How did the borders post work for ya? I cause I’m back with a brand new post for backing! Now if at all possible you can by 108″ wide backing I would suggest you do it cause it will be just a tiny bit less work for you but I’m going to show you how to figure backing fabric with the standard 42″ fabric. 108″ backing is great for king or queen sized quilt, but a touch overkill for baby blankets.
Now everyone get their supplies: pencil, paper, calculator, your quilt top and something to measure it with (cutting mat or measuring tape), that half empty bottle of Advil or the rest of the wine.
Now just remember that you will be working in inches until the very last step when it will convert to yards.
Let’s get Backing!
Step 1: Measure the width and length of your quilt top.
If you have just done your border then you’ll this information very handy. Mine is 51×61.
Step 2:
If your going to have it quilted by someone else, like by us for example, then you’ll need an extra 4 inches all the way around the quilt, but talk to you local quilter or service before hand so you know exactly how much leaders they will need.
MSQC requires 4 inches, so that is the number we will be working with.
Add 4 inches to the width and the length of your quilt.
51 + 4 = 55 inches
61 + 4 = 65 inches
Width +4 = A
Length + 4 = B
Step 3:
Take your New Length and divide it by 36. This is the amount of yardage you will need.
65/36 = 1.8
New Length (B)/36 = Yardage needed
But wait, you’re not done yet! That covers the length of the quilt.
Step 4:
Remember that my quilt is 55 inches wide and the yardage I pick is only 42 inches wide. Right now the 2 yards (I rounded up) that I figured will only cover 2/3 of my quilt.
Take the width of your quilt and subtract the width of the yardage you want to use.
55 – 42 = 13 inches that’s naked (OMG)
So I’m going to have a seam in my backing, which is no big deal, by the time it’s quilted you won’t even notice. Simply double your yardage from before, mine was 2 so I’ll have 4 yards total cut. I will then sew my two 2 yard cuts together and voila! My backing is ready and I can now get it quilted.
Check out MSQC’s quilting services here!
Good luck!
Kate