almost an entire yard of the first two and a quarter yard of the third leftover. I'm glad about the one as I suspected I may be good with it for binding (I'm binding the same as the backing fabric, which is also one of the fabrics in my top) and I bought all they had in the store (and it was nearly a yard less than what the estimates were listed).

This has happened a few times now and while it's an easy way to build stash its not necessarily how I want to do it, and it means I'm spending more on projects than I need to!

I guess i just need to be careful to add the yardage required By digging into the instructions before I shop.

Terri

I hear ya!! Since I'm still new to quilting, I'm only working off of patterns so far (not adventurous enough to try my own) and I'm praying the yardage requirements are correct. I guess I can handle a little more than needed, but I'm terrified that it was an under-estimation and I won't have enough... especially of those fabrics that come and go out of print so quickly. I worry that by the time I get around to doing the project, if I don't have enough yardage... I'll have a hard time finding it again.

So far, the two patterns I've done have been pretty decent on yardage requirements with minimal left overs. I completely understand though... buying 4 yards of something when you only needed 2.5 seems like a waste of resources.