Charm packs of quilt fabric are some of our favorite to collect. The 5” square is an awesome size for all kinds of projects and it’s great to get a small taste of a whole fabric collection in a nifty little package. There are also a ton of patterns that call for a charm pack or specify 5” squares OR 2.5” squares (subcut a charm square into 4 of these!). But every once in awhile, we find a pattern we love that would be perfect for our favorite charm pack, but the pattern calls for yardage. How to figure out how many charm packs we would need?

The first step is to learn the number of pieces in a typical charm pack – 42 squares is typical. This is because a quilt fabric designer collection is usually around 18-22 different fabrics. And charm packs will have 2ish of each print in the collection and might have some solid supporting fabrics to get the numbers correct.

 

1 yard = 36 inches

36 / 5 inches = 7 strips (plus a little extra) WOF

Cross cut WOF = 44”

44 / 5 inches = 8 squares per strip

7 strips x 8 squares per strip = 56 squares

 

42 squares (typical charm pack) = 42/56 or ¾ of a yard.

 

So, practically, a charm pack has ¾ yard worth of fabric. If you want to use scraps or your stash for that charm pack pattern, you would need less than a yard’s worth! And, if you’re wondering why a charm pack is priced about the same as a yard of fabric, consider the extra processing, packaging, and labor associated with the charm pack. The couple extra dollars would cover all that and the convenience of getting small cuts of a huge range of fabrics – perfect for all kinds of great patterns out there!!