Charm Squares 101

I'm leading the activity (a Charm Square Swap and associated fun) at the May meeting of the Portland Modern Quilt Guildand have written this post mainly for the PMQG peeps who wanted additional information on cutting charm squares.  It's general information though, so hopefully others will also find it useful!

 
So, what's a charm square anyway?

In the parlance of our times, a charm square is a 5" x 5" square of fabric.  Today, packages including one or more squares of each fabric in a collection are available from many fabric companies.  Packages like these can be a good way to get a little piece of all of the fabrics in a collection at a reasonable price.  Today's quilters also cut their own charm squares from yardage, fat quarters, and scraps. 

The concept of a Charm Quilt has been around for years.  Traditionally, the Charm Quilt concept involved making an entire quilt using a different fabric for every single piece.  Because this necessarily involved more different fabrics than most quilters had on hand, swapping charm squares became common.  One popular trend was for a quilter to cut two squares, one for her own quilt and one to swap with a friend.

Following are some basic instructions/calculations for cutting your own charm squares. 

Note: Before cutting charm squares, make sure your fabric is freshly pressed.

 
Cutting Charm Squares from Yardage:

Start by laying your folded fabric on your cutting mat.  Square up your fabric and cut a straight edge along one side, as shown above.

Measuring from your straight edge, cut a 5" x width of fabric strip. 

Note: in the above photo, I've moved around to the other side of my cutting table to make the second cut.  For maximum accuracy, I recommend cutting on a table where you can do this.  If walking around your table isn't possible, carefully turn your cutting mat around, so as not to disturb your fabric.

 
Squaring your ruler up with both sides of the 5" strip, cut away the selvage edges of the fabric.  (Your fabric should still be folded in half, so you'll be making one cut through both layers.)

Measuring from the former selvage edge, cut four 5" x 5" squares, as shown above. 

Because those cuts were made through two layers of fabric, this will result in a total of 8 charm squares. 

So, as we just learned, a 5" x width of fabric* strip will produce 8 charm squares.  If you're buying yardage to cut multiple charm squares for a swap, you can use the following as a guide:

• 1/4 yard = 1 strip 5" x WOF (8 charm squares)
• 3/8 yard = 2 strips 5" x WOF (16 charm squares)
• 1/2 yard = 3 strips 5" x WOF (24 charm squares)
• 5/8 yard = 4 strips 5" x WOF (32 charm squares)
• 3/4 yard = 5 strips 5" x WOF (40 charm squares)
• 7/8 yard = 6 strips 5" x WOF (48 charm squares)
• 1 yard = 7 strips 5" x WOF (56 charm squares)

*These calculations are based on standard cotton print fabric that is about 42" wide.  If you're using more narrow fabric, you may end up with fewer squares.  Wider fabric will obviously produce more squares.

Cutting Charm Squares from Fat Quarters:

A standard (approximately 18" x 21") fat quarter will produce 12 charm squares.

Lay your fat quarter on your cutting mat, as shown above.  Square up your ruler along one on the long (non-selvage) edges and cut a straight edge.

Trim away the selvage edge, squaring up your ruler with the straight edge you just cut.

Measuring from the straight edge along the long side (the first cut you made) and squaring up your ruler with the former selvage edge, cut three strips 5" x approximately 21".

Measuring from the squared-up (former selvage edge) of each strip, cut 4 squares, 5" x 5", for a total of 12 charm squares.

Cutting from Scraps and Fussy Cutting:

If you're cutting charm squares from scraps or odd cuts, a 5" x 5" ruler can be an invaluable aid.  Since the ruler is exactly the size of the square you want to cut, you can lay it on top of your fabric scraps and immediately now whether they're large enough.

If you're cutting charm squares from larger prints, it can be fun to "fussy cut" the print.  Fussy cutting is when you cut out a particular part of a print -- usually to center a particular image.  If you have a 5" x 5" ruler, you can simply move it around on top of your fabric until the part of the print you want to cut is framed beneath it.  Cut around all four sides of the ruler to produce your fussy-cut square.

