How to calculate quilt binding: strips and yardage

Quick answer Add up the four sides of the quilt, add 10", and divide by about 40" per strip (42" fabric, less the diagonal joins). A 60 × 72" throw needs 7 strips of 2½", which is ½ yd. A queen (90 × 105") needs 11 strips, ⅞ yd.

Binding wraps the raw edges of your quilt. It's one long strip, pieced from shorter strips cut across the width of the fabric, folded in half and sewn around the edge. Working it out takes three small steps, and the only thing that trips people up is the fabric lost at each join.

1. Measure around the quilt

Binding goes all the way around, so you need the perimeter: 2 × (width + length). Measure the quilt after it's quilted and trimmed, not the pattern: quilting draws a quilt in by an inch or two.

A 60 × 72" quilt has a perimeter of 2 × (60 + 72) = 264".

2. Add extra for the corners and the join

You lose a little at each mitred corner and where the two ends meet. Add 10–12". For our example: 264 + 10 = 274".

3. Count the strips

Cut strips across the full width of the fabric, about 42" once you trim the selvages. Join them end to end with diagonal seams, which spread the bulk of the seam out so it doesn't make a lump at the edge.

Each diagonal join uses up about one strip width of length. For 2½" strips, the first strip gives 42" and each strip after it adds about 39½". So:

• 274" needs 7 strips: 42 + 6 × 39½ = 279", just enough
• 7 strips × 2½" = 17½" of fabric, which is ½ yd

If your fabric is narrower. Some quilting cottons are only 40" wide once the selvages are off. The same quilt then needs 8 strips, not 7. Measure your fabric, or the last strip will come up short at the final corner.

Which strip width?

Double-fold binding (folded in half lengthwise, then sewn on with the raw edges together) is the standard for quilts, because the fold makes it hard-wearing. The strip width decides how wide the binding looks on the front.

Strip width	Use it for
2¼"	A slim binding; thin cotton batting; small quilts and wall quilts
2½"	The most common width; the size of jelly roll strips
2¾"	Thick or wool batting, or when you like a wider binding

With a ¼" seam, a 2½" strip makes a binding about ⅜" wide on the front.

Binding chart

With 10" extra, strips cut across 42" fabric, rounded up to the next ⅛ yard.

Quilt	Size	2¼" strips	Fabric	2½" strips	Fabric	2¾" strips	Fabric
Baby	36 × 48"	5	⅜ yd	5	⅜ yd	5	½ yd
Throw	50 × 65"	6	⅜ yd	7	½ yd	7	⅝ yd
Twin	68 × 90"	9	⅝ yd	9	⅝ yd	9	¾ yd
Full	84 × 90"	9	⅝ yd	9	⅝ yd	10	⅞ yd
Queen	90 × 105"	11	¾ yd	11	⅞ yd	11	⅞ yd
King	106 × 105"	11	¾ yd	11	⅞ yd	11	⅞ yd

Notice the throw: 2¼" strips need one strip fewer than 2½". Wider strips lose more length at each diagonal join, so occasionally the narrower width saves a strip.

Straight grain or bias?

Strips cut across the width of the fabric (crossgrain) have a little stretch, which helps them turn the corners neatly. They're right for almost every quilt with straight edges.

Bias binding, cut at 45°, stretches much more and is only needed for curved or scalloped edges. It takes more fabric and more cutting, so don't use it unless the edge curves.

Using jelly roll strips

Jelly roll strips are already 2½" wide, so leftover strips make a scrappy binding with no cutting at all. Count them the same way: a throw needs 7, a queen 11. In the Quiltkind studio, when a binding is 2½" wide and you have a jelly roll in your stash, the plan uses spare jelly roll strips for the binding automatically.

Work it out for your quilt

Sewing it on, in brief

1. Join and fold. Join the strips with diagonal seams, trim the seams to ¼", press them open, then fold the whole strip in half lengthwise and press.
2. Start partway down a side, not at a corner. Leave a tail of about 10" loose, then sew the binding to the front of the quilt with the raw edges together and a ¼" seam.
3. Mitre the corners. Stop ¼" before the corner and backstitch. Fold the binding up at 45°, then back down along the next side, keeping the fold level with the edge you just sewed. Start sewing again from the edge.
4. Join the ends. Stop about 12" before where you started. Overlap the two tails by exactly the strip width, join them with a diagonal seam, trim, and finish sewing.
5. Turn and stitch. Fold the binding over the edge to the back and stitch it down by hand, or by machine from the front, just covering the line of stitching.

That 10" you added in step 2 of the maths is what makes step 4 possible: without it, the ends won't meet.

A tip from the cutting table

If your binding fabric is also your border fabric, cut the binding strips at the same time as the borders. In the Quiltkind studio, both show up together in the cutting plan for that fabric, so you only fold and square it up once.

Common mistakes

• Using the pattern size. Quilting shrinks the quilt a little. Measure the finished quilt before you cut the binding.
• Leaving out the extra. Without 10" or so, there's nothing left to join the two ends neatly.
• Assuming 44" fabric. After the selvages are trimmed, plan on 42" or less.
• Straight seams at the joins. They stack three layers of seam allowance in one spot; diagonal joins don't.
• Stretching the binding as you sew. It makes the edge ripple. Let the feed dogs take it through.

Frequently asked questions

How many binding strips do I need for a queen quilt?

For a 90 × 105" queen, 11 strips of 2½", cut across 42" fabric, which is ⅞ yd. That includes 10" extra for the corners and the join.

How wide should I cut binding strips?

2½" is the most common width for double-fold binding. Cut 2¼" for a slimmer binding or thin batting, and 2¾" for thick wool batting.

How much extra binding do I need?

Add 10–12" to the perimeter for the mitred corners and the final join.

How do I calculate binding yardage?

Multiply the number of strips by the strip width, then round up to the next ⅛ yard. Seven strips of 2½" is 17½", which rounds up to ½ yd.

Do I need bias binding?

Only if the edge of your quilt curves. For straight edges, strips cut across the width of the fabric are easier and use less fabric.