Quilt Size Chart and Calculator: Standard Sizes in Inches

Quilting Daily and Missouri Star both put a queen quilt at 90 × 95 in. The chart above gives every size’s range and its sources.

For your own bed: width = mattress width + 2 × drop (the overhang at each side and the foot), and length = mattress length + drop + pillow tuck (extra length for the pillows). The calculator above does this for you.

Why quilt size charts disagree

Charts differ partly in the drop they pick, partly in the tuck; some don’t say which, and one states a drop its sizes don’t match. Here is what each queen implies on Sleep Foundation’s 60 × 80 in queen, the calculator’s mattress.

Our math: side drop = (quilt width − 60) ÷ 2; drop + tuck = quilt length − 80.

*Suzy Quilts says its sizes “are approximate and can vary from 4″ - 8″”, so its figures here and in the chart above are approximate.

Missouri Star says its sizes “include a standard 10–12 inch drop on each side and a pillow tuck.” Its row above implies 15 in at each side, and a 10–12 in foot drop would leave a 3–5 in tuck, short of its usual 8–10 in (step 3).

Our advice: choose the drop first, then the size. A chart’s number is right only if you want its drop.

How to size a quilt for your bed

1. Measure the mattress: width, length and depth. Quilting Daily calls 7–9 in standard, 10–15 in deep and 15–22 in extra deep.
2. Pick a drop with the drop style buttons. Short is 12 in, the top of the “10-12 inches per side” Missouri Star says most quilters add. Coverlet is 15 in, because Quilting Daily bases most of its chart on a 15-inch-deep mattress. That covers the sides of a 15 in deep mattress; use your own depth otherwise. A coverlet covers the mattress top and sides and stops near the bottom edge. Full to floor is 21 in, the “Standard drop from the top of the bed to the floor” at J&O Fabrics, a fabric retailer. Better still, measure: your mattress depth, or top of mattress to floor (Missouri Star’s method).
3. Add a pillow tuck if you want one. Quilting Daily adds 10 in; Missouri Star says “usually 8–10 inches.”
4. Allow for shrinkage. Moderate to heavy quilting “may reduce the finished size of your quilt by 1″ to 3″ or more” (Quilting Daily), and cotton quilts “typically shrink 3-5% after the first wash” (Missouri Star). Our advice: for an exact size, plan the top (the pieced front) at least 1–3 in bigger for moderate to heavy quilting, plus enough for a 3–5% wash each way: a 105 in length needs about 3 1/4 to 5 1/2 in more (105 ÷ 0.97, 105 ÷ 0.95). Missouri Star suggests adding 2–3 in to your dimensions “if you need an exact finished size”; ours is larger because 3–5% of a 105 in length is already more than 3 in.

Worked example (before any shrinkage allowance): a 60 × 80 in queen mattress, a 15 in coverlet drop and a 10 in tuck. Width 60 + 2 × 15 = 90 in; length 80 + 15 + 10 = 105 in: a 90 × 105 in quilt. Open it in the calculator, then use the buttons under the result to send this size to the backing and binding calculators.

The buttons send the size without your allowance. In the backing calculator, add it to Quilt top width and Quilt top length, not to Extra backing per side (the margin around the top). Backing is the fabric on the back of the quilt. Binding, the strip that finishes the edges, goes on last: use the binding button’s size as sent, or measure the quilt after quilting.

Quilts that aren’t for a bed

• Crib and toddler. Quilting Daily lists both beds on a 27 × 52 in mattress (28 × 52 in its PDF chart). Safe to Sleep (NICHD) says: “Keep comforters, quilts, pillows, and blankets out of baby’s sleep area.”
• Lap and throw get separate rows. FaveQuilts, a craft publisher, says “Lap quilt patterns are generally smaller than your typical throw quilt pattern,” though the lap sizes in the chart run up to 55 in wide and 72 in long, overlapping the throw’s 50–70 × 50–80 in. Missouri Star’s throw guide says “Most throw quilts measure between 50” x 60” and 60” x 70”.” It also names “Smaller throws, around 40” x 60”” as “great for children or as lightweight lap quilts”; the chart’s throw row leaves those out. Suzy Quilts calls its 50 × 65 in throw/lap “very approximate.”
• Wheelchair: see the last FAQ.

Next: backing and binding

Or try the 90 × 105 in example in the backing or binding calculator. To plan the top’s fabric, list your cut pieces in the fabric yardage calculator.

FAQs

How big should a full size quilt be?

A full mattress is 54 × 75 in (Sleep Foundation). With a 15 in drop, the quilt is 54 + 2 × 15 = 84 in wide and 75 + 15 = 90 in long: the 84 × 90 in that Quilting Daily and Missouri Star give. With a 12 in drop it is 78 × 87 in, Fat Quarter Shop’s figure. Add a pillow tuck to the length if you want one. Try the full mattress with a 15 in drop.

What size quilt is 60 × 80?

60 × 80 in is the top of a queen mattress (Sleep Foundation), so on a queen it would have no drop. On a twin mattress, 38 × 75 in, it hangs (60 − 38) ÷ 2 = 11 in over each side and 80 − 75 = 5 in at the foot. Off the bed, it falls inside the throw row (50–70 × 50–80 in), at its longest.

What is the most common quilt size?

Missouri Star says the queen (90 × 95 in) “is the most commonly made bed quilt,” and the throw “the most popular size overall when you include non-bed quilts.” We found no survey data on this in the other sources we checked.

What size quilt fits a twin XL dorm bed?

About 68–70 × 95 in. A twin XL mattress is 38 × 80 in (Sleep Foundation), 5 in longer than a twin. Quilting Daily’s printable PDF chart and Suzy Quilts (approximate) give 70 × 95 in; Quilting Daily’s web table says 70 × 90 in but lists a 39 × 76 in mattress beside it. The calculator with a 15 in drop gives 68 × 95 in (try it). A twin quilt on this bed hangs 5 in less at the foot.

How far should a quilt hang over the bed?

Between about 10 and 21 in, in the sources we compared. Step 2 above gives each figure and its source.

What size is a wheelchair quilt?

FaveQuilts charts four wheelchair sizes, from 33 × 40 to 40 × 40 in, including a 36 × 36 in square. Missouri Star gives 36 × 40 in, which it says “Covers the lap without catching in wheels.” To plan the back, open Missouri Star’s 36 × 40 in in the backing calculator and change it to your size there.