Fat Quarters \ Explained

I feel like I have been asked this question so many times now and it occurred to me that maybe some of you out there don't know what a Fat Quarter is either. 


I am absolutely in love with Fat Quarters and I'm sure all of you will be also. If you have every been to Joann Fabrics (which I'm sure most of you have) those little, $1.99 fabric squares in front of the bolts of quilting fabric are called Fat Quarters. 


A Fat Quarter is a quarter of a yard of fabric - but it is different than if you take one of the large rolls (called bolts) of fabric to the counter and have them cut you 1/4 of a yard. 




Fat Quarter vs Regular Quarter
Fabric on a bolt is usually folded in half before it is wrapped around the bolt, so when you unfold the fabric it is 44" long. I'm sure all of you know that there are 36" in a yard - when you take a bolt of fabric to the cutting counter and have them cut you 1/4 of a yard they will cut you a piece that is 9" wide, which will give you a long, skinny piece of fabric that is 9" x 44". 




A Fat Quarter is 1/4 of a yard of fabric that is 18" x 21" - so it is almost a square. I personally love Fat Quarters because I feel that there is more room to work with when cutting from a square, rather than a 9" wide strip of fabric. They are also so cheap (at only $1.99 and are on sale quite often) so I usually pick up a few every time I go to Joann's. You can find them in pre-packaged squares at Joann's or in pre-packaged rolls. I find that the rolls tend to be thicker fabric usually, but the selection of patterns is usually pretty limited.

I have an absolutely enormous collection of Fat Quarters at home, which is very handy for small projects like a wallet, key fob, zipper pouch, etc.