Quilt size chart
Baby to king, with everything the size decides for you: how big to cut the batting, how much backing to buy, how many strips of binding, and how many blocks it takes to get there.
Quilt sizes are not standardised the way mattress sizes are. A "queen" quilt from one pattern designer can be six inches different from another, because how far a quilt drops over the side of the bed is a preference, not a rule. The sizes below are the ones FourPatch uses as presets — they sit in the middle of common practice and work well as a starting point you then adjust.
Standard quilt sizes
| Size | Finished quilt | Batting | Backing | Binding | 12″ blocks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baby | 36″ × 48″ | 44″ × 56″ | 2½ yd | ⅜ yd | 3 × 4 = 12 |
| Crib | 45″ × 60″ | 53″ × 68″ | 3 yd | ½ yd | 4 × 5 = 20 |
| Lap | 50″ × 65″ | 58″ × 73″ | 3¼ yd | ½ yd | 4 × 5 = 20 |
| Throw | 60″ × 72″ | 68″ × 80″ | 3⅞ yd | ½ yd | 5 × 6 = 30 |
| Twin | 70″ × 90″ | 78″ × 98″ | 5½ yd | ⅝ yd | 6 × 8 = 48 |
| Full | 84″ × 90″ | 92″ × 98″ | 7¾ yd | ⅝ yd | 7 × 8 = 56 |
| Queen | 90″ × 108″ | 98″ × 116″ | 8¼ yd | ⅞ yd | 8 × 9 = 72 |
| King | 108″ × 108″ | 116″ × 116″ | 9¾ yd | ⅞ yd | 9 × 9 = 81 |
Why batting is 8 inches bigger
Every size above lists batting four inches larger on each side. That margin is not waste — it is what lets a longarm quilter load the quilt on a frame, and it gives you room for the top to shift slightly during quilting, which it always does. If you are quilting on a domestic machine you can trim that to two or three inches per side, but do not skip it.
Backing: where the seams go
Quilting cotton is usually 42–44″ wide off the bolt, with roughly 40″ usable once you cut off the selvedges. Any quilt wider than about 40″ needs a pieced backing, and the direction of that seam decides how much fabric you buy.
Take a throw at 60″ × 72″. The backing needs to be 68″ × 80″. Seamed vertically that is two panels of 80″, which is 160″ or 4½ yards. Seamed horizontally it is two panels of 68″, which is 136″ or 3⅞ yards. Same quilt, same fabric, five-eighths of a yard apart — the chart above always picks the cheaper orientation.
The other option is extra-wide backing fabric, sold at 108″, which eliminates the seam entirely for anything up to a king. It costs more per yard and usually works out about even.
Binding
Binding length is the perimeter of the quilt plus about 12″ for mitred corners and the join. Divide by 40″ to get the number of strips, then multiply by your strip width — 2½″ for a standard double-fold binding — to get the yardage. A queen at 90″ × 108″ has a 396″ perimeter, needs 11 strips, and takes ⅞ yard.
How many blocks?
The last column assumes 12″ finished blocks set edge to edge with no sashing. Add sashing and the arithmetic changes: with 2″ sashing between 12″ blocks the effective pitch becomes 14″, so a 70″ wide twin fits five columns rather than six. Set the blocks on point and the pitch becomes the block's diagonal — 12″ × 1.414, or about 17″ — which is why on-point quilts need noticeably fewer blocks than people expect.
Setting triangle sizes for on-point quilts →
Questions
What is the standard size for a queen quilt?
Around 90″ × 108″ for a quilt that covers the mattress and drops over the sides. Queen mattresses are 60″ × 80″, so the extra allows roughly 15″ of drop per side plus a pillow tuck. Patterns vary by several inches either way.
How much bigger should batting be than the quilt top?
Four inches larger on every side, so eight inches in each dimension. That margin is what allows the quilt to be loaded on a longarm frame and absorbs the shifting that happens during quilting.
How much backing fabric do I need for a throw quilt?
A 60″ × 72″ throw needs a 68″ × 80″ backing. From 40″ usable width that is two panels seamed horizontally — about 3⅞ yards. Extra-wide 108″ backing would take about 2¼ yards with no seam.
How many 12 inch blocks make a twin quilt?
A 70″ × 90″ twin takes about 6 × 8 = 48 blocks set edge to edge. Add sashing and you need fewer blocks but more background fabric.
Stop looking things up
FourPatch does this arithmetic for every piece in your quilt, every time you change something — block size, sashing width, fabric width, waste allowance. The cutting list and yardage just update.