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How much fabric for a full size quilt?
A 84″ × 90″ full quilt takes about 15 1/2 yd of quilting cotton in all: 7 yd for the top, 7 3/4 yd for the backing and 3/4 yd for the binding. The top depends on your pattern; backing and binding don’t.
Every full size
| Quilt | Top (10″ / 5″ / 2½″ pieces) | Backing | Binding | Batting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80 × 90 | 6 1/8 / 6 3/4 / 8 yd | 7 3/8 yd | 3/4 yd | Queen |
| 84 × 90 | 6 3/8 / 7 / 8 3/8 yd | 7 3/4 yd | 3/4 yd | King |
| 86 × 100 | 7 1/4 / 8 / 9 1/2 yd | 7 7/8 yd | 7/8 yd | King |
How the top estimate works
The top is the quilt’s area, plus the ¼″ seam allowance around every piece, plus 10% for squaring up and cutting, divided by the 40″ of usable width in 42″–44″ cotton and rounded up to the next ⅛ yard. Small pieces have more seams, so they take more fabric: 2½″ pieces use about 30% more than 10″ pieces. Backing and binding are exact; see their pages for the math. How we calculate.
The rest of a full quilt
Backing for a full quilt · Binding · Batting · What size quilt for a full bed · How many fat quarters
Questions quilters ask
How much fabric do I need for a full size quilt?
About 15 1/2 yd of 42-44 inch quilting cotton for a 84 x 90 inch full quilt: roughly 7 yd for a top made of 5 inch pieces, 7 3/4 yd for the backing and 3/4 yd for the binding. Add batting: king package (120 in × 120 in).
How much fabric for the top of a full quilt?
It depends on the size of the pieces, because every seam uses fabric. For 84 x 90: about 6 3/8 yd with large 10 inch pieces, 7 yd with 5 inch pieces and 8 3/8 yd with small 2.5 inch pieces, including 10 percent for cutting. If your pattern lists fabric amounts, use those.
Why does a pattern need more fabric than this?
These numbers assume the whole top is cut from one stack of fabric. Real patterns split the top into several fabrics, and each is bought separately and rounded up, so buy about a quarter yard extra of each. Half-square triangles and other cut-then-trim units use more than plain squares.
Updated 2026-11-14.
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