Open Quilt size in the studio. The form on this page is that calculator.
Why a quilt is not the size of the mattress
Drop is how far a quilt hangs past the mattress on each side and at the foot. A queen mattress is 60 by 80 inches. Fifteen inches of drop on the sides and the foot, with no extra for the pillows, is a 90 by 95 inch quilt, which is the queen size in our quilt sizes guide. A pillow tuck adds length at the head if the quilt is meant to cover the pillows.
The same page also builds a size up from blocks, and asks how many blocks fit a quilt you have already decided on. Those are straight sets: columns times the block, plus the sashing between them, plus a border on both sides. On-point sets are a different shape. Figure those with the setting triangle calculator first.
How the three modes are calculated
- From blocks: columns × block, plus the sashing between columns, plus a border on both sides. The length uses the rows the same way.
- From a bed: mattress width + two drops. Mattress length + one drop at the foot + any pillow tuck. The head is left for the pillows unless you add a tuck.
- Blocks that fit: subtract the borders, then see how many block-plus-sashing steps fit in what is left. The size you actually get may be a little under the target.
The mattress names are the common US sizes in this calculator: a twin is 38 by 75, a full is 54 by 75, a queen is 60 by 80, a king is 76 by 80. The sizes guide publishes the quilt sizes people shop for, which match this queen exactly and sit an inch or two off some of the other beds, because those published sizes are rounded. Measure the mattress you own. A topper, a thick pillow-top, or a bed from outside the US will not match the list. Use custom and a tape measure.
Quilt size from the bed
Fifteen inches of drop, no pillow tuck, using the mattress sizes in this calculator. A crib quilt in the sizes guide is 36 by 52 inches, which is a lap for a baby, smaller than covering a crib mattress with 15 inches of drop.
| Mattress | Mattress size | Quilt at 15 in drop |
|---|---|---|
| Crib | 28 × 52 in | 58 × 67 in |
| Twin | 38 × 75 in | 68 × 90 in |
| Full | 54 × 75 in | 84 × 90 in |
| Queen | 60 × 80 in | 90 × 95 in |
| King | 76 × 80 in | 106 × 95 in |
| California king | 72 × 84 in | 102 × 99 in |
How to use this calculator
- Choose a mode. Blocks builds a size up. Bed works down from the mattress. Blocks that fit starts from a target quilt.
- For a bed, pick the mattress or enter a custom size, then set the drop. Add a pillow tuck only if the quilt should cover the pillows.
- For blocks, enter the block, the grid, any sashing, and one border width. A 5 by 6 grid of 6 inch blocks with a 4 inch border and no sashing finishes at 38 by 44 inches.
- Take the finished size to the backing, batting, and binding calculators. The top's own fabric is not a rectangle of that size.
Tips for picking a size
- Measure a quilt you already like on the bed, and use that drop instead of 15 inches. Platform beds need less. Deep mattresses need more.
- The block count rounds down. If the target is a little larger than a whole number of blocks, the card tells you the size you actually get.
- Borders and sashing are finished widths here. The cut sizes for those strips are on the border and sashing calculators.
When the piece is part of a whole quilt. A design has a finished size as soon as the blocks are on the canvas. This page is for the size you need before you draw. The fabric calculator counts every piece in a design, then adds binding, backing, and batting. These pages answer one question at a time.