I believe that all quilts are the perfect size. If there has been fabric lovingly stitched together around a cottony soft batting, you can bet it’s perfect for me. I adore a decorative accent quilt, a pillow cover, a lap sized quilt or one that’s big enough to curl up under. I’m often at my happiest when surrounded by quilts, so you’ll never find my bed without one.
When I want to cover a bed, there are a few things I like to consider and I find that it never hurts to measure the specific mattress I am sewing for. Many of today’s mattresses are extra deep so this helps me determine how much quilt is necessary for the side drop. I prefer the drop on my bed to be long enough to easily cover the mattress plus a couple inches of the bed-skirt, so I add those inches on three edges (both sides and the bottom.) If I intend to tuck-cover pillows instead of using cases or shams, it takes an additional fifteen or twenty inches added to the top edge to completely fold over the pillows. As you might imagine, my bed-sized quilts get very large, very quickly!
While there are “standard” sizes for quilts, I created a little chart that helps me target the minimum size I need to fully cover a bed mattress . All measurements are in inches and are only meant to be a guide. The basic formula is: width + 2) desired drop and length + 1) desired drop. Don’t forget the additional length if you plan to tuck your pillows!
Much like the creative element we all tend to stitch into our quilts, sizing may vary to accommodate a particular pattern design or perhaps to add a for a little extra length or width to suit the end user. Whatever size a quilt ends up, I feel confident that it will be perfect.
Do you have a process for determining quilt sizes? I’d love to hear your tips