How to make a quilt for beginners: one complete first quilt, start to finish

The plan at a glance: your first quilt cutting plan and shopping list

WOF means width of fabric, selvage to selvage. All yardage uses a usable width of 40 in (102 cm) after the selvages are trimmed from 42 to 44 in (107 to 112 cm) quilting cotton, the safe default for planning. North American shops cut in 1/8 yd steps (4.5 in); shops in metric countries cut in 10 cm steps, so each plan rounds the way your shop sells.

A finished size of 56 x 68 in (140 x 170 cm) sits right inside the usual throw range of 50 x 65 to 60 x 72 in (125 x 165 to 150 x 180 cm): big enough for the sofa, small enough to quilt on a home machine. For other sizes, see our quilt size chart.

How do you work out the fabric for a first quilt?

Every number above comes from a handful of simple rules. Learn them once and you can plan any square quilt yourself.

Why is each square cut 6 1/2 in for a 6 in finish?

Every edge of a square loses one seam allowance when it is sewn to its neighbour. Two edges across means two allowances: 6 in + 1/4 in + 1/4 in = 6 1/2 in. In metric the convention is a 0.75 cm seam, so a 15 cm square is cut 15 + 0.75 + 0.75 = 16.5 cm. Notice that 16.5 cm is not 6 1/2 in converted (that would be 16.51 cm); it is its own native plan. Mixing the two systems is the fastest way to a quilt that will not lie flat.

How much fabric for 16 squares of each print?

The yardage rule for squares works strip by strip:

1. Squares per strip = usable width divided by cut size, rounded down.
2. Strips = squares needed divided by squares per strip, rounded up.
3. Fabric = strips x cut size, plus a little for straightening and shrinkage, rounded up to what the shop sells.

Imperial: 40 / 6 1/2 = 6.15, so 6 squares per strip. 16 / 6 = 2.67, so 3 strips. 3 x 6 1/2 in = 19 1/2 in. Add 3 in for straightening: 22 1/2 in, which is exactly 5/8 yd. Buy 5/8 yd of each print.

Metric: 102 / 16.5 = 6.18, so 6 squares per strip. 3 strips x 16.5 cm = 49.5 cm. Add 5 cm: 54.5 cm. Round up to the next 10 cm: buy 60 cm of each print.

You will have two spare squares per print. Keep them. They are your test squares, your replacement for the one you cut wrong and, later, the start of a matching cushion.

How much fabric for the border?

Border strips are cut 4 1/2 in (11.5 cm) wide, the 4 in (10 cm) finish plus two seams. The side borders run the length of the centre, 60 1/2 in raw (151.5 cm). The top and bottom run across the centre plus both side borders, 56 1/2 in (141.5 cm). In total you need 234 in (586 cm) of border strip.

Strips longer than your fabric is wide are joined end to end, and each 45 degree join uses up one strip width, 4 1/2 in (11.5 cm). Six strips would come up short once the joins are taken out (6 x 40 in minus 5 x 4 1/2 in = 217 1/2 in); seven strips give you 7 x 40 in minus 6 x 4 1/2 in = 253 in (645 cm) after joining, with room to spare. That is 7 x 4 1/2 in = 31 1/2 in of fabric (7 x 11.5 cm = 80.5 cm).

How much fabric for the binding?

Binding length = perimeter + 10 in (25 cm) for the corners and the final join. Perimeter: 2 x (56 + 68) = 248 in, so 258 in of binding. 258 / 40 = 6.45, so 7 strips of 2 1/2 in = 17 1/2 in of fabric. Metric: 2 x (140 + 170) = 620 cm + 25 cm = 645 cm. 645 / 102 = 6.3, so 7 strips of 6.5 cm = 45.5 cm.

Our tip: buy the border and the binding in the same fabric, in one cut. Imperial: 31 1/2 + 17 1/2 + 3 in for straightening = 52 in, rounded up to 1 1/2 yd (54 in). Metric: 80.5 + 45.5 + 5 cm = 131 cm, rounded up to 1.4 m. A binding that matches the border frames the quilt like a picture mount, and you only cut one fabric. The full method lives in our binding guide.

How big should the backing and batting be?

