Quilt Blocks
Fabric Calculations Feature
ATTN: Create your quilt blocks in PreQuilt using the Build a Block Unit guidelines! When you build your blocks as directed, the Fabric Calculator should be able to auto-recognize the shapes and give you the intended fabric calculations.
Disclaimer: The block blowout and its corresponding cut pieces are pulled directly from how the quilt block is created in PreQuilt. If you have additional shapes in the background, they will be taken into consideration when calculating your fabric needs.
Quilt Block Overview
On the Blocks tab, each individual quilt block in the quilt is broken down into the individual fabric pieces needed to make one iteration of the quilt block.
Each quilt block has the following information:
Block blowout
Block units
Finished & unfinished measurements
Cut pieces & Piece ID
Quantity to cut
Cutting measurements
Fabrics used
The Block Blowout
The Block Blowout is a graphic representation of your finished quilt block and the fabric piece IDs that it is composed of.
Each fabric piece will have its ID labeled inside a circle. In the example above, the Sawtooth Star is made up of a variety of different fabric pieces - a1, a2, a3, and a4. All pieces in this block will start with a. The next block will all have IDs that start with b. Etc.
Quilt Block Units
The Sawtooth Star can be created in a variety of different ways. But in this example, we created it using 4 Flying Geese units, 4 small squares for the corners, and 1 larger square in the center.
Each of these block units will be separated into its individual fabric pieces. The square and rectangle block units are made up of one shape and so will only be 1 fabric piece; while the Flying Geese has 3 different fabric pieces.
Each block unit will have the following information:
Name of block unit
Construction method options
Often includes trim or no trim options
Total quantity needed for ONE block
Finished dimensions
Unfinished dimensions
The cut pieces needed for each block unit are located to the right of the block unit. Information provided is:
Graphic visualization of cut pieces with piece ID
Total quantity needed for ONE block
Cutting dimensions
There is also a helpful table summarizing the fabric needed to cut to make the necessary quantity of this block unit and includes:
Fabric ID
Quantity to cut
Width & height cutting dimensions
Fabric Link
Fabric name
Construction Method
For some Block Units, you can choose your construction method. The fabric calculator will automatically recalculate the fabric needed if you change the construction method.
If the Block Unit you're creating has multiple construction methods, you will be able to select your preferred method using the dropdown menu. If not noted, dimensions have overage and room to trim down.
For example, we have calculations for the Flying Geese block unit for both the 1 at a time Snowball method and the 4 at a time No Waste method.
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