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How much backing fabric for a 54 × 72 quilt?
Throw size quilt, finished 54″ × 72″ (137.2 cm × 182.9 cm).
Buy
4 1/2 yd
of standard 42″–44″ quilting cotton — 2 panels × 80″ with 1 vertical seam. Or 1 3/4 yd of 108″ wide backing (one piece, no seams — cut 62″). Metric: 4.1 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″): 54 + 8 = 62″ wide, 72 + 8 = 80″ 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 80″ long.
- 2 × 80″ = 160″ = 4.44 yards → round up to the next ⅛ yard: 4 1/2 yd.
Sewing the seams the other way (horizontal) would take 3 panels × 62″ with 2 horizontal seams = 5 1/4 yd , so vertical seams save fabric.
Backing yardage with different overhang
| Extra per side | Backing size | 42″ fabric | 108″ wide | Metric |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2″ | 58″ × 76″ | 3 1/4 yd (2 panels) | 1 5/8 yd | 3.0 m |
| 3″ | 60″ × 78″ | 3 3/8 yd (2 panels) | 1 3/4 yd | 3.1 m |
| 4″ | 62″ × 80″ | 4 1/2 yd (2 panels) | 1 3/4 yd | 4.1 m |
| 5″ | 64″ × 82″ | 4 5/8 yd (2 panels) | 1 7/8 yd | 4.2 m |
| 6″ | 66″ × 84″ | 4 3/4 yd (2 panels) | 1 7/8 yd | 4.3 m |
Same quilt: binding & batting
- Binding for a 54 × 72 quilt: 8 strips of 2½″ → 5/8 yd.
- Batting: at least 62″ × 80″ — a Twin package fits, or 1 3/4 yd off a 96″ roll.
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