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How much backing fabric for a 40 × 40 quilt?
Baby size quilt, finished 40″ × 40″ (101.6 cm × 101.6 cm).
Buy
2 3/4 yd
of standard 42″–44″ quilting cotton — 2 panels × 48″ with 1 vertical seam. Or 1 3/8 yd of 108″ wide backing (one piece, no seams — cut 48″). Metric: 2.5 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″): 40 + 8 = 48″ wide, 40 + 8 = 48″ long.
- Quilting cotton is 42″–44″ wide; after trimming selvages about 40″ is usable, and each seam takes 1″.
- Running the seams vertically you need 2 widths of fabric, each 48″ long.
- 2 × 48″ = 96″ = 2.67 yards → round up to the next ⅛ yard: 2 3/4 yd.
Backing yardage with different overhang
| Extra per side | Backing size | 42″ fabric | 108″ wide | Metric |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2″ | 44″ × 44″ | 2 1/2 yd (2 panels) | 1 1/4 yd | 2.3 m |
| 3″ | 46″ × 46″ | 2 5/8 yd (2 panels) | 1 3/8 yd | 2.4 m |
| 4″ | 48″ × 48″ | 2 3/4 yd (2 panels) | 1 3/8 yd | 2.5 m |
| 5″ | 50″ × 50″ | 2 7/8 yd (2 panels) | 1 1/2 yd | 2.6 m |
| 6″ | 52″ × 52″ | 3 yd (2 panels) | 1 1/2 yd | 2.7 m |
Same quilt: binding & batting
- Binding for a 40 × 40 quilt: 5 strips of 2½″ → 3/8 yd.
- Batting: at least 48″ × 48″ — a Throw package fits, or 1 3/8 yd off a 96″ roll.
Try your own numbers
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