Free printable quilting cheat sheets

Print the sheets

Print sheets

The sheets are ordinary text and tables, so they print sharply at any setting. Portrait Letter paper works for all six. If your browser adds the page address and date at the top and bottom, turn off “headers and footers” in the print dialog to get the full page back. Slip the printed sheets into page protectors and they'll survive coffee and the iron.

Where the numbers come from

Every cut size on these charts is a finished size plus an allowance for ¼-inch seams. What changes from one unit to the next is how much fabric the seams and the bias cuts eat up. These are the rules the charts use:

The square root of 2 (1.414) shows up whenever a seam or a cut runs on the diagonal of a square. Sizes that come out of it rarely land on an eighth of an inch, so they're rounded up to the next eighth (the next quarter for four at a time). Rounding up means you trim a sliver; rounding down would leave a unit too small to fix.

How to use each chart

Sheet 1 gives both an exact cut and a cut to trim for half-square and quarter-square triangles. The exact size works when your seam is accurate and you press gently. The trim size is an extra ⅛ to ¼ inch so you can square every unit to the “Trim unit to” column. Most quilters get flatter blocks by cutting oversize and trimming, at the cost of a few minutes with a square ruler. The half-square triangle guide shows the sewing for all three methods, and the hourglass block covers quarter-square triangles.

Sheet 2 lists flying geese by finished width and height, and half-rectangle triangles by finished width and height. A 3 × 6 inch HRT has an exact cut of 3¹¹⁄₁₆ by 7⁵⁄₁₆ inches, which is why most people cut them a little bigger and trim. For any size not on the chart, use the half-rectangle triangle calculator; it also gives the tip offset for pairing the triangles. The flying geese block page walks through both goose methods.

Sheet 3 answers “how many 2½-inch squares can I get from a fat quarter?” (56) and the same question for 21 other sizes and six kinds of fabric. Precuts are counted at full size because they come cut straight; a layer cake square gives exactly sixteen 2½-inch squares. Read the fat eighth column with care: this chart uses the 9 × 21 inch fat eighth, and some shops sell an 11 × 18 inch piece under the same name. The fabric yield calculator handles any custom size, and what is a fat quarter explains the cuts themselves.

Sheet 4 counts strips cut selvage to selvage. A yard gives fourteen 2½-inch strips, not 14.4, once you straighten the cut edge, and a quarter yard gives three. Use it backward when shopping: if a pattern calls for nine 2½-inch strips, the chart shows that ½ yard (seven strips) falls short and ¾ yard (ten) covers it.

Sheet 5 converts sixteenths of an inch to decimals, centimeters and millimeters, plus yards to inches and meters and common metric sizes to the nearest eighth of an inch. It's for patterns written in metric, for reading a digital caliper or a calculator display, and for answering “what is 0.375 as a fraction?” (⅜). The measurement converter does any value you type.

Sheet 6 is the one to tape inside a cabinet door: every add-on rule on one page, with a worked example for whatever finished size you enter above. Change the example to 4, and the whole column recalculates for a 4-inch unit.

Common mistakes with cut charts

• Reading the finished column as the cut size. Every chart here starts from the finished size, the size the unit shows in the quilt after it's sewn in. If your pattern gives unfinished sizes, subtract ½ inch first.
• Using a scant seam with exact cuts. The exact numbers assume a true ¼ inch. If your seam runs a thread or two wide, cut to trim. The quarter-inch seam guide has a quick test.
• Counting four-at-a-time units as easy. They come out with bias on all four outside edges, which stretches when pressed. Starch before cutting, or choose the two-at-a-time method for blocks that need sharp points.
• Forgetting that the yardage counts assume 40 usable inches. Some fabrics are narrower after the selvages come off; if yours measures 38 inches, you'll lose a piece per strip on wide cuts.
• Mixing up flying geese orientation. The width is the long side. A “2 × 4 goose” is 4 wide and 2 tall.

For on-point quilts, the setting triangle calculator works out side and corner triangles for any layout, and the printable quilt planner has a setting triangle chart and a blank layout grid. For finishing, see how to bind a quilt; the binding row on sheet 6 uses the same “perimeter plus 12 inches” rule as that guide.

You might also like

• How many squares from a fat quarter? Fabric yield calculatorHow many pieces you can cut from a fat quarter, precut or yard, and how many to buy.
• Quilting measurement converterDecimals to fractions, inches to centimeters, yards to meters, and strips or yardage between fabric widths.
• Setting triangle calculator for on-point quiltsSide and corner triangle cuts, counts and finished size for blocks set on point.
• Square in a square calculatorCenter and corner triangle cuts for square-in-a-square and two-round economy blocks.