Calculate Yardage

Use Calculate Yardage to estimate fabric requirements for any quilt.

How to Calculate Yardage

1. Create a quilt layout and make sure that the blocks, borders and sashes are the size that you want. Then, design the quilt and color it. For accurate calculations, it's important to be consistent with the colors. For example, if you intend certain patches to be black, then use one color to paint all the black patches.

1. With the quilt on the screen, open the Layout Menu and select Calc. Yardage. Choose the Yardage Option as outlined below.

1. Perfect Quilt opens the Yardage Settings Box where you will set the fabric width and seam allowance. The default settings are 1/4 inch for seam allowance and 44 inches for fabric. You can change both of these settings.

1. Click the "Calculate Long borders as a Single Strip of Fabric" box if you want Perfect Quilt to calculate any long plain borders as a single strip of fabric. If this box is not checked, Perfect Quilt will break down plain fabric borders into smaller pieces to minimize the yardage.

1. Click the Ok Button to begin the yardage calculation. Perfect Quilt tells you the yardage needed for each color or fabric in the quilt. It tells you the color or fabric name, the total number of patches for that color or fabric and the yardage needed. Perfect Quilt will also print out the quilt's dimensions.

1. You can print the results by clicking the Print Button. Perfect Quilt will print the quilt file name (If your quilt is not saved, there will be no filename.) Perfect Quilt does not store yardage calculations into a file, so it is advisable to print your results.

If you click the OK Button instead of the Print Button, Perfect Quilt will erase the yardage calculations and return to the quilt.

TIP: Yardage Calculation is Perfect Quilt's best estimate. Always buy at least 1/4 yard more fabric than Perfect Quilt says you will need.

Yardage Options

Perfect Quilt can calculate yardage for the entire quilt or parts of a quilt. The yardage options are:

• All but Backing: Calculate yardage for the entire quilt except the backing.

• Backing: Calculate yardage for backing only.

• Borders Only: Calculate yardage for border only. (includes pieced borders.)

• Blocks Only: Calculate yardage for blocks only (excludes borders and sashes.)

• Sashes Only: Calculate yardage for sashes only (includes pieced sashes.)

• Binding Only: Calculate yardage for the binding only.

How did Perfect Quilt Actually Layout the Fabric for Cutting?

Now you see exactly how Perfect Quilt lays out a fabric for calculating yardage. To see a "map" of a fabric, click on the fabric sample in the yardage calculation results and then click on the Cutting Layout Button. Perfect Quilt will open a new window with all the patches laid out. This is a very useful feature for checking Perfect Quilt's yardage calculations.