For quilting on a home machine, the backing and batting extend 2 to 3 in (5 to 8 cm) beyond the top on every side; longarm quilters ask for 4 in (10 cm). For a first quilt use the generous end: 3 in (8 cm) each side, because a beginner's sandwich shifts a little as it is quilted.

Imperial: 56 + 6 = 62 in wide, 68 + 6 = 74 in long. Two widths of cotton are needed either way. Seams running across (horizontal) use 2 panels of 62 in = 124 in, buy 3 1/2 yd. Seams running down (vertical) use 2 panels of 74 in = 148 in, 4 1/8 yd. Choose horizontal and save 5/8 yd. A 108 in wide back needs a single length of 62 in: buy 1 3/4 yd.

Metric: 140 + 16 = 156 cm wide, 170 + 16 = 186 cm long. Horizontal: 2 panels of 156 cm = 312 cm, buy 3.2 m. Vertical: 2 panels of 186 cm = 372 cm. Choose horizontal. A 274 cm wide back needs one length of 156 cm: buy 1.6 m.

Trim off the selvages before you sew the panels together, and press the backing seam open. The quilt backing guide shows the seam options side by side.

Batting is cut to the backing size: at least 62 x 74 in (156 x 186 cm). Packaged batting is sold by bed size; most brands' twin packages measure about 72 x 90 in, which covers this quilt with a strip left over for a mug rug (check the label, sizes vary by a few inches).

Which batting should a beginner choose?

Two good choices, and the deciding number is the maximum quilting distance: the biggest unquilted space the maker allows before the fibres can shift in the wash.

Our pick for a first quilt is 80/20. It is soft, drapes well, washes into a gentle crinkle and forgives a slightly uneven line. If you would rather quilt fewer lines, choose cotton with scrim and quilt only in the seams. Expect cotton battings to shrink about 3 to 5 percent in the first wash if they were not prewashed; that shrinkage is what gives a quilt its cosy, crinkled look.

What tools do you need to make a quilt?

Step by step: how to make your first quilt

Step 1: Choose and prepare your fabric

Choose 100% quilting cotton. It presses crisply, holds its shape and does not stretch as you sew. For the five prints, mix values: one or two lights, a medium or two, one dark. Squint at the stack; if every print turns into the same grey blur, swap one. Value contrast is what makes the diagonal stripes sing, far more than colour.

To prewash or not? Both are right, as long as you choose one for the whole quilt. Prewash deep reds, indigo, batiks and hand dyes, and test them for bleeding. Prewash if you want a flat, smooth finish. Skip prewashing if you love the antique crinkle that unwashed cotton gives after the first wash, and never prewash precuts, which fray and shrink unevenly. Quilting cotton can shrink a few percent, which is the reason every yardage figure above includes a little extra. Whichever you choose, wash the finished quilt the first time with a colour catcher sheet.

Press every fabric before you cut. Wrinkles turn into wrong sizes.

Step 2: Cut accurately with a rotary cutter

1. Fold the fabric selvage to selvage so the fold hangs without ripples, then fold again so four layers lie flat on the mat.
2. Square up: lay a horizontal ruler line exactly on the fold and trim the ragged edge. This first cut must be at a true right angle to the fold.
3. Cut strips 6 1/2 in (16.5 cm) wide, measuring with the ruler lines, never the mat lines. The mat is for protecting the table.
4. Recut your straight edge every three or four strips. If a strip opens out with a "V" at the fold, the fold was not square: straighten and carry on.
5. Subcut each strip into squares: 6 per strip, 16 per print.
6. Stand up, spread your fingers on the ruler, cut away from your body in one steady stroke and close the blade guard after every single cut.

Left handed? Mirror every instruction: the ruler sits to your right of the cut.

Step 3: Test your quarter inch seam before you sew a single square

Here is the step most beginner guides skip, and the one that decides whether your quilt lies flat. The quilting seam is 1/4 in (0.75 cm in metric patterns). It sounds small, and it is: a seam just 1/32 in too wide, repeated across seven seams in a row, makes the row 7/16 in short. Now do that on every row, and your border will never fit.

