Quilt Math Made Easy: Part Two

Sizing Up Your Quilt
So you have your quilt designed, but it’s small on paper. How in the world do you make it large?! This article accompanies the Design-A-Long Week Two, parts 1-2 that are found on my YouTube channel.

There are a few questions to ask before you start figuring out the specifics of each block and piece within.
Q: How is the quilt going to be used?
Tip: The answer to this will lead you to your final quilt size.

Q: How big does your quilt need to be to suit it’s purpose?
Tip: A quilt large enough for a double bed doesn’t make a great lap quilt.
Tip: Be flexible with your ending size, know what size range you want it to end up within. This will help you decide on your block sizes and allow you the freedom to choose numbers that are easy to work with.

Q: How many blocks do you want in your quilt and how are you defining that block?
Tip: If your block creates a larger shape, you need to decide how many times that shape is going to repeat.

Q: How is your quilt block built - in a grid of two’s or three’s? If you have been following the Design-A-Long and using the Quilt Block Cut Outs, we used options for squares and rectangles that are “smaller” and a grid of 2’s or “larger” with a grid of 3’s.
Tip: Keep your first blocks simple until you are confident with “mathing” out your quilt.
Tip: Choose whole numbers for your finished block size.

One final tip: Use graph paper to help you out. Use whole numbers for your finished block size. Each square on your graph paper can be equal to one inch. This will help you count everything up.

Example One of the Process for a quilt using blocks built on a 2x2 grid:
Answers to the questions above
A: I want a lap quilt that could also go on a single bed if needed.
A: The quilt should be about 50”x60”.
A: My quilt block is really four blocks joined together in a 2x2 grid to make one larger unit/shape. If I make the larger unit finish at 10”, I can repeat the shape five times across and six times down to get my 50x60” quilt.
A: If my larger unit finishes at 10” square then each of the smaller blocks in the 2x2 grid need to finish at 5” square. I also know that some of my smaller blocks are pieced together in a grid of 2’s so my smallest pieces finish at 2½”.

Now that I know the above sizes, I can add the ½” rule to each of those smaller pieces to find out the sizes I need to cut the fabric.

Example Two of the Process for a quilt using blocks built on a 3x3 grid:
Answers to the Questions above
A: I want a bed quilt for a single bed.
A: the quilt should be about 75x75”
A: My quilt design needs 8 blocks across and 8 blocks down.
A: Each block is built on a 3x3 grid so everything is in 3rds.
A: My whole number options for building my blocks are using increments of 2, 4, 6” ; 3, 6, 9”; or 4, 8, 12”.
A block finishing at 12” and having 8 of them across is going to make my quilt 96” square - that is too large.
A block finishing at 9” and having 8 of them across is going to make my quilt 72” square. This is very close to the size I need.

* If you really need your quilt to finish a little larger, you can always add a border around it and quickly increase it's size. 

The measurements for the pieces in the "size up" picture are the finished sizes. I know that the best block size to make my quilt is going to be the 9" finished option. Now I can start applying the "add a ½" rule" to each of those pieces so I know how big I need to cut everything. 
The large rectangle will need to be cut at 9 ½" x 3 ½", 
The medium rectangles will need to be cut at 3 ½" x 6 ½" 
The small squares will need to be cut at 3 ½" x 3 ½" 

There are some additional methods for piecing and cutting that I elaborate on throughout the video content for the Design-A-Long series. To get the most out of this article, I recommend going over to YouTube and watching the Week Two video series. 
Parts 3-4 in the series go into calculating how much fabric you will need to make your quilt. 

Remember to join the "Beginner Quilt Design" group on Facebook for additional support in your quilt designing journey. Depending on how you are signed into Facebook, the link might take you right to the group or ask you to sign in. If you don't want to sign in, go into Facebook as you normally would and then search for the group. 
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Design-a-long week 2