Open Strips in the studio. The form on this page is that calculator.
Why a strip's length is the width of the fabric
Quilting strips are cut from selvage to selvage. The long side of the strip is the usable width of the cloth, usually about 42 inches. The cut width is the narrow measurement: the 2 1/2 inches of a jelly-roll strip, or the width of a binding strip. You get as many of those as will fit down the yardage.
A yard is 36 inches, so a 2 1/2 inch strip gives you 14 strips and a little left over, not 14.4. The leftover is too narrow to be another strip. Going the other way, the fabric you buy is the number of strips times the cut width, rounded up to the next eighth of a yard. That is a minimum. A mis-cut at the shop, or a strip you ruin, is not in the number.
How strip yardage is calculated
- Strips in a length = (yards × 36) ÷ strip width, rounded down
- Yardage for a count = (number of strips × strip width) ÷ 36, rounded up to the next eighth
The usable width is on the card because it is the length of each strip, which you need when a pattern asks for a 42 inch strip and your cloth is narrower. Charm squares, layer cakes, and the other precuts are a different shape. Those are on the precut calculator.
Strips in a yard, and yardage for ten of them
A yard is 36 inches of usable length. The last column is what you buy for ten strips of that width, rounded up to the next eighth. Binding and jelly-roll strips are the 2 1/2 inch row: a yard holds 14 of them.
| Strip width | Strips in 1 yard | Yardage for 10 strips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 1/2 in | 24 | 1/2 yard |
| 2 in | 18 | 5/8 yard |
| 2 1/2 in | 14 | 3/4 yard |
| 3 in | 12 | 7/8 yard |
| 4 1/2 in | 8 | 1 1/4 yards |
How to use this calculator
- Choose a direction. One mode asks how many strips a length of fabric holds. The other asks how much to buy for a number you already need.
- Enter the strip width. 2 1/2 inches is the usual jelly-roll and binding width.
- Enter the usable fabric width so you know how long each strip will be, and either the yardage or the number of strips.
- Buy the eighth of a yard the card rounds up to. That is the cut to ask for.
Tips for cutting strips
- Square the end of the fabric first. A slanted first cut makes every strip a parallelogram, and the last one comes up short.
- Selvages are not usable width. Forty-two inches is the usual assumption for quilting cotton. Measure yours if the bolt is narrow.
- Binding strips are this cut, then joined. How many a quilt needs is the binding calculator.
When the piece is part of a whole quilt. A design that is all strips still has a piece count. This page is the shopping cut for a stack of strips. The fabric calculator counts every piece in a design, then adds binding, backing, and batting. These pages answer one question at a time.