 

Fussy cutting is obviously not the most conservative approach to using fabric, but the effect of fussy-cut squares in a quilt can be striking. 

If you don't have a 5" x 5" ruler, you can make your own guide by cutting a 5" x 5" square from translucent template plastic.  If you do this, I recommend drawing diagonal lines from corner to corner, as shown above.  This will allow you to easily pinpoint the center of your squares.

Once your template is in place, you can either trace around it with a fabric marking tool and cut it out with scissors or lay a quilting ruler on top of the template, carefully rotating the ruler to cut each side of the charm square.

Fussy-cut charm squares can make a great start to an "I-Spy" quilt for a child.  They also look great as the center square in a log cabin or square-in-square block.

I look forward to seeing everyone's squares at the PMQG meeting.  Even if you're not in Portland and/or coming to the meeting, I hope you've found something useful here!

Comments

[Peggyann]

Hey, making up charm sets from the stash to give away on one's blog could be a great stash buster, Huh?!

As always, love your work and tutes

[stella]

thanks for your instructions....
i always will learn more and more about patchwork...
such "tipps" are very interesting !

greetings
stella

[Q]

Good post. Personally, I need to practice cutting those charmed squares around a specific art piece - like that bird one you have. Thanks!

[Annalia]

I love your bird fabric. I wonder if I'd like a quilt made entirely of charm squares? Maybe with some white sashing?

[Linda]

This is a great tutorial. Thanks! I especially like the fussy cutting part.

[Suzanne]

Th yardage = squares is useful information. I just recently went on a fabric bender to make I Spy quilts and I was always guessing how much to buy to get the maximum number of charms. A swap would have been more affordable. At least now I have enough I Spy charms to make dozens of I Spy quilts. :-)

[Fawn]

Thanks so much! I've been reading your tutorials on sewmamasew.com and they are all very helpful! I just got my new rotary cutter and am about to start cutting fabric for my first quilt from a bunch of fat quarters. Totally appreciate this!

[D Spack]

I love "watching" how you do everything. I feel like I've just spent a few minutes with you in your studio! which in reality would be awesome to be able to do! I'm not in Portland, but close in Boise. I was hoping you were hosting a charm square swap on line!

[Tobey Sharpe]

You would think that cutting out 5" squares would be easy-peasy. You always teach us something, Elizabeth. Thank you!

[Shev]

Nice post.
You might want to correct the tiny typo in para 2 "one two swap with a friend" instead of "one to..." :)

[Elizabeth]

Thanks, Shev! (I can use the spell check, but when are they going to install the idiot check?!?!)

[Lyn H.]

I was hoping there would somewhere we could buy that color spectrum set of charm squares in your first photo. They are yummy. You have a great eye for color combinations!

[Mary]

Thanks Elizabeth. As a new quilter I learn something everytime I open one of your posts. Thanks so much for your generosity.

[becky]

beautiful instructions and pictures. couldn't have said it any better.

[Cass]

Although I've been quilting a while, I never really knew what a "charm" square meant. Thanks for going back to the basics for us!

[Cathy A]

Great idea with the template plastic. I have some waiting to be used up. Thanks!!

[Kathie]

Thanks for the information it has been a great help.

[Janet Wilson]

That bird fabric is adorable! What collection is it from, Elizabeth??

ps. looking forward to your book! Congratulations!

[Janet Wilson]

Ahh...found some at FabricWorm...Alexander Henry Bird Seed fabric. Yum!

[Elena]

I have looked up down and around for a 5" ruler, to no avail. Where did you find yours?

[Elizabeth]

Im pretty sure I got my 5 x 5 ruler at Fabric Depot in Portland.

[Rachel]

This is wonderful! I just love coming here, I learn so, so much! Thanks for sharing all your knowledge with us, I'll be linking.

[Shari]

Love your blog! You inspire me to go beyond! Your work is beautiful and your enthusiasm contagious. Bless you for sharing your gift with all of us.

[Tiffany]

Oh I really want to come to the Portland meetings! It sounds like a lot of fun. If I don't make it in May, I'll schedule June's.

[angelina]

this is a great idea:: thanks for the tips!