Whether you’re new to quilting or have been at it for a while, you’ve probably encountered Fat Quarters. They are, after all, one of the most popular fabric precuts sold in stores, and lots of quilt patterns are written for them.
A while back, I wrote a post about fabric precuts, and while I do talk about fat quarters and fat quarters’ size in that blog post, I felt it was time to revisit this topic and share some of my favorite Fat Quarter friendly patterns!
Fat Quarter Size
Fat Quarters are one-fourth yard cut and have the same square inches as a traditional ¼ yard cut, but a fat quarter is cut slightly differently than your usual ¼ yard.
Usually, when you go to a fabric shop, find a fabric you love, and take it to the cutting counter, if you ask for a ¼ yard, they will roll out the bolt, measure 9”, and cut the fabric. This ends with a cut measuring roughly 9" x 42-44" (if we’re talking quilting cotton).
Now, a fat quarter measures 18" x 22". So how do we get here? To create a fat quarter, a yard of fabric is cut in half along the fabric's length, then cut in half at its midpoint.
The longest side's dimension sometimes varies between 21" and 22" because some quilting fabrics are not 44" wide.
Fat quarters are popular because they allow more flexibility when cutting pieces for your quilt top than a traditional quarter yard cut. For example, if you need 5" squares from a traditional ¼ yard, you get only eight squares. But you can get 12 5" squares from a fat quarter.
This makes single fat quarters or bundles make for smart purchases when building up your stash!
Fat Quarter Quilt Patterns
Some of my favorite quilts patterns are fat quarter friendly because they make the fabric pull stage a breeze. I love going to my stash, grabbing a bunch of pretty fat quarters, and making them into a quilt.
Joyful Stars
Joyful Stars is a fun and modern star quilt pattern that works well with fat quarter precuts! The throw size takes only 11 fat quarters, but if you want to accomplish the rainbow ombre look seen above, you can use 16 fat quarters! This is a great beginner quilt pattern with no tricky piecing.
Memi's Lemons
Luminaries
The Luminaries quilt pattern is a fun mix-and-match pattern, perfect for beginners. This block-based pattern is fat quarter friendly and the perfect pattern to try whether your tastes are traditional, modern, or somewhere in between.
Stellar Flare
Stellar Flare is a clean and modern star quilt pattern. This is the perfect pattern for a newer quilters or for a seasoned quilters trying to find inspiration again with a fast sew. Just grab a handful of fat quarters from your fabric stash and whip up a Stellar Flare in no time!
Starlight
The Starlight quilt pattern is a modern sawtooth star pattern, made up of a mix and match design. You can use your favorite FQ bundle to create this fun and easy quilt that is sure to shine!
Cozy Village
Cozy Village is modern house block quilt pattern. The pattern includes three different house blocks for a dynamic design. This is a pattern to use those mismatched scrappy fat quarters with to give a true city feel to it!
