Quilting Tips: Calculating Yardage for Straight-Grain Binding

Binding is something we all need for our quilts and there certainly are mathematical formulas for calculating yardage for it. But what could make it easier than a chart? Here is an excerpt from our All-in-One Quilter’s Reference Tool.

Measure and add up the lengths of all 4 sides of your quilt, then add 10″. Find that number in the column on the left and look across the row to see how many strips you’ll need to cut and how much yardage you’ll need to cut them.

We give yardage for double-fold binding (see the diagram on the right) and for single-fold binding (see the diagram on the left). The cutting width for double-fold is 1 5/8″. The cutting width for single-fold is 1 1/8″. This is for the most common finished binding width: 1/4″. For other finished binding widths, see the Reference Tool mentioned above.