Fabric & Materials

Precuts

Factory-cut fabric pieces sold in standardized sizes, including jelly rolls, charm packs, fat quarters, and layer cakes.

Precuts are fabric bundles that have been cut at the factory to standard sizes from a coordinated fabric collection. The most common sizes are: 2.5-inch strips (jelly roll), 5-inch squares (charm pack), 10-inch squares (layer cake), and fat quarters. Precuts save cutting time, guarantee coordination within a line, and make it easy to buy small amounts of many fabrics. They are popular for beginners and for experienced quilters who want to make quick-assembly projects. One disadvantage is that you cannot control placement of prints within the precut size.

Related Terms

Jelly RollA precut bundle of 40 fabric strips, each 2.5 inches wide × the full fabric width, rolled into a 'roll'.Charm PackA precut bundle of 5×5-inch squares, one of each print in a fabric collection.Layer CakeA precut bundle of 10×10-inch squares, one of each print in a fabric collection.Fat QuarterA quarter yard of fabric cut as 18×22 inches rather than 9×44 inches, providing a more usable square shape.

Practice makes perfect.

NiftyFifty connects quilters from all 50 states through block swaps, bees, and quilt-alongs. Great place to put new techniques to work.

Try the Pattern Maker Read the Guides