Debra Greenway - Pre-Cut Combo Quilts: 14 Quilts That Blend Jelly Rolls, Layer Cakes, Turnovers and More

I remember (much too well) cutting piecing templates from plastic milk cartons. That was my big contribution to recycling in the 1980s! Do any of you remember the rotary cutter revolution? It was amazing and instrumental in spurring on the incredible quilting explosion of that decade.

I cant say that pre-cuts will change the quilting world the way the rotary experience did, but I can say that pre-cuts are one of the handiest innovations since. First we had fat quarters, then charm squares, and from there we received a plethora of additions to the family. The depth of this movement is yet to be determined, as it is limited only by the creative minds of those who market themfrom the local shop owner to the big guys in manufacturing.

As quilters continue to create, the market for pre-cuts and their applications will continue to grow. Recently I was able to purchase a whole set of 2 squares. So keep your eyes peeled!

The fat quarter, fat eighth and sweet sixteens are all cuts based on fractions of yardage. These three types of pre-cuts are user-friendly and have many applications. Many times you can find these pre-cuts bundled by entire fabric lines. Many shops will bundle and sell pleasing assortments, but you can also find them individually to make up your own assortment.

• Fat quarters are 18 wide 22 longtwice the length and half the width of a quarter yard. They always have one selvage edge
• Fat eighths are 9 wide 22 long, including a selvage edge
• Sweet sixteens are fairly new on the market and run half the size of a fat eighthabout 9 wide 11 long

Layer cakes, jelly rolls, charm squares, honey buns, dessert rolls and turnovers are sets of fabric that have specific common dimensions. When the manufacturer bundles them up, they usually come as an entire fabric line, varying from about twelve to maybe forty-four fabrics.

• Layer cakes are 10 squares
• Jelly rolls are 2 strips Width of Fabric (WoF, 4044)
• Charm squares are usually 5 squares, but vary from source to source (in the past, 6 squares were common)
• Honey buns are 1 wide WoF
• Dessert rolls usually contain all the solids and/or tone-on-tones in a fabric line and are 5 wide WoF
• Turnovers are 6 half-square triangles, which can be sewn together and trimmed down to 5 squares

Every manufacturer seems to have a different kind of edgesome are straight and some are ziggy-zaggy, pinked edges to help prevent raveling. Where in all of that are you supposed to place a seam allowance? There is a pretty easy solution: measure. Dont take anything for granted. See for yourself where the seamline has to be to make a perfect 2 jelly roll seam, or where you need to place the charm square by your needle to get a dead-on 4 square.

Subcutting pre-cuts seems to be another bugaboo. For instance, sometimes I will use charm squares for sashing corner squares by cutting them into four equal 2 squares. Where do you cut? Many times the point of the pinked edge is the correct spot to line up with the straight edge of a rotary-cut piece, but please dont take that for granted. If you measure your pre-cuts like I mentioned above, you will know where to cut. Then, if you have to stitch a pinked edge to a straight-cut edge, you will know where to align them.

Turnovers have a long bias edge that is very easy to stretch out of shape. Please be very gentle with turnovers. When you are sewing any bias edge to a straight edge, the rule of thumb is to place the bias edge on the bottom. You may choose to pin it, too, but it almost always will feed right in with no problems.