Quilt math · Calculator
Quilt borders: how to measure and cut them
Measure your quilt top for borders that lie flat, then cut them to the right length, butted or mitered, and buy the right amount of fabric.
The short answer
Measure the top through the middle, not at the edges. For a 4″ border on a 48″ × 60″ top, cut two sides 60½″ and the top and bottom 56½″, all 4½″ wide: 6 strips, ⅞ yd.
Work out yours
Free · no accountWith the border: 56″ × 68″
Strips 4½″ wide
The quilt’s length and ½″. Sew these on first.
The quilt’s width, both side borders and ½″.
6 strips across the fabric, joined end to end with straight seams, then cut to length.
In Quarter Inch, add plain borders, corner squares or pieced borders to any quilt: every strip is measured, cut and in the yardage.
Start designing freeSame sums as the app: @quarterinch/cutting · butted borders, sides first · strips joined end to end (½″ a join) · a spare strip · up to the next ⅛ yd
How to measure for borders
- Press the quilt top flat and lay it out smooth, without stretching it.
- Measure its length three times: down the middle and about a third of the way in from each side. Not along the edges: they stretch as you handle them.
- If the three differ, use their average. That’s the length of the side borders, finished.
- Sew the sides on, press, then measure the width the same way, across the middle, including the side borders you just added. That’s the top and bottom.
Ease the top to fit. Pin each border at the ends and the middle, then every few inches between, easing any fullness in the top. A border cut to the middle measurement squares up a top whose edges have spread.
Border size chart
Butted borders for a 48″ × 60″ quilt top, from 42″ fabric. Cut lengths include ½″ for seams; the fabric has a spare strip for straightening and is rounded up to the next ⅛ yd.
| Border | Strips cut | 2 sides | Top and bottom | Strips | Fabric | Quilt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2″ | 2½″ | 60½″ | 52½″ | 6 | ½ yd | 52″ × 64″ |
| 3″ | 3½″ | 60½″ | 54½″ | 6 | ¾ yd | 54″ × 66″ |
| 4″ | 4½″ | 60½″ | 56½″ | 6 | ⅞ yd | 56″ × 68″ |
| 5″ | 5½″ | 60½″ | 58½″ | 6 | 1⅛ yd | 58″ × 70″ |
| 6″ | 6½″ | 60½″ | 60½″ | 6 | 1⅜ yd | 60″ × 72″ |
| 8″ | 8½″ | 60½″ | 64½″ | 7 | 2 yd | 64″ × 76″ |
How it’s worked out
Quarter Inch sews borders as most quilters do: butted, the sides first and then the top and bottom across them. Each piece is ½″ longer and wider than finished, for the seams. Lengths longer than a strip come from strips joined end to end, and each straight join takes ½″.
| The quilt top, measured | 48″ × 60″ |
|---|---|
| Strips: the border and ½″ | 4½″ |
| Two sides: the length and ½″ | 2 × 60½″ |
| Top and bottom: the width, both borders (8″) and ½″ | 2 × 56½″ |
| Four pieces end to end | 234″ |
| 6 strips of 42″, joined: 6 × 42″ less 5 joins of ½″ | 249½″ |
| 6 × 4½″, a spare strip, up to the next ⅛ yd | ⅞ yd |
Two borders or more
Add them one at a time, and measure again after each. An inner 2″ border then an outer 6″ one on the same top:
- The inner border: sides 60½″, top and bottom 52½″, strips 2½″ wide. The quilt is now 52″ × 64″.
- The outer border: sides 64½″, top and bottom 64½″, strips 6½″ wide. The quilt is 64″ × 76″.
Mitered corners
A mitered border meets at 45° in each corner, like a picture frame. Each strip runs the full outside edge: the quilt’s side, the border’s width at both ends, and ½″. For the 4″ border above, that’s 68½″ for the sides and 56½″ for the top and bottom: 7 strips, 1 yd. Many quilters cut them a few inches longer still, to have room to fold and mark the miter. Quarter Inch cuts butted borders, so in the app this is up to you.
- Center each strip on its side and sew it, starting and stopping ¼″ from the quilt’s corners. Backstitch.
- Fold the quilt corner to corner so two strips lie on top of each other, right sides together.
- Draw a 45° line from the end of the stitching to the strips’ edge, sew it, check it lies flat, and trim to ¼″.
What changes the answer
- Lengthwise borders. Cut along the selvage instead and you need no joins, but you buy the quilt’s length in fabric.
- The width of your fabric. Choose your fabric’s width in the calculator: wider fabric may need one strip fewer.
- Binding. It covers ¼″ of the outer border, so it looks a little narrower. See the binding calculator.
Questions
Short answers.
Something else? A real person replies.
hello@quarterinch.app
How do you measure a quilt for borders?
Through the middle: measure the length down the center and a third of the way in from each side, and use the average. Edges stretch, so never measure them.
Do you put the side or top borders on first?
Either works, as long as you measure again after the first pair. Quarter Inch sews the sides first, then the top and bottom across them.
How much fabric for a 4″ border?
For a 48″ × 60″ top: 6 strips 4½″ wide across 42″ fabric, ⅞ yd with a spare strip.
How long should mitered border strips be?
The quilt’s side, twice the border’s width and ½″. For a 4″ border on a 48″ × 60″ top: 68½″ and 56½″.