This post is all about precut fabric sizes and what you can do with them.
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Have you ever seen the pretty bundles of precut fabrics in your local quilt shop and wondered more about them? You see all the perfectly coordinated sets of fabric just waiting to made into something great. Then do you get confused about what you can actually do with them?
This post will help you understand the sizes of precut fabric, and what they can be used for.
Precut Fabric Bundle Benefits
Precuts offer a whole host of benefits for both new and experienced quilters. Here are just a few.
Coordinated Fabrics
Typically precuts will consist of a designer’s entire collection. This means the designer has already done the work to coordinated the fabric colors and prints into one cohesive set. Instead of purchasing separate fabrics, you get all of the variety in one matching bundle.
Value
Precuts will save you time, money, and have less waste than buying fabric by the yard. Since precuts are all ready to go out the door, you don’t have to wait for all the fabrics to be cut at the quilt shop cutting counter. Depending on the precut fabric size, you may find that you don’t have to make as many fabric cuts before getting to the sewing part of your quilt. Also, many fabric designers or pattern writers are producing “pre-cut friendly” patterns which helps you utilize most if not all of a piece of fabric in your bundle. This results in less waste or less scraps to add to your scrap bin because you are using the fabric more efficiently.
Easy to Store
Since precut fabrics are already bundled together, it makes them easier to store until it’s time to make a project with them. Yardage of fabric can be more cumbersome and might get separated from the other fabrics you purchased to go with them; precuts are already packaged together. They are also pretty to display as decoration while they are waiting to be used.
Precut Fabric Size Options
Now that you know the benefits of precut fabric, let’s talk about each one from smallest to largest. Moda Fabrics is known for being the pioneer of precuts and the names that usually go with them. However, keep in mind that each fabric manufacturer has their own names for the different precuts, but they are generally the same offering in terms of size and quantity of fabrics in each package. But not every manufacturer offers every size or all of the size options for all fabric lines.
Mini-Charm Packs (2.5″ Squares)
Mini-charms are the smallest of precuts. These are 2.5″ squares. Typically they come with 42 pieces in them. Since most designer collections don’t have that many individual fabric choices, there will be duplicate prints of some of the fabrics in your mini-charm pack.
Uses for Mini-Charm Packs
- small projects like zipper pouches or mug rugs
- mini quilts
- multiple mini-charms can be used together to make small table runners or baby quilts.
- In a 6 block x 7 block arrangement, all 42 pieces would result in a 12″ x 14″ finished piece when assembled.
Charm Packs (5″ Squares)
Charm packs are 5″ squares that also have 42 pieces of fabric in them. Again, you will most likely have a few prints that will be duplicated. Other names for charm packs depending on manufacturer are 5″ Stackers, 5″ Squares, Bali Snaps, or 5 Karat Crystals.
Uses for Charm Packs
- small projects
- small table runners
- baby quilts
- English Paper Piecing
- In a 6 block x 7 block arrangement, all 42 pieces would result in a 27″ x 31.5″ finished piece when assembled.
Layer Cakes (10″ Squares)
A Layer Cake is a package of 10″ squares. Depending on the manufacturer, there are usually 40-42 squares in each package. This is probably one of the most versatile and budget friendly precuts. There are a LOT of patterns written for layer cakes, and by adding some yardage for a background, you can make a pretty large quilt with a layer cake. Other names for Layer Cakes are 10″ stackers, 10 Karat Crystals, 10″ Squares, and Bali Crackers
Uses for Layer Cakes
- Can be used for any charm pack or mini-charm pack friendly pattern
- Throw blankets (may need some yardage for background fabric)
- Pillows
- In a 6 block x 7 block arrangement, 42 pieces would result in a 57″ x 66.5″ finished piece when assembled.
- In a 5 block x 8 block arrangement, 40 pieces would result in a 47.5″ x 76″ finished piece when assembled.
Honey Buns (1.5″ Strips)
Honey buns are rolls of 1.5″ wide strips cut across the width of fabric (about 42″). You will typically get 40 fabric pieces in your bundle with some duplicating of prints. Honey Buns aren’t as common of a precut fabric size, but they can be useful for small projects or combined with a layer cake to make larger projects.
Uses for Honey Buns
- Small Projects
- Add details to a larger quilt when combined with other fabric
- Sewing all the strips together, one strip on top of the next, you can get a finished piece of approximately 40″ x 40″
Jelly Rolls (2.5″ Strips)
Jelly rolls are the spirals of fabric you see most often. There are 40 strips of 2.5″ wide fabric. Other names for Jelly Rolls are Rollie Polies, Roll Ups, Bali Pops, or 40 Karat Crystals.
Jelly rolls are a very popular size for things like a Jelly Roll Race Quilt. This involves sewing the jelly roll strips end to end and then sewing the strips together until you meet in the middle over and over until you have the shape and size you want. This typically ends up being approximately 50″ x 64″. Jenny Doan from Missouri Star Quilt Company shows you how to make a Jelly Roll Race quilt in record time with this tutorial.
Uses for Jelly Rolls
- Jelly Roll Race Quilts
- Jelly Roll Precut Friendly Quilts
- Pillows
- Small bags or zipper pouches
Fat Eighth Bundles (9″ x 21″ )
The fat eighth and fat quarter bundles are interesting cuts of fabric. If you were to purchase a 1/8 yard cut of fabric, you would receive a piece that is 4.5″ wide by 42″ (typical width of fabric). This piece can be useful, but not as useful as its “Fat” counter part. Fat eighths are cut by taking a 1 yard piece of fabric and cutting it half horizontally and then vertically into 4 strips. This still gets 8 pieces out of a yard, but the pieces are now 9″ x 21″. With this size, you have more cutting options out of each piece.
Fat eighths will typically have one piece of each print in a collection. This gives you about between 25 and 40 fat eighths. These bundles give you a lot more of each fabric than the precuts we’ve discussed so far. You can cut several 5″ squares from a fat eighth and then some. Depending on the size of a fabric collection and its fat eighth bundle, you may have about double the amount of fabric that a layer cake gives you.
Uses for Fat Eighth Bundles
- Can be used for a wide variety of projects and quilts
- Fat Eighth friendly quilt patterns
- Can be cut smaller for Charm Pack patterns and possibly Layer Cake Patterns depending on the cutting instructions
Fat Quarter Bundles (18″ x 21″ )
Fat Quarter Bundles gives you the most versatility of all of the precuts. They are however the most expensive. Similar to the fat eighth bundles, fat quarters are cut by cutting a yard of fabric in half horizontally and then in half vertically once. This gives you 4 pieces that are 18″ x 21″ as opposed to a 1/4 yard cut of 9″ x 42″. Each bundle will usually have 1 of each of the prints in a fabric collection, making the bundles between 25 and 40 pieces of fabric.
Fat Quarters can be used in place of pretty much any of the other precut sizes with fabric to spare to make your project larger, or the extra fabric can be used for a couple different projects.
Uses for Fat Quarter Bundles
- Any patterns for smaller precut fabric sizes
- Fat quarter friendly patterns
- Can make a much larger quilt, even up to a king size, with fat quarters.
- Endless possibilites
Buying and Using Precut Fabric Sizes
Without a nearby local quilt shop near me, I usually purchase my precut fabrics at either Fat Quarter Shop or Missouri Star Quilt Company.
Both of these companies also have a large selection of free quilt patterns and ideas using precuts. You can find free patterns at Fat Quarter Shop and Missouri Star’s free video tutorials here.
I hope you find this guide to precut fabric sizes helpful and encouraging. Happy quilting!
