What is a Fat Quarter?

I was asked what a "Fat Quarter" was the other day, so I thought there might be other people that do not know and are too timid to ask  :)

So, you buy fabric by the meter off the bolt  (the cardboard bit in the middle) and for arguments sake let's say that this fabric I am cutting today is 120cm wide.  You would end up with a piece 120x100cm.  (a meter measurement)

If you buy half a meter you would get 120x50cm, and if you buy quarter of a meter you would get 120x25cm.  Clear so far?

A fat quarter is when the half meter 120x50cm is cut in half in the opposite direction to when you are cutting lengths of the bolt.  So a fat quarter, in this example would be 60x50cm.

Basically then, if you buy a meter of fabric and cut it into four squares, you would get four fat quarters, but if you were to go to a fabric shop, pick up a bolt and ask for a quarter of a meter, you would get a long, thin strip measuring approx 120cm x 25cm.

Did that explanation work?  ;)

In the meantime have a drool over some of my recent purchase of fat quarters  (of which I still need to make things out of!)