Quilt Border Calculator
Enter your quilt size and finished border width, and this free calculator gives you the number of strips to cut and the yardage to buy. Seam allowance and a 10% piecing cushion are already built in.
How border yardage is calculated
- Side borders first. The two side strips run the full quilt length plus the border added top and bottom. The top and bottom strips span the quilt width.
- Add a cushion. Total strip length gets 10% added for joining strips and squaring up ends. Border strips almost never come out of one continuous cut on standard-width fabric.
- Cut width. Strips are cut ½" wider than the finished border so a ¼" seam on each side still leaves the width you planned.
- Round up. Yardage is rounded up to the next ⅛ yard, the way fabric is sold.
A worked example: a 60 × 80" quilt with a 4" finished border on 42" fabric needs 8 strips cut at 4.5", which is about 1 yard of fabric.
Measure through the center, not the edge
Before cutting anything, measure your actual quilt top through the vertical and horizontal center, not along the edges. Edges stretch during piecing and pressing, and borders cut to a stretched edge measurement are the number one cause of wavy quilts. Cut the borders to the center measurement and ease the edge to fit.
Border questions, answered
How much fabric do I need for quilt borders?
Add up the length of all four border strips, add about 10 percent for piecing and squaring up, and divide by your fabric width to get the number of strips. For a 60 by 80 inch quilt with a 4 inch finished border on 42 inch fabric, that is 8 strips cut at 4.5 inches, about 1 yard of fabric.
Why should I measure through the center of the quilt for borders?
Quilt edges stretch during piecing and pressing, so an edge measurement is usually longer than the quilt really is. Measuring through the vertical and horizontal center gives the true dimensions, and cutting borders to those numbers keeps the quilt square and flat.
How wide should I cut border strips?
Cut border strips half an inch wider than the finished border width you want, which allows a quarter inch seam on each side. For a 4 inch finished border, cut strips at 4.5 inches. This calculator does that automatically.
How wide should a quilt border be?
A common guideline is to keep borders proportional: 2 to 4 inches on baby and throw quilts, 4 to 7 inches on bed quilts. Many quilters use a narrow inner border around 1.5 inches with a wider outer border. Run this calculator once per border, from the inside out.
Does this work for mitered borders?
This calculator assumes butted borders, where side strips go on first and the top and bottom strips overlap them. Mitered borders need each strip to be longer: the side length plus twice the border width plus a couple of inches of insurance. Add that manually if you plan to miter.
This is one of seven calculators inside Makerly.
The free version does one job well. Inside Makerly, the calculators work together: enter your quilt size once and backing, batting, binding, borders, on-point, yardage, and a full printable cut list all update from the same numbers.
- Save every quilt as a project, with its numbers attached
- Design the quilt first in the Block Designer, then let the math follow
- Track your fabric stash so you know what you already own
- Works in your browser and on iPhone and Android, always in sync
Free for 14 days, then $9.99/month. Cancel anytime.