Calculator
Quilt Binding Calculator
Binding strips and yardage for any quilt, straight-grain or bias binding. By default, a 60 × 72 in quilt needs 7 strips and 1/2 yd. Every step shown.
Binding fabric to buy
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Drawn to scale
Straight grain: strips cut across the width of fabric, each strip hatched in turn. Bias: the square (or squares) you cut, with the bias lines drawn at 45°. Grid squares are 6 in. The cut list below says the same in words.
Show the math
Cut list
By default, a 60 × 72 in quilt needs 276 in of binding (the strip folded over the quilt’s raw edges). That’s 7 straight-grain strips 2 1/2 in wide. Straight-grain strips follow the threads; these are cut on the crosswise grain, across the width of fabric (WOF) from selvage to selvage (the woven factory edges). The calculator counts 42 in usable. Buy 1/2 yd. Bias binding (strips cut at 45° to the threads, for curved edges) takes one 29 in square, 7/8 yd. The Show the math panel above lists every step, rounding fabric up to the next 1/8 yd. Using the same fabric elsewhere in the quilt? See Next to buy one cut.
Binding length: perimeter plus extra
The calculator adds 12 in to the perimeter for mitered corners (folded at 45° for a neat square corner) and joining the ends. That’s near the low end of published advice. Utah State University (USU) Extension adds 10 in “to deal with seams and corners.” Fat Quarter Shop, a quilting retailer, says to add 20 in. Quilting Daily adds about 24 in.
The extra only changes what you buy when it pushes the length past another strip. On 60 × 72, 10 or 12 in gives 7 strips, but 20 in gives 8 strips and 5/8 yd (see the 60 × 72 example with 20 in extra). Or change that field in your form.
Our advice: if you want margin, enter 20 or 24.
2 1/4 or 2 1/2 inch strips?
For straight-grain binding, pick either: on 60 × 72 both give 7 strips and 1/2 yd. Only bias changes: 3/4 yd, a 27 in square (see the 60 × 72 example at 2 1/4 in, or choose 2 1/4 in as your strip width). USU and Quilting Daily cut 2 1/4 in; Fat Quarter Shop’s tutorial uses 2 1/2 in double-fold strips (folded in half lengthwise, so two layers wrap the edge). Finished widths: binding width guide.
Usable width and the join: 42 in or 40 in?
APQS notes that “fabric widths vary from 41 to 44 inches” (APQS). Usable width is what’s left after you trim off the selvages.
Fat Quarter Shop’s backing chart assumes 42 in wide fabric. USU and the shop My Favorite Quilt Store count 40 in usable, so this calculator’s 42 in is the high end. APQS uses a 40 in strip length that also allows for the diagonal seam, close to the 39 1/2 in per strip below. Our advice: measure after trimming and enter what you get.
The calculator then assumes each diagonal join (two strip ends overlapped at right angles) uses about one strip width, so each strip gives 42 − 2 1/2 = 39 1/2 in. Counting a join on every strip overstates the join loss by one strip width at most (our reasoning), so it errs toward enough.
Straight-grain or bias binding
Straight grain suits square corners; bias stretches around curves. As USU puts it: “Bias binding is not needed unless you have a curved edge.”
The bias figure is an approximation. The calculator’s 2 in margin is meant to cover what continuous bias (one long strip cut in a spiral from a sewn tube) loses to end triangles and seam allowances. A square yields about side² ÷ strip width inches of binding: 29² ÷ 2.5 = 336.4 in, against 276 in needed (our arithmetic). Phoebe Moon’s chart takes √(perimeter × strip width) + 3 in, unrounded: a square side of about 28 3/4 in here. She warns: “You may find that you need to increase this size by up to 20%.”
Our advice: for bias from fabric you can’t replace, buy the next 1/8 yd up.
Cutting and pressing the strips
Cut straight-grain strips across the WOF, or the bias square from the cut list. With a rotary cutter, OLFA says: “Cut away from yourself, never toward yourself.” And: “Automatically close the cutter when you complete a cut.” Join the strips with diagonal seams. Before pressing, Rowenta’s iron manual warns: “Burns can occur from touching hot metal parts, hot water, or steam.” Then press the seams open, and press the strip in half lengthwise for double-fold binding.
Next: the rest of your fabric
Is your binding fabric also in your border or top? For straight grain, the Add these strips to the fabric yardage calculator button under the form carries your own strips to the fabric yardage calculator; add those pieces and buy one cut. By hand: Width is your usable width, Height your strip width, How many your strip count. For bias, enter the square side as both Width and Height, and the number of squares as How many.
Top already pieced? Next is the quilt backing calculator. Cutting binding from standard-width backing fabric? Add this page’s yardage to that total; both round up, so the sum leaves a little extra.
FAQs
How much binding do I need for a quilt?
Measure the perimeter and add extra for the corners and the final join. Published guides add 10 in to about 24 in (the calculator’s default is 12). Say your quilt is 50 × 65 in: 230 + 12 = 242 in, which is 7 strips 2 1/2 in wide and 1/2 yd. More in “Binding length” above.
How many binding strips do I need?
Divide the binding length by your usable WOF minus one strip width, then round up. USU’s shortcut is (perimeter + 10) ÷ 40. For a 50 × 65 in quilt that’s (230 + 10) ÷ 40 = exactly 6, with no slack. The calculator’s extra 2 in of allowance (12 in vs. USU’s 10), or its 39 1/2 in per strip, would each tip that to 7. See “Usable width and the join” above.
How do you calculate bias binding?
Square side = √(binding length × strip width), rounded up, plus 2 in. Say your quilt is 90 × 108 in with 2 1/2 in strips: 408 × 2 1/2 = 1,020 sq in, and √1,020 = 31.94, so 32 + 2 makes a 34 in square, 1 yd. It’s an approximation; see “Straight-grain or bias binding” above.
How much binding for a queen-size quilt?
That depends on the quilt’s finished size, not the bed, so take the size from the quilt size chart first. Say your quilt is 90 × 108 in: 408 in of binding, 11 strips 2 1/2 in wide, 7/8 yd (see the 90 × 108 example; this replaces your inputs).
How much binding can I get from a fat quarter?
About 120–130 in from 7 strips 2 1/2 in wide (our arithmetic). That’s enough for roughly a 24 × 30 in wall quilt, not a 60 × 72. The retailer Fat Quarter Shop describes a fat quarter as “a frequently used piece of fabric” measuring 18 × 21 in (precut guide). By our arithmetic, that’s about a quarter yard of fabric, cut squarish instead of as a 9 in strip across the WOF. Measure yours, trim any selvage off the end, and enter the trimmed length as the usable width.