This and That -- Mary Kay's Doings

QuiltFab

"How much fabric do I need to finish this quilt I'm making?"

QuiltFab will help you answer that question. QuiltFab is a free fabric calculator utility application for the Apple iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, available at the Apple App Store as QuiltFab 3.0 [App Store link].

QuiltFab bases its calculations on some common backing, binding, border, sashing, and block fabric choices and construction methods. Just fill in the size of the quilt and its parts, and QuiltFab will compute the amount of fabric needed for making the quilt backing, binding, borders, and sashing. You can change the fabric characteristics including width and shrinkage, the backing piecing preferences and quilting method, the binding width, the type and size of 1 to 3 borders, sashing strip sizes and counts, and plain block number and size. Size and fabric needs also can be calculated for corner and setting triangles, based on the size of a reference block. Help screens, associated with each fabric calculation, explain the choices and offer suggested values.

When you leave the application, your latest field values will be saved, and this information will appear the next time you use the application. Thus you can customize QuiltFab to use your own preferred fabric and quilting methods. You can also email the results to retain a record of your quilt design.

If you've used a previous

version of QuiltFab, the first thing you'll notice is the completely redesigned set of screens. This new design uses a more standard table format, allowing for a flatter navigation model. In other words, you can get to the information you want faster. All input information is available from the main table or list. It may take some getting used to, but I hope you like it and find it easier to use.

Secondly, you'll notice that there is no more typing of sizes and counts. Instead, you use the pickers, which look a lot like twirling slot machines. Sizes can be entered in fractions of inches, or tenths of centimeters. That's right, this version supports metric measures! (This has been a requested feature from our sister quilters in Japan and Australia. Thanks, Debbie in Japan and Elva in Australia, for your input on how this should work.)

Next, the setting triang

les feature from QuiltRef has been included. It not only determines the size of the squares to make for cutting into corner and side setting triangles, but it also determines the total amount of fabric needed.

A third border is now included, so your quilt can inched 0, 1, 2, or 3 borders. Since some quilters prefer to work with a quilt size before the borders are added, and some quilters like to specify the final quilt size, both options are now available.

Finally, a table of U.S. mattress sizes and quilt sizes for them are included. And each computed fabric amount has an associated explanation of how that amount was arrived at.

Now QuiltFab 3.0 has a look and feel that is similar to its newer companion app, BockFab, which computes fabric needs for a library of traditional grid-based blocks and patch shapes, as well as allowing you to try some quilt layouts. Together, they aim to help you dream, plan, and complete your next quilt project!

Fabric: Quilt fabric typically comes in a nominal 42" width, but it is safer to assume that 40" of that is usable, after shrinkage. The cut end of the fabric is usually not straight with respect to the selvage edge, so a couple inches will be lost when straightening it. Cotton fabric usually shrinks 3% to 5% (lengthwise) when washed, although flannels and other fibers may shrink more or less. If you do not pre-wash the fabric, shrinkage is not a factor.

Backing: If yardage is used for a plain backing, it is typically cut with the lengths running top to bottom, the long way. Sometimes it is preferable to run the fabric crosswise along the quilt. In either case, if the quilt is wider than the fabric width, multiple lengths must be used. If more than one length is needed, the last length, if narrow enough, can be pieced by using a shorter length of fabric, cutting it in half or thirds along the length, and joining the pieces, end to end. This will save on buying yardage, but some quilters prefer to not piece it, and instead add the extra, unused fabric to their stash for another project.

Binding: This tool assumes a straight grain binding, as opposed to a bias-cut binding. It also assumes diagonally cut ends for joining strips, and mitered corners. A double binding is typically used on quilts larger than miniatures, meaning that the fabric is folded in half lengthwise, sewn with a quarter-inch seam along the front side of the quilt, and turned over to the back of the quilt for final stitching. Depending on the thickness of the batting, this typically requires cutting the binding strips 2 1/2" wide. If you use a single-thickness binding, or need a narrower or wider binding, you will need to adjust the cut width of the binding fabric.

In any case, we assume you will cut the binding strips on the crosswise grain, selvage to selvage. Enough yardage is included to allow joining the binding strips at a 45 degree angle. Border: Simple quilt border options include no border, or a single border that is mitered or finished square. A mitered border, with the ends of each strip finished at an angle, requires more fabric. Other border options, including multiple borders, are beyond the scope of this tool

Borders: The border feature has been expanded to include a couple new options, including pieced borders and a third border. The borders can be mitered or finished square. A mitered border, with the ends of each strip finished at an angle, requires more fabric. Other border options, including more than 2 borders, are beyond the scope of this tool.

If you are willing to piece the borders, we assume you will cut the border strips on the crosswise grain, selvage to selvage. If you request unpieced borders, then the strips will be cut from lengths of fabric (parallel to the selvages). If you have directional prints, or want to center or match repeating motifs, additional fabric will be needed.

Blocks: Plain blocks are often used as alternate blocks, or are used to make setting triangles. Within this tool, the number of blocks and their size do not need to "fit" into the quilt in any way: they are independent of the other details of your quilt project.

Sashing: A quilt design may use sashing strips to separate the blocks within the quilt. Although these sashing strips may be cut and sewn to the sides of the individual blocks, still the amount of fabric required is only slightly less than if they were used as long strips, running horizontally and vertically across the quilt, up to, but not extending into any borders. This tool will determine the fabric needed for the long strips.

Setting Triangles: If your quilt has blocks set on point, it will have triangular openings around the outer edges of those blocks where each diagonal row of blocks ends.

You will need two sizes of triangles to fill in the blanks. One size fills in the gaps along the top, bottom and sides of the quilt. Four smaller triangles are used to create the quilt corners. Corner triangles are half-square triangles, creted by cutting a square in half once diagonally to produce two triangles with the straight grain on their short edgesl. Side setting traingles re quareter-square triangles, created by cutting asqaure in half twice diagonally to produce four triangles with the strait grain on their long edges.

You will specify the size of the reference block, and the number of side and corner setting triangles. The size of the squares to cut and the amount of fabric needed will be computed.

Let us know what you think, and what you'd like to see, by emailing us at

QuiltFab@podlecki.com

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marykay@podlecki.com