The seam accuracy test:

1. Cut three strips 1 1/2 x 3 1/2 in (4 x 9 cm in metric).
2. Sew them together along the long edges with your quarter inch seam.
3. Press both seams away from the centre strip.
4. Measure. The unit must be exactly 3 1/2 in (9 cm) wide, and the centre strip must show exactly 1 in (2.5 cm).

Narrower than 3 1/2 in? Your seam is too wide. Sew a scant quarter inch: one or two thread widths inside the 1/4 in line (in metric, about 1 mm inside 0.75 cm). The scant seam makes up for the tiny bit of fabric that disappears into the fold when a seam is pressed to one side. Mark the line that works with a stack of masking tape or a magnetic seam guide on the bed of the machine, and test again until it measures true.

Set the stitch length to 2.0 to 2.2 mm, about 12 stitches per inch. Short stitches hold when later seams cross them, so piecing seams need no backstitching. Fit an 80/12 universal or quilting needle with 50 wt cotton thread.

Step 4: Lay out the squares and chain piece the rows

Lay all 80 squares out on the floor or a bed in 10 rows of 8, following the diagonal colour order in the layout chart. Take a photo. That photo is your map when the cat rearranges everything.

Chain piecing turns an afternoon of sewing into an hour:

1. Pick up square 1 and square 2 of every row, stacking them right sides together beside the machine, all facing the same way.
2. Start on a folded scrap (a leader) so the machine does not chew the first corner.
3. Sew the first pair, and without lifting the foot or cutting the thread, feed the next pair right behind it.
4. Keep going to make a chain of pairs joined by short threads. Snip them apart only when you are ready to press.
5. Add square 3 to each pair the same way, then 4, and so on, until all ten rows have eight squares.

Keep each row in order. A safety pin with a paper tag (row 1, row 2) costs nothing and saves a lot of unpicking.

Step 5: Press toward the dark and nest the seams

Pressing is half of piecing. Set the iron to cotton (three dots, up to 210 °C or 410 °F under ISO 3758:2023).

1. Set the seam: press it flat exactly as sewn, to sink the stitches into the fabric.
2. Open the top square and press from the right side.
3. Press, do not iron. Lift and lower the iron. Sliding it back and forth stretches the fabric and your squares stop being square.
4. Go easy on steam with pieced units; it can distort them.

Here is the trick that makes corners meet: press the seams of odd rows to the right and even rows to the left. When you lay row 1 on row 2, the seam allowances face opposite ways and butt snugly against each other. This is called nesting. Pin right through each intersection, and the corners of your squares will match as if by magic. Where pressing to the right sends an allowance under a lighter square, that is fine on a squares quilt; the alternating direction matters more here than the darker fabric rule.

Join the rows in pairs (1 to 2, 3 to 4), then join the pairs. Press the long row seams in one direction, or open if you prefer a flatter top. Your centre should now measure 48 1/2 x 60 1/2 in (121.5 x 151.5 cm), raw edge to raw edge.

Step 6: Add borders measured through the centre

This is where many first quilts get wavy edges, and the fix is one tape measure away.

1. Measure the length of the quilt through the centre and along both sides. If they differ by less than 1/2 in (1.25 cm), use the centre measurement.
2. Cut two side borders to that length: for this plan 4 1/2 x 60 1/2 in (11.5 x 151.5 cm). Join strips with a 45 degree seam where needed.
3. Pin each border at both ends and in the middle, then every few inches in between, easing the quilt to fit. Sew, then press toward the border.
4. Measure the width through the centre, including the new side borders, and cut the top and bottom: 4 1/2 x 56 1/2 in (11.5 x 141.5 cm). Sew and press toward the border.

Never sew a long strip on and simply chop off the excess. Edges stretch as you handle them, so an unmeasured border is always a little too long, and a too long border ripples.

Your finished top measures 56 1/2 x 68 1/2 in raw (141.5 x 171.5 cm), which becomes 56 x 68 in (140 x 170 cm) once the binding seam is sewn. Take a moment. You made a quilt top.

Step 7: Make the quilt sandwich and baste

The quilt sandwich is three layers: backing, batting and top. Basting holds them together while you quilt so nothing shifts.

