Charm Pack Quilt Guide: 5-Inch Squares and How Many Packs
Published 2026-10-15. Updated 2026-10-15.
A charm square is a 5-inch square. A Moda charm pack holds 42 of them. One pack is a small quilt, not a lap. Moda's charm pattern, which also uses background fabric, finishes at 32 inches square from that one pack. A one-pack log cabin finishes at 20 by 20 inches, or 16 by 24 inches. Kept whole, with the 1/4-inch seam on that pattern, 42 squares finish at 27 by 31.5 inches. 4 charm packs cover about as much print as one layer cake, and one pack plus yardage can still make a top.
A throw of whole squares takes more than one pack. Suzy Quilts lists a baby at about 30 by 40 inches, a crib quilt at usually 36 by 52 inches, and a throw or lap at about 50 by 65 inches. On that same chart a twin is 70 by 90, a full is 85 by 108, a queen is 90 by 108, and a king is 110 by 108. The pack table below turns those targets into square counts. Published sizes can vary by 4 to 8 inches, so measure the bed. The quilt size chart is the page for the mattress names.
What a charm pack is
Fat Quarter Shop calls the cut 5 by 5 inches and says the piece count varies, because a pack often includes one square of each fabric in a collection. Other names on that page include charm squares and 5-inch stackers. U Create describes charm packs as precut squares, usually 5 by 5 inches, sold as a coordinated set. "Usually" is the right word. Count the squares in the pack you bought before you use a 42-square plan.
Moda's pack is the 42-square stack the log cabin page calls forty-two squares, and the Moda Love file calls a charm pack of 42 five-inch squares. Precut 411 says 4 charm packs, or 16 mini charms, match the coverage of one layer cake, and that one charm pack plus yardage can make a quilt top. Mini charms are a smaller cut. This page stays with the 5-inch square. If your stack is layer-cake squares, use the layer cake guide instead.
Packs for each size, if the squares stay whole
Finished square = 5 minus 1/4 minus 1/4 = 4.5 inches. Suzy Quilts uses that same 4.5-inch square: 7 across and 9 down is 63 squares, finishing at 31.5 by 40.5 inches. The baby row below is that count. The other rows use her 4.5-inch square on the bed sizes from the same chart. Columns are the smallest whole number of 4.5-inch squares that meets the target width. Rows do the same for length. Squares are columns times rows. Packs are that count divided by 42, rounded up. The grid uses only charm squares. It adds no sashing and no background.
| Target | Grid | Squares | Packs of 42 | Finished |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baby, 30 by 40 | 7 by 9 | 63 | 2 | 31.5 by 40.5 |
| Crib, 36 by 52 | 8 by 12 | 96 | 3 | 36 by 54 |
| Throw, 50 by 65 | 12 by 15 | 180 | 5 | 54 by 67.5 |
| Twin, 70 by 90 | 16 by 20 | 320 | 8 | 72 by 90 |
| Full, 85 by 108 | 19 by 24 | 456 | 11 | 85.5 by 108 |
| Queen, 90 by 108 | 20 by 24 | 480 | 12 | 90 by 108 |
| King, 110 by 108 | 25 by 24 | 600 | 15 | 112.5 by 108 |
Two questions hide in that table. Four packs are 168 squares. A 12-by-14 grid uses all 168 and finishes at 54 by 63. That covers a 50-inch throw width and comes up 2 inches short of a 65-inch length, so 4 packs are a lap that is a little short of the 50-by-65 throw, not a full throw of whole squares. Five packs are 210 squares. The throw row uses 180 and leaves 30, so 5 packs cover that throw with squares to spare.
One pack is the 6-by-7 grid: 42 squares, 27 by 31.5 inches. That is a wall quilt or a small baby top, which matches the Moda sizes you can open today: 32 inches square with background, or 20 by 20 and 16 by 24 in the log cabin. Two packs hold 84 squares. The baby row uses 63 and leaves 21, so 2 packs cover a 30-by-40 baby of whole squares.
