Maker resources
Precut size guide
Precut names can feel like a secret language — jelly rolls, charm packs, honey buns. Here's the whole vocabulary in one table: exact dimensions, what each cut is best at, and roughly what you get out of it. Bookmark it; every quilter checks this twice a year.
| Precut | Size | Best for | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fat Quarter | 18" × 22" | A quarter yard cut wide — not skinny. The most versatile precut for patchwork, pouches, and EPP. | ≈ 12 × 5" charms or 99 sq in usable |
| Fat Eighth | 9" × 22" | Half a fat quarter. Great for scrappy quilts and small accents without over-buying. | ≈ 6 × 5" charms |
| Charm Pack | 5" × 5" squares | Typically 40–42 coordinated squares from one collection. Zero cutting — straight to piecing. | Baby quilt ≈ 2 packs |
| Mini Charm | 2.5" × 2.5" squares | The charm pack's little sibling. Perfect for postage-stamp quilts and tiny piecing. | 42 squares ≈ one mini quilt block set |
| Jelly Roll | 2.5" × 42–44" strips | Usually 40 strips, width of fabric. The strip-quilt classic: race quilts, log cabins, bindings. | 1 roll ≈ 2.75 yards |
| Layer Cake | 10" × 10" squares | Typically 42 large squares — big enough to subcut into half-square triangles or keep whole. | 1 cake ≈ 2.9 yards |
| Honey Bun | 1.5" × 42–44" strips | Narrow strips for fine piecing, string quilts, and sashing. | 1 bun ≈ 1.6 yards |
| Half Yard | 18" × 42–44" | The step up from a fat quarter when a project needs more of one print. | 2 fat quarters side by side |
| Yard | 36" × 42–44" | The baseline of quilting math. Backings, borders, and bindings usually start here. | 36" of usable length |
A note on "usable width". Quilting cotton is milled 42–44" wide, but after selvages and shrinkage most patterns assume 40–42" of usable width (WOF). When math is tight, plan on 40" and let the extra be a bonus.
Curated by the Biscayne Quilt Supply team — makers first, shopkeepers second.