Wednesday, March 6, 2013

BOB and Mini-Charm Packs -


Have you seen those new PRE-CUTS?

The Mini-Charm Packs?

They are little sets of PRE-CUT 2-1/2” Squares - so CUTE!!

BUT - BOB thinks that the pricing on some of them is down right EXPENSIVE!

I saw a set of 42 - 2-1/2” Mini-Charms for $5 -
And a set of 42 - 5” Squares (Charm Squares) for $10 -
And a set of 42 - 10” Squares (Layer Cake) for $40 -
And a set of 40 (not 42) - 2-1/2” Strips (Jelly Roll) for $40 -
Same company - same fabric line - just different sizes - ;))

And the pricing SOUNDS right -
You can get 2 sets of the Minis for the same price as one 5” set -
Because 2-1/2” x 2 = 5”
And you can get TWO Mini-Charms from a 5” Square -

BUT don’t be fooled!! -

BOB can get FOUR 2-1/2” squares from each 5” Square -

So BOB thinks that you should get FOUR sets of the Minis for the same price -

NOT TWO - ;))

If I bought $10 worth of the 5” Charms and cut each one into quarters -
42 Charms x 4 -
I would have 168 Mini-Charms -

If I bought $10 worth of the 2-1/2” Mini-Charms -
2 packs of 42 -
I would have 84 Mini-Charms -
HALF as many - for the same $10 -

And that doesn’t sound right to me.

$10 should get me the same number of Mini-Charms -
Not HALF as many just because they are PRE-CUT -

The pricing on the Layer Cake sounds about right -
You can get FOUR 5” Charms from each 10” Square -
And the price of one Layer Cake is FOUR times the cost of the 5” Charms - ;))

So - just for fun -
I tried to calculate the $$$ per yard -
Check my math - I could be wrong -
Or just skip to the last part - ;))

2-1/2” Mini-Charms - 42 Mini-Charms for $5 -
2-1/2” strip - 40” wide = 16 Mini-Charms per strip
1 yard - 36” long = 14 strips @ 2-1/2” plus 1” extra
14 strips @ 16 Mini-Charms per strip = 224 Mini-Charms per yard
If -
42 Mini-Charms for $5 = 11.90 cents each
then -
224 Mini-Charms @ 11.90 cents each = $26.66 per yard

5” Charms - 42 Charms for $10 -
5” strip - 40” wide = 8 Charms per strip
1 yard - 36” long = 7 strips @ 5” plus 1” extra
7 strips @ 8 Charms per strip = 56 Charms per yard
If -
42 Charms for $10 = 23.81 cents each
Then -
56 Charms @ 23.81 cents each = $13.33 per yard

10” Square - Layer Cake - 42 Squares for $40 -
Same as the 5” Charms -
You get 4 - 5” Charms from one 10” Square -
And the price is 4 times the cost of the 5” Charm -
56 Charms @ 23.81 cents each = $13.33 per yard

2-1/2” Strips - Jelly Roll - 40 (not 42) for $40 -
2-1/2” strip - 40” wide = 1 Jelly Roll Strip -
1 yard - 36” long = 14 Jelly Roll Strips @ 2-1/2” plus 1” extra
40 (not 42) Strips for $40 = $1.00 each
14 Strips @ $1.00 each = $14.00 per yard

=====

I know that they charge extra to PRE-CUT them for me -

But that's a LOT extra -

And it might be worth it to YOU -

But for the amount of FABRIC that I get for the $$$ -

I think that - at these prices -

If I want some Mini-Charm 2-1/2” squares -

I’ll buy some 5” Charms -

Or some 10" Squares -

And cut them myself -

Thankyouverymuch - ;))



But then again, it's probably just me - ;))




11 comments:

Katie M. said...

and people wonder why I don't buy precuts.....Thanks for doing the math for me :-)

Mallorie Anderson said...

it's not just you. The price on the mini-charms is outrageous and the company seems to thing that quilters can't do the math.... Except isn't that our whole point on a daily basis to utilize math to create some very beautiful and creative quilts?

A Left-Handed Quilter said...

You're welcome, Katie! - ;))

A Left-Handed Quilter said...

Thanks, Mallorie - and YES - I agree with you - I don't think that some companies realize that we CAN do the math - and that we DO math ALL of the time trying to figure out block sizes - layouts - border measurements - etc. - with EVERY quilt we make. We are not as dumb as some of them think we are - ;))

Linda in Calif. said...

I saw some pretty little 2 1/2 inch squares and without doing the math put them down thinking they were way too expensive! I didn't think about it any more - so I'm glad you figured this out and posted it you us. Besides saving money, I would rather to the cutting from a cut of fabric and not fiddle with those little triangles are on the edge of precuts.

A Left-Handed Quilter said...

Thanks, Linda - you hit on another of my pet peeves - the "Pinked-Edges" - UGH!! I don't know if you remember - but I posted about my "Jelly Bean" quilt that I made with pre-cut strips a while back. By the time I lost a few of the thread "triangle tips" on each side of six strips - I came up about 1/2" short on my block. I made it work by making my blocks 1/2" smaller - but it would have been a LOT easier if the strips had had STRAIGHT edges - thankyouverymuch - ;))

Linda said...

There you go... you and your math!! haha
I personally rarely ever buy any precuts. They may save me time cutting but there is rarely any leftovers. And buying fabric is a lot like cooking. I cook for leftovers and buy fabric for my stash.

A Left-Handed Quilter said...

There you go - I like the way that you think - great minds and all of that - ;))
There was a time when I would only buy fabric for a specific project and had "some" scraps - but not much. Then I was "into" Jelly Rolls - and I have quite a few still in my stash. But then I started liking "scrappy" quilts and didn't need yards and yards of stuff - except for backings - so I started getting the 10" squares and 5" charms. I don't need a lot of any ONE fabric - I just want a LOT of different fabrics. Now when I go shopping - I just get a quarter yard of whatever strikes my fancy - it gives me the variety I want/need - and I can cut it myself - ;))

Linda C said...

I prefer to cut myself most of the time. That is why I have stash even if the most I often buy is half yards or fat quarters. Looks like we are getting ripped off for them running them through a die cut. I can never tell where exactly that I need to line up when they pink it and I combine it with the stuff I cut myself. Drove me nuts when I made the popsicle stix quilt.

You already have the list about what you can get from a fat quarter? Lots of possibilities for a nice scrappy quilt--------

99- 2 inch squares
50 2 1/2 inch squares
42 3 inch squares
30 3 1/2 inch squares
20 4 inch squares
16 4 1/2 inch squares
12 5 inch squares
12 5 1/2 inch squares
9 6 inch squares
6 6 1/2 inch squares

A Left-Handed Quilter said...

Thanks for the list, Linda!! - ;))

As far as where to line up your strips - I found a cool technique for sewing pre-cut strips by Brenda Henning - Bear Paw Productions - where she measures 2-1/4” from the LEFT - my king of lady - ;))

Here’s the link -
http://www.bearpawproductions.com/userfiles/file/Strip%20Width%20May%20Vary.pdf

A Left-Handed Quilter said...

I meant - my KIND of lady - ;))

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