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How much backing fabric for a 50 × 60 quilt?
Throw size quilt, finished 50″ × 60″ (127 cm × 152.4 cm).
Buy
3 1/4 yd
of standard 42″–44″ quilting cotton — 2 panels × 58″ with 1 horizontal seam. Or 1 5/8 yd of 108″ wide backing (one piece, no seams — cut 58″). Metric: 3.0 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″): 50 + 8 = 58″ wide, 60 + 8 = 68″ 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 58″ long.
- 2 × 58″ = 116″ = 3.22 yards → round up to the next ⅛ yard: 3 1/4 yd.
Sewing the seams the other way (vertical) would take 2 panels × 68″ with 1 vertical seam = 3 7/8 yd , so horizontal seams save fabric.
Backing yardage with different overhang
| Extra per side | Backing size | 42″ fabric | 108″ wide | Metric |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2″ | 54″ × 64″ | 3 yd (2 panels) | 1 1/2 yd | 2.8 m |
| 3″ | 56″ × 66″ | 3 1/8 yd (2 panels) | 1 5/8 yd | 2.9 m |
| 4″ | 58″ × 68″ | 3 1/4 yd (2 panels) | 1 5/8 yd | 3.0 m |
| 5″ | 60″ × 70″ | 3 3/8 yd (2 panels) | 1 3/4 yd | 3.1 m |
| 6″ | 62″ × 72″ | 3 1/2 yd (2 panels) | 1 3/4 yd | 3.2 m |
Same quilt: binding & batting
- Binding for a 50 × 60 quilt: 7 strips of 2½″ → 1/2 yd.
- Batting: at least 58″ × 68″ — a Twin package fits, or 1 5/8 yd off a 96″ roll.
Try your own numbers
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