Quilt & fabric yardage calculator
You're at the cutting table and you don't want to drive back for more of a dye lot the shop won't have. Type in your quilt size and block size and get the yardage for blocks, borders, binding and backing, with the cutting math shown rather than hidden, so you can check it before you buy. It runs in your browser: no email, no download, nothing sent anywhere.
Quilt fabric yardage for the defaults: A 60 by 72 inch throw, 6 inch finished blocks, quarter-inch seams and 40 inch usable cotton, with binding and backing on: 120 blocks, 3.75 yards of blocks, 0.5 yards of binding, 4 yards of backing, 8.25 yards to buy.
- Runs in your browser
Your quilt
The size a block ends up in the quilt, after seams.
Width after trimming selvages, about 40 in for quilting cotton; wide backs are around 108 in.
— blocks cut at — — finished size —
| Element | Cutting | Buy |
|---|---|---|
| Blocks | — | — |
| Border | — | — |
| Binding | — | — |
| Backing | — | — |
Total to buy yards
A worked example
Say you're making a 60 × 72 inch throw from 6 inch finished blocks with a quarter-inch seam allowance, from standard quilting cotton with 40 usable inches of width. Here's exactly what the calculator does with that:
- Blocks needed. 60 ÷ 6 = 10 across, 72 ÷ 6 = 12 down, so 10 × 12 = 120 blocks.
- Cut size. Each block is cut oversize by two seam allowances: 6 + 0.25 + 0.25 = 6.5 inches.
- Strips. Across a 40 inch usable width you get 40 ÷ 6.5 = 6 blocks per strip (rounded down, the leftover is offcut). 120 blocks ÷ 6 = 20 strips.
- Yardage. 20 strips × 6.5 inches = 130 inches = 3.62 yards, which rounds up to 3.75 yards for the blocks alone, the nearest quarter yard.
- Add binding and backing. With binding and backing switched on (the calculator's defaults), that adds 0.5 yards of binding and 4 yards of backing (two 68 inch panels pieced across the length, whichever way round uses less fabric) for a total of 8.25 yards, the number the calculator shows above.
How the math works
Nothing here is a mystery. These are the formulas, so you can check any number by hand. The two most people check are the blocks and the rounding:
- Blocks: blocks across = quilt width ÷ block size, rounded up. Same for rows. Cut size = finished size + 2 × seam allowance. Blocks per strip = fabric width ÷ cut size, rounded down. Strips = total blocks ÷ blocks per strip, rounded up. Yardage = strips × cut size ÷ 36. This is the blocks element only; border, binding and backing (below) are each calculated and rounded separately, then summed for the total shown at the top.
- Binding: the finished perimeter plus 10 inches for joins and mitered corners, cut into strips of your chosen width across the fabric. Working out just binding, borders or sashing for a top that's already pieced? The binding calculator does those three on their own, with the same math.
- Everything rounds up to the nearest quarter yard per element, because that's how shops cut, and the total is the sum of those rounded pieces.
Border and backing, formula by formula (you never need this)
- Border: strips are cut at finished border width + 2 × seam allowance. The two side borders run the quilt's height; the top and bottom run the full bordered width. Total length ÷ fabric width, rounded up, gives the strip count (joins land in the leftover).
- Backing: the finished quilt plus your overage on every side, made from full-width panels seamed together. Either side can be the one split into panels, so the calculator prices both directions (panels = one side ÷ fabric width, rounded up, and you buy panels × the other side) and shows the cheaper, with the piecing direction named in the cutting column.
Batting shrinks about 3% on its first wash, according to The Warm Company, and cotton fabric about 3 to 5%. Check your fabric's label.
Questions
Can I use centimeters?
The calculator works in inches, because quilting fabric, patterns and rulers are sold and written in inches almost everywhere. If your measurements are metric, divide centimeters by 2.54 to get inches before you type them in, and remember the answer comes back in yards (one yard is about 91 centimeters).
I'm using fat quarters or precuts. How do I convert?
This calculator prices fabric cut off the bolt. For precuts, work out how many of your cut squares fit one piece and divide. A fat quarter is roughly 18 by 21 inches, so at a 6.5 inch cut size it yields 2 rows of 3, which is 6 blocks; 120 blocks would need 20 fat quarters. Charm packs and layer cakes are already cut at 5 and 10 inches, so they only suit blocks with those cut sizes.
What about directional fabric?
Buy extra. The strip math assumes every block can rotate to fit the width, and a directional print can't: cuts have to follow the print, so you get fewer usable blocks per strip and lose more to offcuts. Plan the cuts on paper first and treat this calculator's number as the minimum, not the target.
Why does it round up to the nearest quarter yard?
Two reasons. Shops cut in quarter-yard steps, so you can't buy 3.62 yards. And the raw number has no slack: prewashing shrinks cotton, edges need squaring up, and one miscut eats the margin. Rounding up costs you a little offcut; rounding down costs you a trip back for fabric from a different dye lot.
Will the backing need a seam?
If the backing is bigger than your fabric width in both directions, yes. The calculator shows the panel count: two panels means one seam. To avoid the seam entirely, set the fabric width to a wide back (usually around 108 inches) and price the backing from that instead.
Does it handle sashing, or blocks that mix fabrics?
It treats the quilt top as one fabric, which is right for a one-fabric top and a fair total for a scrappy one. For blocks that mix fabrics, run the numbers per fabric using that fabric's share of each block. Sashing isn't included; price sashing strips the way the border is priced, cut width times total length.
How many yards for a queen, twin, king, throw or baby quilt?
Run your real numbers above, because block size changes everything. As reference points, using this calculator's own defaults (6 inch finished blocks, quarter-inch seams, 40 inch usable fabric, binding and backing on, no border): a 36 by 52 inch baby quilt totals 4.75 yards, a 50 by 60 throw 6.5, a 70 by 90 twin 11.75, a 90 by 100 queen 17, and a 110 by 108 king 21.25. Quilt sizes vary by pattern and mattress depth, and a 108 inch wide back shrinks the backing share of the big sizes, so treat these as ballparks, not a shopping list.
Does this work for upholstery, curtains or clothing?
No, it's a quilting calculator. The math assumes identical square blocks cut in strips from a quilting-width bolt, plus borders, binding and backing, which is how quilt tops are built. Upholstery, curtains and garments are cut as pattern pieces with repeats, nap and drop to match, so their yardage comes from the pattern envelope or an upholstery chart, not a block grid. If you're planning a quilt, carry on; for anything else this tool will give you the wrong number.
Should I pre-wash my fabric first, and what about shrinkage?
Buy the yardage first, then pre-wash if you're going to: cotton fabric shrinks about 3 to 5% (check your fabric's label), and washing before cutting takes that out before your pieces are measured. On 4 yards of backing, that is roughly 4 to 7 inches of length. The quarter-yard round-up usually absorbs the loss on blocks and binding; backing has the least slack, so add a little there if you pre-wash. Skip the pre-wash and the finished quilt shrinks at its first wash instead, batting included (batting shrinks about 3% on its first wash), and that shrinkage makes the crinkled look many quilters like. Either way, treat the calculator's number as the minimum.
Does the calculator add a just-in-case buffer, or do I?
You do. The only slack built in is the quarter-yard round-up on each element, 10 extra inches of binding for joins and corners, and whatever backing overage you set; there is no hidden percentage on top. If you miscut a strip or a directional print fights you, the round-up may not cover it, so add your own insurance, an extra quarter to half yard on the blocks is the usual habit, especially for fabric you couldn't rematch later. The calculator doesn't price fabric yet; for cost, multiply each Buy figure by your shop's price per yard.
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