Adding Borders, Rows, or Columns to Your 3-Yard Quilt!
Adding Borders, Rows, or Columns to Your 3-Yard Quilt!
Our quick and easy 3-Yard quilt patterns are on average 43" x 56" or so in size. That's a great lap-size quilt for cozying up on the porch or movie night on the couch. But sometimes you want your quilt to be a bit bigger without enlarging to a twin-topper size. Or maybe you love a 3-Yard quilt so much and want to customize it with a dramatic border using a striking bonus fabric. We'll show you the way to add borders in no time.
Town Square from the book Easy Peasy 3-Yard Quilts .
Adding a Border
Step 1 - Measure:
Select the 3-Yard quilt you want to work with to add a border. Start by measuring each side of the quilt - top, right, bottom, and left - and then add those four measurements together. This is the "perimeter" of the quilt.
Once you have this measurement, you'll want to decide what size border you want to add and then determine the amount of fabric you'll need.
Our free goodie gives a fabric chart you can print and save for a quick guide with fabric requirements for a 2" border or 5" border already calculated for you!
Step 2 - Cut Border Strips:
Based on the perimeter measurement, use the chart to determine the number and size of strips to cut. For example, if we make the 5" border, you'll cut six 5 1/2" strips.
Step 3 - Assemble Border:
Using the border strips you cut, sew them together end to end. Sew this long strip to each side of the quilt; trim even with the top and bottom. Using the remaining strip, sew to the top and bottom; trim even with the sides. See the results here!
Here's another version pulling the teal color into the border in a slightly more tonal fabric. How striking!
TIP: Adding a border to your quilt will increase the amount of fabric you need for your binding. Keep that in mind.
TIP:Did you know we have free goodies on our website with patterns, reference sheets, and guides? Click here for the goodies page and explore our bonus materials just for you!
Adding Rows or Columns
While borders are a great enlargement method, they're not everyone's favorite aesthetic. If you want to enlarge your quilt without adding borders, the pattern has everything you need!
With this approach, the first step is making sure you have enough extra fabric on hand for each of the three fabrics in the pattern. The amount of extra fabric needed will vary by pattern but should most often be an additional 1/4 to 1/2 yard of each fabric. Read carefully through your pattern cutting instructions and take notes as to the cut sizes and number of finished blocks and borders it yields. Add up the cut sizes to see how much additional fabric you'll need.
Let's take a moment and look at the enlargement instructions provided for each quilt in one of the Fabric Café books. This can give us some clues on how to enlarge.
To make a twin-size quilt, you double the fabric amount needed: two yards each of three fabrics. Most 3-Yard quilts are made of 24 blocks. If you double the 24 blocks, you make 48. This is usually how a twin quilt is upsized: twice the blocks, twice the fabric.
What if you only want to add width to the quilt? If there are six rows of four blocks each, then you would need to add six blocks to make the quilt six rows of five blocks each. You are adding one-quarter more blocks, so logically you would need one-quarter more fabric. I would prepare for at least 1 1/4 yards of each of your three fabrics. However, buying a little extra never hurts.
What if you want to add a row to the bottom? If the quilt is six rows of four blocks each, you would make an extra four blocks. Again, we would recommend 1 1/4 yards of each of your three fabrics to make sure you have plenty.
What if you wanted to add width and length? If the quilt is a total of 24 blocks, six rows of four blocks, then you would add 11 blocks to the quilt. One block extra on each row and one extra row of five blocks equals 11 blocks. This is half as many blocks as originally needed for a lap size. A lap-size quilt uses three 1-yard cuts of fabric; half again as much would equal 1 1/2 yards of each fabric.
This formula is generalized, but a good guideline for adding size to your quilt and figuring up fabric requirements.
In this example, we'll be enlarging the Pretty Simple from our 3-Yard Quilt Favorites .
Most patterns alternate blocks, so be sure to select the blocks in the order they would appear next in the quilt. View the enlargement diagram to be sure you select the correct blocks to add.
You'll then proceed to adding the borders - again, you may need additional fabric for this as well.
You can add a row, a column, or both!
TIP: Want a super quick-finish quilt? Take a beloved one-yard or 24" panel and follow our instructions for adding borders! You'll finally make use of that panel you love and will have a quilt top in a flash to gift or donate!
