Free quilt calculators — backing, binding, batting & borders

Tell us your quilt's size and we'll figure the fabric — how much backing, batting, binding, and border you need, and exactly how we got each number. No sign-up, no guessing.

What size is this quilt?

Pick a common size, or set your own.

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Common sizes
How the quilt math works

How much fabric do I need for quilt backing?

Start with your quilt top's finished width and height, then add about 4 inches of overhang on every side — that extra fabric is what a longarm quilter (or you, on a home machine) holds onto while quilting, and gets trimmed away at the end. If the result is wider than one width of fabric (most quilting cotton is about 42 inches wide), you'll need to sew two or three panels together. We compare both ways to arrange those panels and point you to whichever uses less fabric.

What size batting do I need?

The same rule as backing: your quilt's size plus about 4 inches of overhang on every side. For a lot of common quilt sizes, a standard packaged batting (Crib, Twin, Full, Queen, or King) already covers it — we'll tell you which one fits. For anything larger, plan on a wide roll or piecing two widths together.

How do I figure binding yardage?

Add up your quilt's perimeter, then add roughly 10 inches for turning the corners and joining the strip ends. Divide that by your fabric's width to get the number of strips to cut — the standard double-fold binding strip is 2½ inches wide, though some quilters prefer 2¼ inches for a narrower finish.

How much fabric do I need for a border?

Borders are usually cut as strips across the fabric's width and pieced together end to end. For a simple border with butted (not mitered) corners, cut two side strips the height of your quilt, and two top/bottom strips the width of your quilt plus twice the border width — that extra covers the corners.

See it done with your own fabrics

These numbers work for any quilt. Stitchtale goes one step further — it knows your stash, and suggests which of your own fabrics to use.

See what your stash wants to become