Quilt patterns may offer instructions for different size quilts, and usually the sizes are given in inches. Standard sizes such as twin, full, queen, or king are often arbitrary.
If you are making a bed quilt for a specific bed/mattress, here are the basic measurements you will need:
* Measure the top of the mattress from side to side and head to foot.
* With so many different thicknesses of mattresses available now, you must measure the thickness and add that twice, once for the “drop” on each side. Add 4-6″ extra for an additional 2-3″ coverage on each side. Be sure that your quilt will cover the springs and the entire bed frame, or will come to the top of the dust ruffle if you have one.
* Add the mattress thickness plus additional coverage to the length for the drop at the foot of the bed.
* Decide if you want the quilt to include a pillow-fold, and add at least an extra 24″ to the length to accommodate that.
Other details you will need to consider when you design your quilt are the type of bed frame. If there is a solid footboard, you may need to adjust the length. A four-poster type of frame may require that you split the corners at the foot so the quilt will hang neatly on either side of the post.
You may decide to make a full length quilt that will hang to the floor all around. Usually a full length quilt is finished at 1-2 inches from the floor.
If you are using a pattern or published design, and the size doesn’t match your needs, there is a simple way to adjust the size of the quilt. Trying to resize the blocks to fit will be very difficult in most cases, and it makes following the instructions confusing. An easy way to enlarge the quilt is to simply make the border wider, or add another border to make the size you need. If you need to add a pillow-fold to the length, add another row of quilt blocks to continue the design.
If you need to make the quilt smaller, omit borders or make them narrower. You can also omit rows of blocks if it doesn’t spoil the overall design.
