Beginner’s Guide to Quilting 23Before you start a project you’ll need to work out
how much fabric you need. Here’s how...Essential Techniques
FABRIC DO
YOU NEED?
How much
W
hen it comes to buying
fabric, how do you know
how much to get so you’ve
got enough but aren’t left with too
many scraps? Most projects come
with advice about how much fabric
you need for the various parts of
your quilt, but if you want to create
your own design then calculating
how much fabric to buy can seem
daunting. But don’t worry! Just keep
this guide handy while you’re
planning your project.HOW BIG WILL YOUR QUILT BE?
Before you buy anything, sketch out a
design for your project. There’s a list of
common UK and US quilt sizes below to
get you started, but you can make a quilt
in any size you like – you might want to
add extra drape around the edges of a
standard size, depending on your design.
If you’re making a bedspread, measure
the length, width and height of your
mattress, then add as much extra fabric
as you’d like to allow for the quilt to hang
down below the edges. Or you can alwaysUK quilt cover sizes
Cot or crib 120x140cm (47x55in)
Single 140x200cm (55x79in)
Double 200x200cm (79x79in)
King size 225×220 cm (89x87in)
Super King size 260×220 cm (102x87in)
US quilt cover sizes
Crib 36x54in (91x137cm)
Twin 65x88in (165x224cm)
Full/double 80x88in (203x224cm)
Queen 86x93in (218x246cm)
King 104x93in (264x236.22cm)In Cm In Cm(^18) 0.3 258 6.7
¼0.62¾ 7
(^38) 0.9 278 7. 3
½1.23 7.6
(^58) 1.5 318 7.9
¾ 1.8 3¼ 8.3
(^78) 2.1 338 8.6
1 2.5 3½ 8.9
118 2.9 3^58 9. 2
1¼ 3.2 3¾ 9.5
138 3.5 378 9.8
1½ 3.8 4 10.2
158 4.1 418 10.5
1¾ 4.4 4¼ 10.8
178 4.8 438 11.1
2 5 4½ 11.4
218 5.4 458 11. 7
2¼ 5.7 4¾ 12
238 6478 12.4
2½ 6.4 5 12.7
just measure a bedspread that you
already have and use that as your
finished size guide!
If you’re not making a bedspread then
you’re free to decide on the size of your
playmat, wall-hanging or whatever it is.
You’ll just need to determine its length,
width and border circumference.
HOW MUCH FABRIC DO YOU NEED?
Once you’ve got an idea of your finished
quilt size measurements, you can work
out how much fabric you’ll need. You’ll
need one or more fabric pieces to sew
together to make the backing, plus fabric
for the quilt top and binding fabric to go
around the edges.
Always buy slightly larger pieces of
fabric than the pattern dictates. Cotton
fabrics and wadding will shrink when
washed, so it’s a good idea to multiply
quilt measurements by 1.05 to allow for
5% shrinkage. You should also leave a
little extra fabric for seam allowances.
The more complicated your design, the
more extra you’ll need for these. If you’ll
be working with lots of blocks made up
from many small pieces of fabric, you’ll
need to allow for each piece’s seams.
To work out how much fabric you’ll
need for the quilt top, draw a sketch of
your quilt top design and add in
measurements for the different parts.
(See page 22 to see the parts of a quilt.)
Start with the the border and outer seam
allowance, then take this away from the
quilt width and you’ll know how wide an
area you have to fill with blocks or
shapes. You’ll probably find it easiest to
make your blocks or shapes to a standard
size that’s easy to work out, then adjust
your border strips to enable your smaller
units to fill the width of the quilt.
For advice about calculating your
backing fabric, see ‘All About Making
Quilts’ on page 56.
Before you buy, check the size against the bed you’re making
for. Remember the quilting saying: “measure twice, cut once!”
COMMON BEDDING SIZES
CONVERSION TABLE