How many pieces can I cut from a width of fabric?

The short answer: divide the usable width of fabric (about 40 inches once the selvages are trimmed) by your cut width and round down. That is how many pieces you get from one strip. Then divide the total number of pieces you need by that, and round up, to get the number of strips to cut.

Two rounding rules, and that is the whole method.

Why 40 inches?

Quilting cotton comes off the bolt at about 42 to 44 inches wide. The selvages (the tight-woven edges) are not usable, so you trim them and lose an inch or two. Forty inches is the safe working number for planning. If your fabric is narrower, or you like a wider margin, use 38 or 39 instead. The math is the same, just with a smaller number on top.

A worked example

Say you want 2.5 inch squares.

• Pieces per strip: 40 divided by 2.5 = 16 squares from one strip.
• Suppose you need 40 squares in total.
• Strips: 40 divided by 16 = 2.5, which rounds up to 3 strips.

So you cut three strips 2.5 inches wide across the full width of fabric, subcut each into squares, and you have 48 squares, which covers the 40 you need with a few spare.

Always round the pieces-per-strip down (you cannot use a partial piece) and round the strip count up (a partial strip still means cutting a whole one).

Cutting chart for common sizes

This assumes 40 usable inches across the width of fabric. The count is per single strip.

Cut size	Pieces per width	Strips for 40 pieces
2“	20	2
2.5“	16	3
3“	13	4
3.5“	11	4
4“	10	4
4.5“	8	5
5“	8	5
6“	6	7

Sizes that do not divide evenly leave a scrap at the end of the strip. A 3 inch cut, for example, gives 13 pieces with a one inch tail left over.

What about fat quarters?

A fat quarter is roughly 18 by 22 inches, so it does not have a full width of fabric to cut across. Work from its two real dimensions instead. For 2.5 inch squares:

• Across the 22 inch side: 22 divided by 2.5 = 8 pieces per row.
• Down the 18 inch side: 18 divided by 2.5 = 7 rows.
• That is 8 times 7 = 56 squares from one fat quarter.

Turning the piece the other way (7 across, 8 down) gives the same 56, but for non-square cuts one orientation usually yields more, so it is worth checking both.

Let the app do the counting

The fabric yardage calculator takes your cut size and the number of pieces you need, then tells you the strips and the yardage to buy, rounding the way a cutter actually does. Sashing on iPhone runs the same math offline at the cutting table, so you can check a count with fabric in your hands. Get the app to keep the chart in your pocket.