Fabric requirement for the ‘Round the Year” Quilt
You know, I used to be a banker! But I don’t remember checking and re-checking the accounts (in those days of manual banking) as many times as I have checked these figures. Each pattern will also be tested by at least one fellow quilter and me before I release it! But please remember, this Block of the Month quilt is more in the form of a quilt along; the fabric requirements that I give you are extrapolated from the five blocks that have been tested. True to my training as a conservative banker, I tend to err towards buying less fabric for a project than needed. This time I have made a conscious attempt to make a more realistic estimate and yet, it may not be very accurate. I hope you will bear with me on that! Having got that off my chest, let us get back to the task at hand.
Here is another look at the fabrics that I dug out of my stash for my quilt!
Several blues, a few oranges, golds and a dash of yellow! There are a few greys too, which I shall use in the background squares.
As you can see, I am using an assortment of fat quarters of Fossil Fern by Benartex and some batiks from The Square Inch. Basically, you need a minimum of 4 shades of the main fabric ( blues here) and at least 4 shades of the focus fabric ( ranging deep orange to bright yellow here), besides the background fabric ( at least two shades of grey here). There is a lot of flexibility in the choice of fabric and colours in the pattern, as long as you use fabric with strong contrast within a block. I have even designed these blocks with just two colours!
The measurements given in the first table are for fabric requirement for 16 circles that are inset into squares to make up the quilt. (Measurements for the background fabric are given in a different table.) In India, most fabric is available in 34″ – 36″ width, so I give that requirement in the last column. So here we go!
Fabric for 16 circles
| Colour | Fabric 40-44″ width | Fat quarters | Fabric 36″ width |
| Deepest blue/ Indigo | 1 yard | 4-5 | 1 metre |
| Dark blue | 1 to 1 ¼ yard | 4-5 fat quarters | 1.25 metres |
| Medium blue | 1 ½ yards | 6-8 fat quarters | 1. 5 metres |
| Light blue | 1 1/4 yards | 5-6 fat quarters | 1.25 metres |
| Blues | ( Total 18-20 fat quarters) | ||
| Deep orange | 1 yard | 3-4 | 1 metre |
| Light orange | 3/4 yard | 3-4 | 3/4 metre |
| Gold | 1 yard | 4-5 | 1 metre |
| Yellow | ¾ yard | 3 | ¾ metre |
| Orange to yellow | ( Total 12-14 fat quarters) |
Background fabric
This gives the total fabric requirement. If, like me, you plan to use 2 or more fabrics, the yardage would need to be adjusted accordingly.
| 42-44″ width | 34″-36″ width | Fat quarters | |
| Single 18″ Block | 12.5″ X 20″ or25″ X 10″ | 1 fat quarter ( cut 20″ X 12.5″) | 1 fat quarter ( cut 20″ X 12.5″) |
| 16 blocks (72″ x 72″ quilt without border and sashing) | 3 yards | 3.5 *metres | 16 fat quarters |
| 16 blocks ( 90″ x 90″ ) Including borders and sashing |
5.5 yards | 6 metres |
I have also given the requirement for a single block, so that if you plan making fewer blocks, you can do your own calculations!
(* On second thoughts, have increased this to 3.5 metres from the more conservative 3.25 metres given earlier.)
Backing and batting
| Backing fabric | 42-44″ width | 34″-36″ width | Batting |
| 16 blocks (72″ x 72″ quilt without border and sashing) | 4 ½ yards | 6.75 metres | 80″ x 80″ |
| 16 blocks ( 90″ x 90″ ) Including 4″ overage |
7.5 yards | 7.5 metres | 100″ x100″ |
Batting
If you are buying pre-cut batting, you would need Double/ Full size batting for the smaller quilt and King Size for the bigger one.
