Fat quarters. What are they good for?

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  • Kenz
    Senior Member
    Block Queen
    • Jun 2016
    • 137

    Fat quarters. What are they good for?

    Any patterns out there that calls for fat quarters, other than what tutorials Jenny and Rob have? I am tempted to buy some pretty fat quarter bundles on M*, which are on sale this week, but I don’t really have a use for them right now. I have a lot of unused precuts I’ve purchased in the past, for future projects that I haven’t gotten to yet. 😔
  • shermur
    Senior Member
    Missouri Star
    • Mar 2013
    • 3319

    #2
    Re: Fat quarters. What are they good for?

    I made this out of fat quarters!

    Birch log cabin 2 (800x674).jpg
    Sherri

    "Don't let someone else's ugly spoil your beautiful. " Thanks, Bubby!!!!!!

    Comment

    • Bernina2
      Senior Member
      The Guild President
      • Oct 2014
      • 638

      #3
      Re: Fat quarters. What are they good for?

      I've never bought fat quarters or any other
      pre cut fabrics. I always buy yardage, 1/2 -1 yard cuts.
      I make scrappy quilts and use a little from many fabrics.
      Personally I think pre cuts/fat quarters are higher priced
      and quality is poor.
      Buying yardage also allows a quilter to build a stash
      and you always have fabric on hand for a quick
      Gift when needed.

      Comment

      • Debbie Watters
        Senior Member
        Missouri Star
        • Aug 2015
        • 1098

        #4
        Re: Fat quarters. What are they good for?

        That is really pretty, Shermur. Your work is always so impressive!

        Comment

        • Kenz
          Senior Member
          Block Queen
          • Jun 2016
          • 137

          #5
          Re: Fat quarters. What are they good for?

          Originally posted by shermur View Post
          I made this out of fat quarters!

          [ATTACH=CONFIG]150472[/ATTACH]
          Beautiful! Love the colors and pattern.

          Comment

          • Sandy Navas
            Senior Member
            Missouri Star
            • Dec 2010
            • 21301

            #6
            Re: Fat quarters. What are they good for?

            We are so excited to snatch up a little fat quarter and take it home....but now what?!  How do we get this fat, kind of lop sided piece into something that is




            if you have a Pinterest account go there and search for fat quarters and you'll find a bunch of diagrams on how to cut them.

            Fat quarters are MY VERY FAVORITE precut. I think they are the most versatile cut of all.
            Sometimes, when there's a raging fire,
            it's best not to try to put it out with gasoline.

            "...pal carajo con la negatividad..."

            Comment

            • LauraP
              Senior Member
              Missouri Star
              • Dec 2015
              • 1887

              #7
              Re: Fat quarters. What are they good for?


              go down to fq bundles and check out some of their patterns. They are all free
              sigpic

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              • Heather

                #8
                Re: Fat quarters. What are they good for?

                Moda Bake Shop has lots of "recipes" using fat quarters, too.
                If I find a cute FQ that doesn't fit into a quilt I make a pouch out if it. Usually a pretty larger print that I don't want to cut up.

                Comment

                • Caroline T.
                  Senior Member
                  Missouri Star
                  • Jun 2016
                  • 2734

                  #9
                  Re: Fat quarters. What are they good for?

                  Originally posted by Bernina2 View Post
                  I've never bought fat quarters or any other
                  pre cut fabrics. I always buy yardage, 1/2 -1 yard cuts.
                  I make scrappy quilts and use a little from many fabrics.
                  Personally I think pre cuts/fat quarters are higher priced
                  and quality is poor.
                  Buying yardage also allows a quilter to build a stash
                  and you always have fabric on hand for a quick
                  Gift when needed.
                  While I agree that they can sometimes cost more than yardage (per yard) depending on where you shop, but for those who don't want to spend the money on fabric that will sit on their shelves for years and yet want a wide selection, FQs can be quite cost effective in the long run.

                  But my real question is, please explain how you think they could be poor quality in comparison to the yardage? After all isn't (for example) a Moda collection still Moda whether it's yardage, jelly roll, layer cake or fat quarters?

                  Comment

                  • The_Last_Unicorn
                    Senior Member
                    Batting Beauty
                    • May 2016
                    • 276

                    #10
                    Re: Fat quarters. What are they good for?

                    Thimble Blossoms makes a lot of patterns for fat quarters; Swoon is my favorite. Lella Boutique has some beautiful FQ patterns, too, like this butterfly design.

                    Comment

                    • JCY
                      Senior Member
                      Missouri Star
                      • Jul 2013
                      • 13972

                      #11
                      Re: Fat quarters. What are they good for?

                      Oh my goodness! You can make just about anything out of FQs! They are the most versatile pre-cut out there. I love them. At my LQS, I get FQs from the "orphan corner" for $1.00 each. They are cut from all the yardage of the top quality fabrics they carry on the bolt. It may just be the end of the bolt. The reg. price of their FQs is $2.50, which figures out to be the same cost as their yardage, which is $9.95. There are web sites that have diagrams of how to cut FQs for the best use of the piece. However, I don't cut mine until I'm ready to use them & know what size pieces I'll need. I've used FQs for 9-patches, 4-patches, D9P, Rail Fence, Summer in the Park, Binding Tool Star quilt, Ribbon Star pattern, Warm Wishes pattern, Turning Twenty quilts, strips for binding, & the list goes on. FQs are easier to manage than yardage, & they're all cut for you. If you're looking for a simple pattern, try one of the Turning Twenty quilts. I've made at least 4 "Turning Twenty...Again" quilts. Tricia has at least 10 pattern books on her web site. Just Google it. There also is a photo gallery there of quilts people have made from her patterns. The one thing to figure out when buying a FQ bundle is: how many pieces are in the bundle? Divide the cost of the bundle by the no. of pieces to get the cost of 1 FQ. Multiply x 4 to get the cost per yard. Compare prices. The nice thing about pre-cuts is that you get a good variety of fabrics.

                      Comment

                      • Vonnie
                        Senior Member
                        Missouri Star
                        • Apr 2013
                        • 5226

                        #13
                        Re: Fat quarters. What are they good for?

                        And to keep the cost down, you could do a fat quarter swap. I have been in those before. Or just go in with a friend. Buy 1/2 yard cuts then divide again for your friend.
                        Vonnie

                        Comment

                        • Carlie Wolf
                          Senior Member
                          Missouri Star
                          • Oct 2013
                          • 4492

                          #14
                          Re: Fat quarters. What are they good for?

                          JCY, do you know if you can make bargello out of fat quarters??? I thought I saw that you couldn't but for the life of me I don't know why? particularly if you were going to do something like a tablerunner. I have too much trouble picking out 7 to 12 different fabrics for it and I thought a fat quarter bundle might work better for me???
                          https://forum.missouriquiltco.com/co.../icon_wave.gif
                          Women are Angels. When someone break's our wings we will continue to fly-usually on a broomstick.We're flexible like that.

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                          • grammaterry
                            Senior Member
                            Missouri Star
                            • Dec 2015
                            • 12104

                            #15
                            Re: Fat quarters. What are they good for?

                            My first precuts were fat quarters and I love them. I love looking at them, petting them, folding them, storring them for stash and when you want to do a quilt you can just pick out the colors you like and audition them because there isn't so much bulk as in yardage. I made a cathedral window with 24 fatquarters and had enough left to make another different quilt. As Joy said, you can usually pick them up for a $1 or $1.50 which makes them really reasonable for yardage.
                            success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiam
                            Terry of NC

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