What size should my quilt be? Standard quilt sizes
Updated 2026-07-22
The quick answer: a quilt should cover the mattress top plus enough drop on three sides to look right — usually 8 to 12 inches per side for a bed quilt, plus another 6 to 10 inches at the top if you tuck it over pillows. Here are the standard sizes, then how to adjust them for your bed.
Looking for the full reference table with batting, backing yardage, and binding for every size? That lives on the quilt size chart.
Standard quilt sizes
| Quilt | Mattress | Common quilt size | Batting (pre-cut pack) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baby / crib | 28“ × 52“ | 36“ × 52“ | Crib, 45“ × 60“ |
| Throw / lap | — | 50“ × 65“ | Throw, 60“ × 60“ |
| Twin | 38“ × 75“ | 70“ × 90“ | Twin, 72“ × 90“ |
| Twin XL | 38“ × 80“ | 70“ × 95“ | Twin, 72“ × 90“ (snug) |
| Full / double | 54“ × 75“ | 85“ × 100“ | Full, 81“ × 96“ (check) |
| Queen | 60“ × 80“ | 90“ × 100“ | Queen, 90“ × 108“ |
| King | 76“ × 80“ | 105“ × 100“ | King, 120“ × 120“ |
| California king | 72“ × 84“ | 102“ × 104“ | King, 120“ × 120“ |
Sizes vary by maker and by taste — treat the “common quilt size” column as a starting point, not a rule.
How to size a quilt yourself
- Start with the mattress top (width × length).
- Add the drop: 8–12“ per side and at the foot for a bed quilt (more if you want it to reach the box spring, ~16–20“).
- Add a pillow tuck of 6–10“ to the length if the quilt covers the pillows.
So a queen with a 10“ drop and no pillow tuck is 60 + 20 = 80“ wide and 80 + 10 = 90“ long.
Backing and batting for each size
Both need to be larger than the quilt top — about 4 inches per side for home quilting, 4 to 6 if a longarm quilter is finishing it. That means a 90“ × 100“ queen quilt needs a backing and batting around 98“ × 108“.
- Work out the exact backing yardage (with seams) in the quilt backing calculator.
- Check whether your batting roll covers it in the batting calculator.
- Get the whole finishing list at once in the quilt yardage calculator.
How many blocks does each size take?
Divide the quilt dimensions by your finished block size, then account for sashing and borders. A 90“ × 100“ queen in 10“ blocks with 2“ sashing is roughly a 7 × 8 grid with borders making up the difference — the quilt size calculator does this in both directions.
Prefer this on paper? The printable quilt-math cheat sheet has this chart plus binding and cutting tables, sized for the sewing-room wall.