Binding
| 2.5″ wide binding | Length of binding required | 42-44″ width fabric | 34″- 36″ width fabric |
| 16 blocks (72″ x 72″ quilt without border and sashing) | 300 inches length | 5/8 yard (55 cms) | 65 cms |
| 16 blocks ( 90″ x 90″ ) Including borders and sashing |
370 inches length | ¾ yard (70 cms) | 75 cms |
Now to let you into a secret! I am not going to set my circles into the squares till all of them are done. I will then play around with the settings and layout till I find one that I like. I am not even buying the background fabric till then. You could do the same!
Your turn to get cracking, while I can relax for a day or two after all these mathematical calculations! Enjoy!
P.S. I have been thinking about this a lot – this seems to be such one way communication! Why don’t we start an online group, like perhaps a facebook group, where we can share our fabrics, blocks etc and drool over what others are doing? I’d love to hear from you, so please do write in to me!
You can download the fabric requirements for the blue-orange-yellow colourway from this link. Fabric Requirement -Round the Year – Dusk.
Some of you may prefer a more modern look! Like this one below? 
You can download the requirement for the `Rainbow” colourway from this link. Fabric requirement – Rainbow Round the Year
Share this:
Starting a Facebook group seems good to me – will lend a lot of support to beginners like me. Am quite hesitant looking at the complexity of the pattern, but want to do a few blocks at least. Thanks for putting in so much effort!
Thanks, Revathi! If you get stuck anywhere, I am always there to help out – you can message/ mail me directly!
Thanks Madhu!
Madhu I think a lot of the chatter has been happening over at the DQ page but I love the idea of a group for this . You could also add a hashtag on FB posts and have everyone post anything with regard to this its all under the tag. This is truly exciting and I will try my best to keep up with the BOMs and atleast do a few. Thank you for doin this for us! Will you be doing fabric requirements for the other colourways?
Nissy, I am not very tech-savvy! So I don’t really understand how it will work. I do have a page on FB called Patchwork of My Life, but am not sure if others can post on it, like one can on a group. Yes, I will be doing fabric requirement for the other colourway – the rainbow. But I first need to make another block or two, before I can do so.
I am in envy of your fabric choices! Still have to find a way to get mine.
Use a print from your stash with coordinating solids! So easy to get! And will look equally good, I assure you. In fact am planning to try one of those too.
Oh my god! I am already tensed..can I do it..group is a good idea though. Wil be great help
Of course you can do it! Who wants to do stuff that is not challenging even in the least? And I assure you, paper piecing gives such stunning results. I love it, because it makes me look much better than I actually am!
I so wish….I haven’t tried paper piecing too…let’s see wil try giving my best..
Madhu, since I have been bitten by the quilting bug only recently I decide on a pattern by seeing the difficulty level! Your blocks are so beautiful and so complex I imagine the difficulty level to be in the ‘for the expert only’ level. Besides, I am handicapped by not having access to a variety of good cotton prints, leave alone plain material. I have been feeling quite frustrated. Most of the material sold as cotton are mix. I am not able to get 3 matching prints and plains in 2 different colours for a simple double pin wheel. But I do want to and will give your block/s a try with the meagre stock of materials I have with me.
Veena, the patterns can also be adapted to use 1) a single print and two coordinating solids or 2) three solids in two contrasting colours, for example a navy contrasted with two shades of aqua. I would think a scrappy version would also look great, just like the original Camelot quilt!
Thanks, Madhu. Will seriously give it a try.
Hi is there a print option available, i do better with printing out the process and then starting it.
What a great idea, Kalpana! Thanks; shall add a the pdf file with fabric requirements later today. 🙂
Kalpana – it has been done!
I am joining this and hoping to complete it in time. Seeing all the work you have put in Madhu I better pull up my socks and start getting my fabric in order. I love the oranges and yellows from your stash.
Thanks, Sandhya! I look forward to suggestions from you at every stage to make this more enjoyable!
Thanks for the round the year quilt.want to join but had a fear of whether am able to do(complex pattern)anyway having stash with me want to try.
I am sure you will be able to handle the blocks! They look much more difficult than they actually are!