Open Borders in the studio. The form on this page is that calculator.
Why the top and bottom strips are longer
A butted border is sewn to the two sides first. The quilt is then wider by twice the border, and the top and bottom strips are cut to that new measurement. That is why those strips are longer than the side strips. A mitered border is cut long on every side, by twice the border width, and the extra becomes the diagonal at the corner.
Measure the quilt before you cut. Piecing stretches, and a border cut to the pattern's ideal size often comes up short on a real top. Cut along the length of the fabric if you can, so a side has no seam in the middle. The yardage here assumes you are cutting across the width and joining, which is the honest number for a wide quilt.
How border strips are calculated
- Cut width = finished border + 1/2 inch
- Butted sides = the quilt's length at that moment. The top and bottom then include the side borders.
- Mitered strips = each side long by twice the border, so the corner can be folded
- Strips = the total length of the four sides ÷ the fabric width, rounded up
- Yardage = strips × cut width, rounded up to the next eighth of a yard
Each border on the card is its own yardage, because borders are often different fabrics. If two borders share a fabric, add those yardages and then round up. Different cut widths do not share a strip. After the borders, take the new size to the backing and binding calculators.
A 60 by 72 inch center, butted borders
The first border is 2 inches, the second is 5 inches, cut across 42 inch fabric. The quilt grows as each border is added. This is the example the form opens on.
| Border | Cut width | Side strips | Top and bottom | Yardage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 in inner | 2 1/2 in | 72 in | 64 in | 1/2 yard |
| 5 in outer | 5 1/2 in | 76 in | 74 in | 1 1/4 yards |
How to use this calculator
- Measure the quilt as it is now, before these borders, and enter that width and length.
- Enter each border from the inside out. Leave the later borders blank if you only have one.
- Choose butted or mitered corners. Butted is sides first. Mitered adds the extra for the diagonal.
- Cut each border from its own fabric unless you have added the yardages yourself. Then sew, measure again, and cut the next border from the quilt you have.
Tips for borders
- Cut the borders after the top is together, from the measurement of that top, and use the chart as the shopping list.
- A narrow inner border stops a busy block from crashing into a busy outer border. Two inches is a common finished width for that line.
- Join strips on the diagonal if the seam will show. A straight join across a border is a bump.
When the piece is part of a whole quilt. Borders in a design are part of the quilt's yardage. This page is the strip lengths when you already know the center. The fabric calculator counts every piece in a design, then adds binding, backing, and batting. These pages answer one question at a time.