Quilt border calculator
Enter your quilt top size and up to three borders: inner, middle and outer. Choose mitered or straight corners, in inches or metric.
Measure your quilt top through the middle, before any borders.
Leave a border at 0 if you don't want it.
Border 1 (inner)
⅝ yard
Border 3 (outer)
1¼ yards
Finished quilt
62 in × 74 in
How the math works
- Each border is cut ½ inch (1.3 cm) wider than its finished width, for the seams.
- Straight corners: the two sides are the length of the quilt, then the top and bottom run across the new width. Mitered corners: every strip is its side plus twice the border width plus 6 inches (15 cm) to sew the miter.
- Each border makes the quilt bigger, so the next border is worked out on the new size.
- Strips are cut across the width of the fabric (about 40 usable inches, or 102 cm) and joined end to end, then rounded up to the next ⅛ yard or 10 cm.
Questions quilters ask
What are border 1, 2 and 3?
Border 1 is the inner border, sewn straight onto the quilt top. Border 2 is the middle border and border 3 is the outer border. Many quilts have just one or two; leave the others at 0.
Mitered or straight corners?
Straight (butted) corners are simplest: sew the sides on, then the top and bottom. Mitered corners meet at a 45° angle like a picture frame and need longer strips, so they take more fabric.
Why measure through the middle?
The edges of a quilt top stretch as it's handled. Measuring through the middle and cutting borders to that length keeps them flat instead of wavy.
Can I cut borders lengthwise instead?
Yes. Cutting along the length of the fabric avoids joins but needs fabric as long as your longest border. This calculator assumes strips cut across the width and joined, which uses the least fabric.
More free calculators: backing & batting · binding