1. Press the backing and the top. Unfold the batting a day ahead so the creases relax.
2. Tape the backing to a clean floor or a large table, wrong side up, taut but not stretched. Work from the middle of each side outward.
3. Smooth the batting over it.
4. Lay the top right side up in the middle, with 3 in (8 cm) of batting and backing showing on every side.
5. Pin baste with curved safety pins (size 1 or 2) every 3 to 4 in (8 to 10 cm), about a fist apart, starting in the centre and working outward. At 4 in (10 cm) spacing this quilt takes about 240 pins.
6. Keep pins off the lines you plan to quilt, so place them in the middle of the quarters of each square, not on the seams.
7. Close the pins. A grapefruit spoon or a pin closing tool saves your fingertips.

Other basting methods work well too. Spray basting uses a temporary textile adhesive, sprayed in a ventilated room and smoothed down in sections; it washes out. Thread basting is a grid of long running stitches 4 in (10 cm) apart, the traditional choice for hand quilting. For a first throw, pins are the calmest choice: you can reposition anything.

Step 8: Quilt it with a walking foot

Straight lines with a walking foot are the friendliest way to quilt on a home machine. The foot grips the top layer and moves it in step with the feed dogs underneath, so the layers travel together without pleats.

Set up: walking foot, 90/14 quilting or topstitch needle, 40 or 50 wt thread, stitch length 3.0 mm (anything from 2.5 to 3.5 mm works; longer stitches look crisp on a quilt).

The plan for 80/20 batting (3 in, 7.5 cm grid):

1. Roll the right half of the quilt tightly so it fits through the throat of the machine.
2. Start at the centre seam. Sew in the ditch: right in the seam line, on the low side of the pressed seam.
3. Work outward line by line, alternating the direction of neighbouring lines so the quilt does not skew.
4. Add a line through the middle of every column of squares, 3 in (7.5 cm) from each seam. Use the edge of the walking foot or a guide bar to keep the spacing even.
5. Repeat across the width. In each border, sew one line down the middle, 2 in (5 cm) from the seam.
6. Start and stop each line with three or four tiny stitches, or leave long tails and bury them with a hand needle.

That is 19 lines down and 23 lines across, each running edge to edge, with no unquilted space larger than 3 in (7.5 cm), comfortably inside the 4 in (10 cm) limit of an 80/20 batting. With cotton and scrim (10 in, 25 cm) you may stop after the ditch lines: a 6 in (15 cm) grid plus one border line.

Support the weight of the quilt on the table to your left and behind the machine. A quilt hanging off the edge drags the needle and makes uneven stitches.

Step 9: Bind the quilt

Trim the batting and backing even with the top, keeping the corners square. Then:

1. Join the seven 2 1/2 in (6.5 cm) strips end to end with 45 degree seams, press the seams open and press the long strip in half lengthwise, wrong sides together. This is double fold binding, the standard.
2. Sew the raw edges of the binding to the front of the quilt with a 1/4 in (0.75 cm) seam, using the walking foot. Start partway along one side, leaving a tail.
3. At each corner, stop 1/4 in (0.75 cm) before the edge and backstitch. Fold the binding up at 45 degrees, then down level with the next edge, and sew on from the edge. This makes a mitred corner.
4. Join the two ends neatly where they meet.
5. Fold the binding to the back and stitch it down by hand with a blind or ladder stitch, or by machine.

For a first quilt choose 2 1/2 in (6.5 cm) strips over 2 1/4 in: the fuller binding is more forgiving to fold over the edge evenly. Every detail, including joining the ends invisibly, is in our binding guide.

Add a label on the back with your name, the date and where you made it. Then wash it cool on a gentle cycle with a colour catcher sheet and watch it crinkle into a real quilt.

Where to go after your first quilt

The same rhythm (plan, cut, test, piece, press, border, sandwich, quilt, bind) carries every quilt you will ever make. Natural next steps: a four patch or nine patch, which adds nesting inside each block; then half square triangles, the most used unit in quilting (see our half square triangle chart); then flying geese and stars (see our flying geese size chart). To build a quilt from precuts instead of yardage, start with our fat quarter and precut guide.

Common first quilt mistakes and how to fix them