question from the mathmatically challanged

OK. I want to make a type basket weave quilt and I can't figure out how
wide to cut the strips. I don't have a pattern, just trying to make
something I saw hanging in a quilt shop this summer. I can't go look at it
again because it's a 2 day drive away! I'm using 3 colours (D,M,L) in 5
rows...

DDDDD LMDML DDDDD
MMMMM LMDML MMMMM
LLLLL LMDML LLLLL
MMMMM LMDML MMMMM
DDDDD LMDML DDDDD

make sense? If I cut the strips at 1 1/2" I would end with 5" finished,
right? If I cut the strips at 1 3/4" I would end up with 6 1/4"
finished???

I'm going to sew the strips together and then cut them at ??? to make a
square.

If I cut them at 11/2", sew them together, would I then cut the strips at 5
1/2" to give me 5" finished?

Shawn, who's dimming her lights because of the intense headache coming on
g
--
mslibra
www.cutcakes.ca

I'm not sure I can help you with the math part, but if you cut your strips
WOF ( width of fabric ) and sew them together, then you can use a ruler with
a 45 degree line on it. Just line it up on one corner, and cut when it hits
the opposite corner. That will give you a square.

Five 1 - 1/2" strips sewn together and cut into squares should give you a 5"
finished block, ie a 5 -1/2" square. Sounds good to me!

Elena in Tx, also dimming the lights.

"Shawn" wrote in message
. ca...
OK. I want to make a type basket weave quilt and I can't figure out how
wide to cut the strips. I don't have a pattern, just trying to make
something I saw hanging in a quilt shop this summer. I can't go look at it
again because it's a 2 day drive away! I'm using 3 colours (D,M,L) in 5
rows...

DDDDD LMDML DDDDD
MMMMM LMDML MMMMM
LLLLL LMDML LLLLL
MMMMM LMDML MMMMM
DDDDD LMDML DDDDD

make sense? If I cut the strips at 1 1/2" I would end with 5" finished,
right? If I cut the strips at 1 3/4" I would end up with 6 1/4"
finished???

I'm going to sew the strips together and then cut them at ??? to make a
square.

If I cut them at 11/2", sew them together, would I then cut the strips at
5
1/2" to give me 5" finished?

Shawn, who's dimming her lights because of the intense headache coming on
g
--
mslibra
www.cutcakes.ca

If I cut the strips at 1 1/2" I would end with 5" finished, right?

YES

If I cut the strips at 1 3/4" I would end up with 6 1/4" finished???

YES

I'm going to sew the strips together and then cut them at ??? to make a
square.
If I cut them at 11/2", sew them together, would I then cut the strips at 5
1/2" to give me 5" finished?

YES. You cut them at finished size plus 1/2 inch.

My own problem is not the math--I can do math problems. Where I get into
trouble is alternating back and forth between "finished" and "unfinished"
sizes.

When you start out with a block, you're generally in one of two positions:
1. If I *start out* with pieces X size, what will I get as a finished block?
2. If I want a *finished* block at Y size, how big do I need to cut my pieces.

I find it's much easier to work backward from Position 2, adding 1/2 inch all
around to every piece. Otherwise, I often find myself with too-small pieces,
that I've inadvertently cut to the finished measurement.

HTH.

Nurse Ratched, whose mind is a terrible thing these days

Thanks, Patti. That was part of the question. I can see now why cutting
the set the same width as the group of strips makes sense, I'm lost when it
comes to figuring out how wide to cut the original strips. You're right - I
started this thinking it was going to be tricky! I wanted a set of strips
6" wide and started working from there trying to keep in mind seam allowance
and so on. Then it dawned on me that each strip will lose 1/2" in sewing.
So I came at it from the other side. Cutting five strips 2" wide is
actually 5 X 11/2= a 7 1/2" finished block. Yah? Then I cut the set at 8"
so when I sew it up losing 1/2" I end up with 7 1/2". (Please say I've got
it as this has now become my reality, lightly grasped tho' it is g)

Shawn
--
mslibra
www.cutcakes.ca

"Patti" wrote in message
...
Hullo Shawn
I can see why you have a headache! - you are concentrating too much on
finished and unfinished! *And* you probably started off by thinking
'this is going to be difficult'.
If you want to make a square (of any size) from strips, then you cut
your set of strips into pieces which are the same width as the original
set of strips. So, if your set of strips ends up 5 and a half inches
wide, then you cut your pieces 5 and a half inches wide to get a square
of strips. If your set of strips is 6 and a quarter wide, you cut your
pieces 6 and a quarter. You've done the difficult part already!!

If I've misunderstood, please ask again. I love 'sums' and mathematical
puzzles are food and drink to me!!! I'm weird g.
.
In article , Shawn
writes
OK. I want to make a type basket weave quilt and I can't figure out how
wide to cut the strips. I don't have a pattern, just trying to make
something I saw hanging in a quilt shop this summer. I can't go look at
it
again because it's a 2 day drive away! I'm using 3 colours (D,M,L) in 5
rows...

DDDDD LMDML DDDDD
MMMMM LMDML MMMMM
LLLLL LMDML LLLLL
MMMMM LMDML MMMMM
DDDDD LMDML DDDDD

make sense? If I cut the strips at 1 1/2" I would end with 5" finished,
right? If I cut the strips at 1 3/4" I would end up with 6 1/4"
finished???

I'm going to sew the strips together and then cut them at ??? to make a
square.

If I cut them at 11/2", sew them together, would I then cut the strips at
5
1/2" to give me 5" finished?

Shawn, who's dimming her lights because of the intense headache coming on
g
--
mslibra
www.cutcakes.ca



--
Best Regards
pat on the hill