Quilt math · Calculator
Honey bun and mini charm quilts: what one makes
The two smallest precuts: what’s in them, what one makes, and how many you need. A calculator for each.
The short answer
A honey bun is about 40 strips, 1½″ × the width of fabric: one makes a 36″ × 40″ top of 4″ Rail Fence blocks. A mini charm pack is about 42 squares of 2½″: one makes a 12″ × 14″ top.
Honey buns: work out yours
Free · no account1 honey bun: 40 strips, 9 pieces of 4½″ from each
90 blocks of 4″
9 across × 10 down, before a border.
Every block is used.
A 4″ border all around, cut from yardage.
Quarter Inch’s “From a precut you have” shows the designs your honey bun makes, with the background and border worked out.
See what it makesSame sums as the app: @quarterinch/cutting PRECUTS and yieldOf · 1½″ strips sew to 1″ · the biggest grid a row or two longer than wide
What’s in a honey bun
A honey bun is a jelly roll’s little sister: strips 1½″ wide instead of 2½″, the width of the fabric long, usually about 40 of them. Each strip sews to 1″, so ½″ of every strip goes into its seams: they make fine, busy patchwork, and more seams to sew.
| Honey buns | Rail Fence, 4″ blocks | Rail Fence, 6″ blocks |
|---|---|---|
| 1 honey bun | 36″ × 40″ (9 × 10) | 30″ × 42″ (5 × 7) |
| 2 honey buns | 48″ × 56″ (12 × 14) | 48″ × 60″ (8 × 10) |
| 3 honey buns | 60″ × 68″ (15 × 17) | 60″ × 72″ (10 × 12) |
| 4 honey buns | 72″ × 80″ (18 × 20) | 72″ × 78″ (12 × 13) |
- Rail Fence
- Log Cabin
One honey bun makes a 36″ × 40″ top of 4″ blocks, four strips to a block, or 30″ × 42″ of 6″ blocks with six. Narrow strips also shine as the logs of a Log Cabin, as sashing, or joined end to end into a skinny border: one bun is 1680″ of strip before the joins.
Mini charms: work out yours
Free · no account1 mini charm pack: 42 squares cut 2½″
Each sews to 2″
6 across × 7 down: 42 squares, before a border.
Every square is used.
A 4″ border all around, cut from yardage.
Quarter Inch’s “From a precut you have” shows real designs your pack makes, with the background and border worked out.
See what it makesSame sums as the app: @quarterinch/cutting PRECUTS · ½″ of seams in every square · the biggest grid a row or two longer than wide
What’s in a mini charm pack
A mini charm pack is a stack of 2½″ squares, usually about 42. Each is 2½″ to the points of its pinked edge and sews to 2″. One pack makes a 12″ × 14″ top of plain squares, 6 × 7: a mug rug, a pincushion or a doll quilt.
| Mini charm packs | Squares | Sewn as they come |
|---|---|---|
| 1 mini charm pack | 42 | 12″ × 14″ (6 × 7) |
| 2 mini charm packs | 84 | 16″ × 20″ (8 × 10) |
| 4 mini charm packs | 168 | 24″ × 28″ (12 × 14) |
| 6 mini charm packs | 252 | 30″ × 32″ (15 × 16) |
| 8 mini charm packs | 336 | 34″ × 38″ (17 × 19) |
Mini charms go further with a background. A 36″ × 48″ crib quilt of nothing but mini charms takes 11 packs. Set them as the centers of bigger blocks, or as the cornerstones of sashing, and a pack or two is plenty. The same crib quilt from honey buns, as 6″ blocks, takes 2.
In Quarter Inch
On New quilt, open More ways to start and choose From a precut you have. For a honey bun, What it makes shows a Log Cabin quilt; for mini charms, Four-patch, Pinwheels and Nine-patch. Each shows how many pieces it uses and the background and border to buy.
Questions
Short answers.
Something else? A real person replies.
hello@quarterinch.app
How many strips are in a honey bun?
Usually about 40, each 1½″ wide and the width of the fabric long.
What’s the difference between a honey bun and a jelly roll?
The strips’ width: 1½″ in a honey bun, 2½″ in a jelly roll. A honey bun strip sews to 1″, a jelly roll strip to 2″.
How many squares are in a mini charm pack?
Usually about 42 squares of 2½″. Some have 40: the label says.
What can I make with one mini charm pack?
A 12″ × 14″ top of plain squares: a mug rug, a pincushion top or a doll quilt. Or use them as cornerstones and block centers in a bigger quilt.
Sources
We checked every fact above against these pages on , and we update this guide when they change. Spotted something out of date? Write to hello@quarterinch.app.
- Moda pre-cut fabric: a complete guide The Sewing Studio
- Want to learn more about precuts? Nancy’s Notions