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How much backing fabric for a 36 × 52 quilt?
Baby size quilt, finished 36″ × 52″ (91.4 cm × 132.1 cm).
Buy
2 1/2 yd
of standard 42″–44″ quilting cotton — 2 panels × 44″ with 1 horizontal seam. Or 1 1/4 yd of 108″ wide backing (one piece, no seams — cut 44″). Metric: 2.3 m of 110 cm fabric.
How it's worked out
- Add 4″ on every side for quilting (long-arm quilters usually ask for 4″–5″): 36 + 8 = 44″ wide, 52 + 8 = 60″ long.
- Quilting cotton is 42″–44″ wide; after trimming selvages about 40″ is usable, and each seam takes 1″.
- Running the seams horizontally you need 2 widths of fabric, each 44″ long.
- 2 × 44″ = 88″ = 2.44 yards → round up to the next ⅛ yard: 2 1/2 yd.
Sewing the seams the other way (vertical) would take 2 panels × 60″ with 1 vertical seam = 3 3/8 yd , so horizontal seams save fabric.
Backing yardage with different overhang
| Extra per side | Backing size | 42″ fabric | 108″ wide | Metric |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2″ | 40″ × 56″ | 1 5/8 yd (1 panels) | 1 1/8 yd | 1.5 m |
| 3″ | 42″ × 58″ | 2 3/8 yd (2 panels) | 1 1/4 yd | 2.2 m |
| 4″ | 44″ × 60″ | 2 1/2 yd (2 panels) | 1 1/4 yd | 2.3 m |
| 5″ | 46″ × 62″ | 2 5/8 yd (2 panels) | 1 3/8 yd | 2.4 m |
| 6″ | 48″ × 64″ | 2 3/4 yd (2 panels) | 1 3/8 yd | 2.5 m |
Same quilt: binding & batting
- Binding for a 36 × 52 quilt: 6 strips of 2½″ → 1/2 yd.
- Batting: at least 44″ × 60″ — a Crib package fits, or 1 1/4 yd off a 96″ roll.
Try your own numbers
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