Panels of Yardage Quilting Fabrics

The path to sewing a beautiful quilt varies depending on the pattern and the quilter. The Quilted Cowgirl is a quilter’s dream shop. Expert advice and help is always available when needed. In addition, quilters can find a great selection of high quality fabrics for their next project.

Fabric quality is determined by the manufacturing process. The dyes used and thread count are also a factor. A quilter will want to find fabric panels that are durable and easily cared for. Depending on the project and what it will be used for, it is worth the investment to purchase material that is a bit more costly.

Quilting fabrics are sold in special cuts. Fat quarters are eighteen by twenty-two inches. A fat eighth is half that size. These fabric cuts are useful because you can cut out fabric panels for quilts and easily use fat quarters and fat eighths to build your quilt. You can also get more prints and colors on a budget. Also helpful are jelly rolls. These rolled up fabrics are cut two and a half inches wide and can be used to build blocks for a quilt. Quilt backing is often created by sewing together fabric panels that are 108 inches wide. A wide backing eliminates unnecessary seams. When talking about back panels, they are most often solids or patterned material rather than printed quilt panels.

Printed fabric panels are sometimes called “cheater” quilts. They offer quilters a quick project. These panels can be layered with batting and backing and machine quilted. There are a wide variety of options when creating a quilt using a printed fabric panel. Quilters should keep in mind that printed panels can be crooked or mis-sized for a specific quilt pattern. In these moments, quilters cannot let their inner perfectionist stress. It is a fairly simple process to square up panels for quilting. One tip is to fit the panel to the block by trimming it down to the size of the quilt block. 

Quilting panels are excellent for practicing quilting skills like free motion quilting. Some fabric panels are manufactured for specific quilting projects. That does not mean they cannot be repurposed or used differently. The same can be said for a quilt pattern using panels. Many times different panels can be substituted to create a beautiful quilt. When sewing a quilt using panels, quilters should incorporate a half-inch seam allowance. It is important to be sure the prints on each panel match when they are sewn together.

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For a quick project, a beginner project, or a practice project, printed panels are a fun alternative for quilters. Do not be fooled by the seeming ease of a printed panel project, they are still beautiful and amazing quilts.