Calculators

Cut border strips and find their yardage

The Borders calculator gives the cut width, strip lengths and yardage for up to four borders, butted or mitered, and the size of the quilt with them.

Where to find it

Studio top bar → Calculators → Borders. Also at quiltler.com → Calculators, and in the Calculators tab of the iPhone and iPad app.

Open the border calculator
On the Borders calculator, typing a 3 inch first border and a 6 inch second border lists each border's cut width, strip lengths and yardage, and the quilt grows to 78 by 90 inches

How to do it

  1. Press Calculators in the studio's top bar and choose Borders. It opens on a 60 × 72″ quilt with a 2″ and a 5″ border, with the answer already in the You need card.
  2. Type the center's Quilt width (inches) and Quilt length (inches).
  3. Type each border's finished width, from First border, finished (inches) outward. Leave the ones you don't need empty.
  4. Choose Corners: butted (sides first, then top and bottom) or Mitered corners.
  5. Read the card: each border's cut width, side and top-and-bottom strips, and yardage, then Quilt with these borders.

Good to know

  • Measure your quilt through the middle before cutting. A quilt that has grown a little won't match a calculated border.
  • Mitered strips here are exactly long enough to turn the corner. Many quilters cut a few inches spare.
Who can use it
Free, no account needed on the web
Where it works
Web studio · quiltler.com · iPhone & iPad

This guide answers

  • How much fabric do I need for a border?
  • How long do I cut my border strips?
  • How big will my quilt be with borders?
  • How much extra for mitered borders?
  • How do I work out two borders?