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A Time to Sew
Quilt Designs by Cheryl Almgren Taylor |
About the Designer About the Web Site's Name Patterns - Storybook Series
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Although quilting is one of the most creative and fun things you can do, sometimes it is necessary to make mathematical calculations, especially if you like to design your own patterns. Listed on this page is some useful information that can be referred to when you are feeling math challenged.
Fabric is usually purchased "by the yard", 36 inches, or a fraction of a yard. Fabric is traditionally manufactured in 44" widths; however, recently some manufacturers have shortened that to 42". These measurements explain what the length of the fabric cut is when you buy a fraction of a yard.
(top) Normally 1/4 of a yard of fabric would be a piece that measured 9" x 44". Quilters use a special cut of fabric called a "fat quarter". It results in the same area of fabric, but the yardage has been cut differently so that the piece measures 18' x 22", enabling quilters to cut larger pieces than you could from a regular quarter of a yard of fabric. (top) Quilt Dimensions There are variations in what determines the appropriate size for a bed quilt. When determining how big you want your quilt to be, you must first know the dimensions of your mattress. These are listed below.
(top) On Point Blocks
Blocks that are arranged "on point" are rotated so that the square block
is laid out in a diamond effect. While this is a beautiful layout, it
creates some mathematical complications when designing a quilt. This is
because the diagonal measurement of the block is creating the width. To
determine this measurement, you simply multiply the finished block size
by 1.41. For example, 6" square block no longer has a 6" width on the
quilt top, but has a width of 8 1/2".
Sometimes quilt making requires that we cut pieces with strange, fractional measurements. Knowing the fractional equivalent in decimals can be a help. The following chart provides decimal equivalents for a number of common fractions used in cutting quilt pieces.
Corner setting squares are made from half square triangles. That means
that a square block has been cut on the diagonal, resulting in two
triangles. The legs of the triangle form the outside edge of the quilt
and the hypotenuse is sewn to the block edge. There are two formulas
that can be used to make corner setting triangles.
Side setting triangles are used along the side a quilt with on-point
block layout. They are made by cutting a square twice diagonally,
resulting in 4 triangles. The legs of the triangles are on the bias and
the base is on the straight of grain, thus it goes on the outside of the
quilt top.
This chart lists the sizes of squares that will be cross cut to create
setting triangles.
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