A worked answer

Quilt Width of Fabric (WOF)

Width of fabric is the usable inches across the bolt after you lose selvages. For quilting cotton that is usually about 42 inches. Wide backing is a different bolt, often 108 inches. Yardage only means anything after you pick a width.

Measuring tape on folded quilt fabric showing width of fabric
Yardage is a length. Width of fabric is the other side of the rectangle.

Measure the cloth, not the label

Bolts say 44/45 inches. Folded, starched, or printed off-grain, you might have 41. Quiltler’s calculators default to 42 inches usable because that is the honest planning number for most quilting cotton. If you measured 40, type 40. The fabric measurement calculator converts yards, inches, and a change of width.

Why backing cares more than binding

Binding strips are cut across the WOF, so a narrower bolt means more strips (slightly more length on the bolt). Backing is panels: each panel is one WOF wide. Crossing from 42 to 108 is the difference between three queen panels and one. See how to piece quilt backing and any size backing answer, such as queen.

Strips, fat quarters, and WOF

Jelly-roll strips are cut WOF at 2 1/2 inches. A fat quarter is not WOF — it is a short, wide rectangle. Plan fat-quarter quilts on the fat quarter quilt planner and the fat quarter calculator. Strip layouts belong to the jelly roll quilt planner.

None of this replaces piece-based yardage for a pieced top. That lives in the studio and on quilt yardage from design.

Related

FAQ

What is width of fabric in quilting?

The usable measurement across the bolt, selvage to selvage, after you discard unusable edges. Quilting cotton is often called 44/45 inch goods and used as 42 inches. Always measure the piece you bought.

Why does WOF change yardage?

Backing panels are cut from that width. Two 42 inch panels cover about 84 inches. A 108 inch bolt can cover a queen back in one panel. Same quilt, different yards.

Is WOF the same as a fat quarter?

No. A fat quarter is an 18 by 22 inch cut from a yard. WOF is the bolt width you get when you buy linear yards.

Design the quilt, then let the yardage follow

These calculators answer one question at a time. The studio counts every piece in a design, including binding, backing, and batting.

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