A generously proportioned “quarter yard” of fabric that measures 18″ x 22″. To understand this you need to do a little math. Fabric is measured in yards. A yard is 36″. When you ask your fabric store to cut a yard of fabric, you get 36″ by the width of the fabric. Quilting cottons are usually 44″ wide. So, if you buy a yard of quilting cotton, you’ll have a cut piece that measures 36″ x 44″. Now, if you’d stepped up to the counter and ordered a quarter yard of fabric, you’d get a piece that is 9″ (36″ divided by 4) by 44″. But a Fat Quarter is actually a full quarter of that original piece we got when we ordered our single yard of fabric (36″ x 44″). If I divide that original piece (36″ x 44″) into four equal pieces, each one will be 18″ x 22″. A Fat Quarter.
A generously proportioned “quarter yard” of fabric that measures 18″ x 22″. To understand this you need to do a little math. Fabric is measured in yards. A yard is 36″. When you ask your fabric store to cut a yard of fabric, you get 36″ by the width of the fabric. Quilting cottons are usually 44″ wide. So, if you buy a yard of quilting cotton, you’ll have a cut piece that measures 36″ x 44″. Now, if you’d stepped up to the counter and ordered a quarter yard of fabric, you’d get a piece that is 9″ (36″ divided by 4) by 44″. But a Fat Quarter is actually a full quarter of that original piece we got when we ordered our single yard of fabric (36″ x 44″). If I divide that original piece (36″ x 44″) into four equal pieces, each one will be 18″ x 22″. A Fat Quarter.