Plan the Size of your Quilt
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Plan the Size of your QuiltBefore piecing a quilt top, you need to plan ahead for the size of the finished product.Before piecing a quilt top, you need to plan ahead for the size of the finished product. There is nothing more frustrating than spending a lot of time piecing then quilting your project only to discover it doesn’t fit the bed you need it to fit. You can remedy this type of problem, but it is much easier (not to mention quicker) to account for your size needs from the beginning. Most mattresses have standard sizes. A crib mattress is usually 27 inches x 51 inches. Twin size mattresses are 39 inches by 75 inches. Full size mattresses are generally 54 inches x 75 inches. Queen size mattresses are 60 inches x 80 inches. The standard size of king size mattresses are 76x80. The standard bed sizes listed above are for the tops of the beds. You will want your quilts to hang over the edges a little, so you will need to add that length to your project. You may decide to do that by adding another row of quilt blocks, or you may simply decide to gain the added width and length by adding sashing and borders. Whichever method you decide, it is easy to do the math to get your finished project size. If you want your quilt to drop 12 inches down the side of your mattresses, you will need to add a total of 24 inches to all four edges of your quilt. So, using the twin size measurements above, your finished quilt would be 51 inches x 75 inches. The inches added to the top and bottom of your quilt will make sure your quilt is long enough to cover your mattress at the bottom of the bed and will give you a little tuck space at the top for your pillows. Knowing the size you want your finished quilt to be and planning your quilt layout ahead will let you know exactly how many quilt blocks you will need to piece for your project. While it is easy enough to piece several extra quilt blocks when you know you need them, it can be costly time-wise when you piece too many more than you need. Here’s an example to show how to determine what you need for a twin size quilt. If you are using 7 inch blocks, 3 inch sashing and a 4 inch border, your quilt would need to be four rows wide and seven deep, totaling 28 blocks. Your finished size would be 62.5 inches x 102 inches. A full size quilt using the same particulars would be 5 blocks wide by 7 blocks long, totaling 35 blocks. A queen quilt would be 6 blocks x 7 blocks (total of 42 blocks), and a king size would be 7 blocks x 7 blocks (a total of 49 blocks). The same quilt without sashing would obviously have different dimensions. In a quilt where the blocks are pieced together with a three inch inner and four inch outer border added, it would take 45 blocks for a twin sized bed. The twin quilt would be 5 blocks x 9 blocks. A full or a queen size quilt made with the same layout would need 63 blocks, 7 blocks x 9 blocks. A king size quilt would require 81 blocks – nine across and nine down. Knowing these guidelines will help make your quilt planning much easier and much more accurate, insuring that your finished quilt is one of which you can truly be proud. Don’t stress too much about planning, though. Remember, stitches can be taken out. If your quilt isn’t long enough, remove your border and add a wider one, or simply add an additional outer border to make your quilt the size you need.
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