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How much binding for a 40 × 40 quilt?
Baby size quilt, finished 40″ × 40″.
Buy
3/8 yd
Cut 5 strips 2½″ wide across the width of fabric for 172″ of double-fold binding. Metric: 0.4 m.
How it's worked out
- Perimeter: (40 + 40) × 2 = 160″.
- Add about 12″ to join the ends and turn the corners: 172″.
- Each strip across 42″–44″ fabric gives about 40″ usable, minus ~2½″ for each diagonal join → 37½″ per strip.
- 172 ÷ 37½ = 4.59 → 5 strips. 5 × 2½″ = 12 1/2″ → round up to 3/8 yd.
Binding by strip width
| Strip width | Strips | Buy | Metric | Bias (continuous) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2″ | 5 | 3/8 yd | 0.3 m | 20 5/8″ square (5/8 yd) |
| 2 1/4″ | 5 | 3/8 yd | 0.3 m | 22″ square (5/8 yd) |
| 2 1/2″ | 5 | 3/8 yd | 0.4 m | 23 1/4″ square (3/4 yd) |
| 3″ | 5 | 1/2 yd | 0.4 m | 25 3/4″ square (3/4 yd) |
Bias binding is only needed for curved or scalloped edges; straight-grain strips are fine for square corners.
Same quilt: backing
Backing for a 40 × 40 quilt: 2 3/4 yd of 42″ fabric (2 panels with 1 vertical seam).
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