A pattern with sashing spends fewer squares on the same bed, or makes a larger quilt from the same pack. The table is only the count when the 5-inch squares touch.
Layouts that use the squares whole
Sew the squares into rows. That is the grid above, and it is the layout that leaves each print in one patch. A 1/4-inch seam on every side is why a 5-inch square finishes at 4.5 inches. Press the seams so the rows nest, the same way you would for a four patch.
A four-patch uses the squares whole and then combines them. Four 5-inch squares make one four-patch. The print stays in a 4.5-inch finished patch, and the block is larger. That still counts as using the square whole. A disappearing four-patch cuts the sewn block, so it is a different project. The disappearing nine patch guide is the page for cuts that rearrange a sewn block.
A log cabin uses the square and then cuts it. Moda's one-pack log cabin cuts the 5-inch squares into strips and finishes the blocks at 4 inches. You still start with charm squares, and you no longer have a 5-inch print in the finished block. Choose the grid when the print should stay large. Choose the log cabin when you want a 20-inch or 16-by-24 top from a single pack.
Half-square triangles, as in Moda Love, pair 18 of the 5-inch squares with background and keep 12 squares whole. The quilt finishes at 32 inches square, larger than the 27-by-31.5 grid, because the background adds cloth. That is the right trade when you have one pack and want a slightly larger baby top.
Free charm pack tutorials
- Moda's charm pack log cabin is the free one-pack plan for a 20-by-20 or 16-by-24 top, with the 4-inch finished block written on the page.
- Moda Love's charm version is the free 32-inch square from one pack of 42 five-inch squares plus background, with 1/4-inch seams.
- U Create's free charm pack list names a chandelier quilt, a four-squared patchwork, a fresh diamonds quilt, and plus-sign quilts, each with its own instructions.
The small hours quilt is coming soon at $8.99.
The limit of the pack table
The table assumes every pack has 42 squares and every square is used whole, with a 1/4-inch seam and no sashing. A pack with a different count, or a pattern that cuts the squares, needs its own arithmetic. The one honest limit is that a 5-inch square is a small patch: a bed-size grid takes many packs, and a one-pack quilt stays near 32 inches unless you add fabric.
What size squares are in a charm pack?
A charm square is a 5-inch square. Other names include 5-inch stackers. A Moda charm pack holds 42 squares. Other mills vary the count, so count the stack.
What size quilt can one charm pack make?
One pack of 42 squares is a small quilt. Moda's charm pattern, which also uses background fabric, finishes at 32 inches square. A one-pack log cabin finishes at 20 by 20 inches or 16 by 24 inches. A grid of the 42 squares alone, with a 1/4-inch seam, finishes at 27 by 31.5 inches.
How many charm packs make a baby quilt, a lap, or a throw?
A whole-square grid aimed at a 30-by-40 baby needs 63 squares, or 2 packs of 42. A 36-by-52 crib needs 96 squares, or 3 packs. A 50-by-65 throw needs 180 squares, or 5 packs. Four packs hold 168 squares and finish at 54 by 63 in a 12-by-14 grid, just short of that 65-inch throw length.
How many 5-inch squares make a full-size or queen quilt?
Using Suzy Quilts' full size of 85 by 108 inches, a whole-square grid needs 456 squares, or 11 packs of 42. A queen of 90 by 108 inches needs 480 squares, or 12 packs. Sashing or background fabric changes both counts.
How big a quilt do 4 or 5 charm packs make?
Four packs are 168 squares. In a 12-by-14 grid of whole squares they finish at 54 by 63 inches. Five packs are 210 squares. A 12-by-15 grid uses 180 of them and finishes at 54 by 67.5 inches, which covers a 50-by-65 throw, with squares left over.
Where are free charm pack quilt patterns?
Moda publishes a one-pack log cabin and a 32-inch charm pattern you can open free. U Create lists free charm-pack tutorials, including a chandelier quilt, a four-squared patchwork, and a fresh diamonds quilt.