From: Nicole Burch
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998

I'm horrible at measurements and I rarely cut my own fabric, but here is how "Fat Quarters" were explained to me.

Mary wrote: A "skinny" quarter of cotton fabric is 45 inches wide and is measured and cut 9 inches long (a quarter of a yard)-- so you have a piece 9" x 45". A fat quarter is cut 18 inches long, and then cut again crosswise so it is 22-1/2 inches wide. A fat quarter is often more useful in quilting because it is more square. It is the same amount of fabric, but in a differentshape.

Janis wrote: Take a half yard and cut it in half parallel to the selvage. It's a quarter yard, but it's "fatter" than one cut off the bolt parallel to the cut edge.

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From: Marti
Date: Tue, 5 May 1998

Instead of buying by the yard, buy fat halves. Instead of say, 60 inches wide and 36 inches long, you would get 30 inches wide and 36 inches long. You can get a good 3 or 4 pieces out of this, and even the little leftovers are good for small gifts. On a smaller scale, fat quarters are good too - not as many pieces, but you'll have plenty of room to finish even a big design with fabric left over to spare for framing.

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From: AOL's Quilting Forum

What's a Fat Quarter?

Take a yard of fabric, say 45 in x36 in. Cut it in half so you have two pieces 45x18. Now cut each piece in half so you have four pieces, 22x18. You have four fat quarters.

One more cut makes it a fat eighth.

Cut each piece so it's 11x18, and you have eight fat eighths.

Fat Quarters are great for
- swapping
- watercolor
- baby quilts
- wall hangings
- block swaps
- progressives
- gifts when you meet quilters
- wrapping paper for gifts to quilters

Remember, the more colors and patterns in a quilt, the better it looks!

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For another article on this topic, read Martha Beth Lewis' article entitled, What a "Fat Quarter" and "Fat Half" Are.