What Size Quilt Should You Make?

And how to measure your quilt!

So much information is out there and so many charts! It’s a little overwhelming. I took a little time to find out what is recommended and what information you might need to find out exactly what size quilt you should make. So lets break it down to as simple as we can.

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There is nothing worse then tossing that newly made quilt on the bed to find that you can still see the mattress or box springs peeking out! ”Dang it to heck” you shout! That’s what you shout – I’m about to drop some word bombs many haven’t heard but out of sailors mouths. Seriously, its so frustrating!

If you are just working with a top, and you’ve not quilted this beauty yet, there is still time to adjust. If you’ve quilted it, well – find it a new home! To fix a top only, you have the option to add additional blocks or add additional borders. I don’t mind borders at all, but only when they are planned. Know what I mean? No one wants to be forced to add an unwanted border to the quilt when it wasn’t part of the original design. Plus finding the fabric if you are out and it ends up just frustrating.

So how do we prevent all those terrible words from leaving our mouths in the first place? Well, let me just tell you how to determine what size quilt you should make that leaves no room for crying!

The very best answer is to measure the mattress and bed yourself to know exactly how big the quilt needs to be to fit the particular situation.

Here is a picture of our bed mattress and you can see that I need at least 12.5” on each side of the quilt. So 25” is needed just to overhang and cover the mattress and meet the bed. Our bed is a king, which should be 76” wide. So 76 + 25 = 101” wide for the quilt. The end of our bed is wood so we don’t really need much over the 80” of the size of the mattress. But I want it. I like to tuck my covers in tight so I’m snug as a bug in a rug at night. So I’m going to add an additional 20” to mine. So now I’m looking at needing a quilt sized 101” x 100” finished.

Typically king size quilts state they should be 110” x 108”. Likely this is to help cover box springs. In my case, I didn’t have any to cover. There are so many different types of beds out there and this is why I advocate not to stick to specific charts but to really see what is needed.

Now of course charts are perfect and handy when you are making quilts that are not for a specific bed. And that is really the perfect scenario to have a chart handy. The charts get us close enough so that expectations are met with the end user. So I have created a freebie that shows mattress sizes and quilt sizes as well. This is my own chart that I have created based on what I have researched and know.

Other Pointers

>>Keep in mind mattress toppers are really popular and can add an additional 1” – 4” to the height of a mattress! Plus they feel so good!

>>When making adjustments to a finished top, such as adding additional borders, just keep in mind your design on the quilt. For example, if you made this Sea to Shining Sea Quilt Kit from the great online quilt shop The Fat Quarter Shop, then you’ll want to keep it centered when its on the bed. (By the way, what a great patriotic quilt!)

>>Lap quilts can be just about any size. If you hit up Google for a general size you will see all kinds of sizes! 50” x 60” or 60” x 72 or 60” x 60”. Just really all over the place. Make what you feel you’ll like and your recipient will like.

So what size quilt should you make? Let me know down in the comments how this helped you!

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