Folding Fat Quarters

One thing I adore about buying fat quarter bundles is the cute way they are usually presented in neat, tidy, folded rectangles. When they are tied with a ribbon, even better! The little stacks of lovely fabric are so pretty to look at, easy to store, and perfectly showcased to show off the prints.

For some reason, Connecting Threads ships their fat quarters stacked flat and folded as a group into thirds. Perhaps this is a time/money/shipping saver or maybe they feel the fabric will be less wrinkled in such a format. I always found it difficult to see exactly which fabrics of theirs I had in each sampler but for some reason, never thought to re-fold the collections into the fat quarter bundles, purchased from quilt shops in person and on-line, which I love so much.

I know it's not rocket science but I did a quick search for a tutorial (video or written) and didn't really find what I was looking for. There were some interesting alternatives, like making triangles or intricate origami stacks of fabric, but I just wanted a simple fold that created a clean line. The answer was obviously sitting right in front of me in the many totes of gorgeous fat quarter bundles I already have. I unfolded one of my new Miss Kate prints and simply copied the sequence: lay out fat quarter right side down with selvedge to the right. Fold in half from the top down, meeting cut edge and keeping the selvedge even. Fold in half again the same way and smooth out wrinkles. Take the right edge and fold over lenghtwise to the left; repeat once again to make a small rectangle of fabric and press. Stack the pile and enjoy the presentation of colour and print. The fabric takes up so much less room when folded and I can see at a glance through the clear container the selection I have.

 

There is another way of folding that encloses the raw edges. This second way starts with the selvedge at the top and uses a 'book fold' to hide the cut edges in the centre of the rectangle. It results in a slightly different bundle and takes a bit longer to do (since I need to add one extra pressing step to mark the centre fold before I fold in the sides). I also tried one other way with the fat quarter folded in thirds to completely hide any raw edges. These last two versions were just a bit too fussy for me and I much prefer the first method. I am working my way through my totes, folding all the Connecting Thread collections. The fat quarters just seem even more special now that they are folded all fancy. ;) It is a worthwhile exercise, not only for the organization, but I found some fat quarter samplers I didn't even know I had!!

 

Comments

[Maureen]

Hawthorne Threads (my new fave) folds them like that, too (stacked flat I mean). It's ok by me bc I get to look at them while folding them all cute. :) Jeni Baker has a great tutorial on folding FQs - I'll send you the link. :)