Now that the windmill quilt is planned (see previous post 1) it's time to start cutting fabrics. Cutting for this quilt is very simple; all you need are strips.
The size of the block will determine the width of the strips that need to be cut. The above chart identifies these requirements for four sizes of blocks; 6", 8", 10" and 12". It also indicates the sub-cut strip length requirements (more on that later) and the quantity of sub-cuts that can be made from a 42" width of fabric.
I am making 8" blocks so my strips need to be cut to a width of 2-1/2". Lucky me! I have a Go Baby strip cutter and a 2-1/2" wide die that I use regularly to make binding. I can't say enough about this tool and for cutting strips, nothing is faster and more accurate.
I started by cutting the white background fabrics. My quilt will be five blocks wide and seven blocks long, for a total of 35 blocks. Each block is made of four sub-cut lengths and according to the chart, these will be 4-1/2" each. Also according to the chart, I can get nine of these from one width of fabric. I need 140 sub-cuts (35 blocks x 4 sub-cuts) divided by nine (per width of fabric) equals a need for 15.55 or 16 strips. This same amount is required for the windmill strips, if they are all going to be the same color.
Since I have chosen 35 different windmill fabrics for my quilt (one fabric for each block), my calculations need to be broken down a bit more. Just like for the background, each block is made of four sub-cut lengths at 4-1/2" each. This equals a requirement of one 18" strip per fabric, trimmed, so I'll leave a little wiggle room and cut these strips somewhere between 19" and 20". I'll get started on these and will be back in a flash with my next post on sewing, pressing and sub-cutting.
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