Techniques · Cutting and printing
How to read a quilt cutting chart
A cutting chart turns yardage into pieces. Here’s a real one for a small quilt, every line explained, and how to rotary cut it straight.
The short answer
Each fabric’s section says how many strips to cut across the width of fabric (WOF), how wide, then what to subcut them into. The letter names the piece in the block. Sizes already include the ¼″ seam allowance, and words like “cut twice on the diagonals” mean cut the squares into triangles.
A real chart
Here is the whole cutting chart for a small quilt: nine 12″ Ohio Star blocks with a border, 42″ × 42″ finished, cut from 42″ wide fabric. Every line below is explained after it.
| Fabric | Cut | Then cut |
|---|---|---|
| Background 1⅛ yd | 3 strips 5¼″ × WOF | 18 5¼″ squares (B), cut twice on the diagonals |
| 4 strips 4½″ × WOF | 36 4½″ squares (A) | |
| Dark 1⅜ yd | 3 strips 5¼″ × WOF | 18 5¼″ squares (B), cut twice on the diagonals |
| 4 strips 3½″ × WOF | Border 1: join end to end, then cut 2 at 36½″ for the sides and 2 at 42½″ for the top and bottom | |
| 5 strips 2½″ × WOF | Binding: join end to end with diagonal seams: 200″ of binding | |
| Accent ¼ yd | 1 strip 4½″ × WOF | 9 4½″ squares (A) |
In all, 2¾ yd of fabric. The chart doesn’t list the backing and batting: they’re bought by the quilt’s size, not cut from these fabrics.
Each line, explained
The fabric and the yardage
Each fabric has its own section, with what to buy: Background, 1⅛ yd. That’s the widths of its strips added up, plus a spare strip (5¼″) in case a cut goes wrong: 39″ in all. Fabric is sold by the eighth of a yard, 4½″, so 39″ ÷ 4½″ = 8.67 eighths of a yard, rounded up to 1⅛ yd.
“4 strips 4½″ × WOF”
WOF means width of fabric: a strip cut across the fabric from selvage to selvage, about 42″ long. So this is 4 strips 4½″ wide, each the full width.
“36 4½″ squares (A)”
Then subcut those strips: cut them across into 4½″ squares, 36 of them. The letter A is the piece’s name in the block picture: each block’s center and corners. The size already includes the ¼″ seam allowance on every side, so a 4½″ square finishes at 4″.
“18 5¼″ squares, cut twice on the diagonals”
Some pieces aren’t cut to their final shape. These squares are cut twice on the diagonals, corner to corner both ways, which makes four triangles from each: 72 in all. That’s how quarter-square triangles are cut, so their long edges are on the straight grain at the outside of the unit. The same size is cut from the Dark fabric, and the triangles are sewn into the star points.
“4 strips 3½″ × WOF”
Border and binding strips are sewn end to end before they’re cut to length, because the quilt is longer than one width of fabric. The chart says exactly how: “join end to end, then cut 2 at 36½″ for the sides and 2 at 42½″ for the top and bottom”.
“5 strips 2½″ × WOF”
The binding: 5 strips 2½″ wide, join end to end with diagonal seams: 200″ of binding. It has to go around the quilt, 168″, with 12″ more to join the ends; 5 strips are the fewest that reach. See how to bind a quilt.
Rotary cutting, the basics
Fold the fabric in half selvage to selvage, then again, so it’s four layers and fits under your ruler. Line the fold up with a line on the mat.
Straighten the edge. Lay the ruler with one of its lines on the fold and trim a thin slice off the raw edge, so it’s square to the fold.
Cut the strips from that edge, with the ruler’s 4½″ line on it, cutting away from you with the blade against the ruler.
Subcut: turn the strip, trim off the selvages, and cut it across at the size the chart gives. Cut squares that are cut again on the diagonals with the ruler corner to corner.
Label as you go. Put each stack on a sticky note with its letter, so A and B never get mixed up.
Common mistakes
- Adding seam allowance again. The sizes on a chart are cut sizes, with the ¼″ already in. Cut what it says.
- Forgetting the diagonal cut. Count the pieces: each block here needs 8 background triangles, from 2 squares. If you have squares left over, check the “then cut” words.
- A wavy strip. A V where the strip was folded means the fold wasn’t square to the cut. Straighten the edge again every few strips.
- A narrower width of fabric. Charts assume a width, here 42″. After trimming selvages, some fabrics are narrower and give fewer pieces a strip.
In Quarter Inch: every quilt you design has its cutting chart worked out like this one, with the pieces lettered on the block and a tick box for each line. See The Cutting chart.
Questions
Short answers.
Something else? A real person replies.
hello@quarterinch.app
What does WOF mean in a quilt pattern?
Width of fabric: a strip cut across the fabric from selvage to selvage, about 42″ long for most quilting cotton.
Do cutting sizes include seam allowance?
Yes. A cutting chart gives cut sizes, with the ¼″ seam allowance already included on every side. Don’t add it again.
What does subcut mean?
Cutting a strip into smaller pieces: squares, rectangles or triangles, at the size the chart gives.
What does “cut twice on the diagonal” mean?
Cut a square corner to corner both ways, making four triangles. Cut once on the diagonal makes two.