A king size quilt with a 12 inch drop needs 9 yd of standard 42 inch fabric for the backing (or 3¼ yd of 108 inch wide backing) and 1 yd for the binding. The top depends on your pattern. Pick your bed size below for exact figures.
These use the calculator's defaults: a 12 inch drop on each side and the foot and a 10 inch pillow tuck (crib quilts have neither, so the crib size uses 0 for both), backing and batting 4 inches larger than the quilt on every side, 42 inch usable backing fabric and 2.5 inch binding strips. Yardage is rounded up to the nearest quarter yard.
| Bed size | Mattress | Finished quilt | Backing (42 in fabric) | Backing (108 in wide) | Batting | Binding |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crib | 28 x 52 in | 28 x 52 in | 1¾ yd (1 panel) | 1 yd | 36 x 60 in | ½ yd |
| Twin | 38 x 75 in | 62 x 97 in | 6 yd (2 panels) | 2 yd | 70 x 105 in | ¾ yd |
| Full | 54 x 75 in | 78 x 97 in | 7¼ yd (3 panels) | 2½ yd | 86 x 105 in | ¾ yd |
| Queen | 60 x 80 in | 84 x 102 in | 7¾ yd (3 panels) | 3¼ yd | 92 x 110 in | ¾ yd |
| King | 76 x 80 in | 100 x 102 in | 9 yd (3 panels) | 3¼ yd | 108 x 110 in | 1 yd |
| California king | 72 x 84 in | 96 x 106 in | 8¾ yd (3 panels) | 3¼ yd | 104 x 114 in | 1 yd |
Finished size. The quilt covers the mattress plus the drop on both sides and at the foot, plus the pillow tuck at the head. Crib quilts are made to the mattress size, so the crib preset sets the drop and pillow tuck to 0. Picking a bed size resets the drop and tuck for that size.
Backing. Backing is cut larger than the quilt top so it can shift during quilting. Standard width fabric is sewn from panels, and the calculator runs the panels whichever way uses less fabric. Each seam uses the seam allowance you set.
Batting. Batting is cut to the same size as the backing.
Binding. Strips are cut across the width of the fabric and joined on the diagonal, which uses about one strip width of length per join. The total length is the quilt's perimeter plus the extra length for corners and the final join.
Amazon search results for backing, batting and fabric
Quilt backing fabric → Queen size quilt batting → Fat quarter bundles →
How many yards for any project: enter fabric width and piece sizes. Open the fabric calculator
Length, common widths and pre-cut sizes, with a diagram. See the size of a yard
Yards of minky or fleece for throw to king size blankets. Open the blanket calculator
Bias strip width, strip length and fabric for piping. Open the piping calculator