The Complete Guide to Baby Quilt Sizes

The possibility of choosing colors, themes, or fabrics that have a special meaning to you makes handmade baby quilts a priceless gift. Moreover, nothing says you care so much about a baby as making them a special blanket just for them! Check out this complete guide for baby quilt sizes if you are wondering how big to make your blanket.

A newborn or baby quilt that measures 30″ X 40″ and a preemie quilt that measures 30″ X 30″ are the most popular sizes. The size of the crib quilt should be 36″ X 56″ as the baby grows. Lap quilts or throws of 50″ x 65″ are also popular with babies and their parents.

We have provided several handy charts to help you plan the size of your baby quilt in this article. Throughout this article, you will learn about the four most common baby quilt sizes. Lastly, we will discuss how to make a baby quilt and what kind of materials to use.

Baby Quilt Size Chart

Use this chart to see how many inches and centimeters your baby quilt will measure at-a-glance.

Please keep in mind that these sizes may vary slightly. Each quilt style has slightly larger or smaller measurements than the standard, the most popular measurements are shown in the chart.

Four Standard Baby Quilt Sizes

Preemie quilts, crib quilts, toddler quilts, and lap quilts are the four most popular baby quilt sizes. The size of your handmade quilt is pretty much up to you! Standard sizes are easier to cut out and plan because many resources are available to help you.

Choose a quilt size that is appropriate for the baby’s age when choosing the right quilt size. In a newborn quilt, for example, there are usually small squares, while a toddler quilt has a much larger rectangle.

Preemie and Newborn Quilt

In general, a 30″ square baby quilt is the most popular size for preemies or newborns. This will, however, vary from one country to another. Preemies may benefit from quilts as small as 22″ square, while others may prefer 30″ x 30″ blankets because of the extra room they provide.

As a gift, a 30″ square is also a great idea for newborns and will make a great hospital quilt or car seat cover for brand-new parents. Despite its compact size, this stroller is easy to maneuver while carrying all the “baby paraphernalia” that goes with it, including diaper bags and strollers.

The great thing about this small, square baby quilt is that its backing can be made from a solid piece of fabric rather than being pieced together as you would for a larger quilt. The process of blocking a square quilt is also simplified!

Nevertheless, 30″ X 40″ rectangles also rank high as popular sizes for newborn quilts. With this slightly larger measurement, you will be able to create your unique quilting pattern on a bigger canvas!

Crib or Cot Quilt

A standard-sized mattress usually comes with a baby crib or cot, so a standard-sized quilt should fit the mattress with 36″ X 52″. Quilts of this size will likely stay with a baby for much of the baby’s early childhood since they are so much larger than newborn blankets!

It is, however, recommended that infants not sleep with heavy blankets or quilts. It is primarily intended to serve as a decorative item in a crib until the baby is at least six months old.

This big crib-size quilt, on the other hand, will remain cozy for years after a baby outgrows the newborn-size 30″ square quilt. These quilts can be used as floor mats or lap throws by parents.

Toddler Quilt

A toddler quilt is commonly 46 inches by 70 inches in size and fits a standard-sized toddler bed. It is also common to see toddler quilts made either in the standard crib quilt size of 36″ X 52″ or even in rectangles that are as big as 70″ X 90″, depending on the size of the toddler’s bed.

A toddler is usually between the ages of two and four or five years old. You may want to consider making a toddler quilt for the new baby if you want to give them a gift they can cherish for a long time.

This larger blanket will require more fabric, so keep that in mind. To make the average toddler blanket, you will need about 1 23 yards of fabric for the face of the quilt, as well as batting and material for the back of the quilt.

Lap Quilt

In terms of sizing, you will see a lot of variation in lap quilts, but 46″ X 60″ is the most popular. In this case, there is no need to cover a mattress of a standard size with this quilt. It is a great way for parents to snuggle up with their new baby instead!

Lap quilts have only one rule: they should be large enough to cover the adult and child generously. In general, if you use a standard size like 46″ X 60″, you’ll be able to find free quilt blocking designs and patterns online.

In addition to 36″ X 48″, 36″ X 36″ squares are also common lap quilt sizes. Besides making a beautiful floor mat, 36-inch square baby quilts are also great for use as play areas!

Lap quilts can be made quite simply if you want to stitch them up quickly, but they can also be made with intricate, artistic designs. You can more easily invest a lot of time in making beautiful blankets since they are not seen as often as crib quilts or newborn quilts.

What is the Best Size Square for a Baby Quilt?

Generally, four or five-inch squares are best for baby quilts, but this depends on the size of the quilt overall. If you choose a quilt size, you should be able to divide the quilt squares easily into the total area!

The 6″ square and 12″ square are also popular quilt square sizes. In addition, there are a few popular baby quilt patterns that use 10″ squares. What is the best way to know how many squares you need for your quilt?

You can easily determine the number of squares your quilt needs by multiplying the length of each side by the width. As a result, you will be able to determine the quilt’s total area in inches.

The next step is to determine how big your quilt square is. The area of a five-inch square can be calculated by multiplying five by five.

To calculate the total area of the quilt, divide the area of each square by the total area of the quilt. If you want to make a quilt with 5″ squares that are 30″ X 30″, you would do the math as follows:

• 30 X 30 = 900
• 5 X 5 = 25
• 900 ÷ 25 = 36

The number of squares needed to make a 30-inch quilt would be 36 five-inch squares!

There are also free online quilt calculators available, such as this one, if all that math seems overwhelming. The calculation for your quilt squares can even be adjusted to include a seam allowance.

Here’s another handy chart you might find useful!

Many quilters use four- and five-inch squares for their quilts because they are easy to work with. Due to the popularity of these quilt square sizes, you can easily find suggested quilt patterns and designs online.

It is also popular to use twelve-inch squares for baby quilts, particularly since you will only need a few of them!

How Many Fat Quarters Are Needed For A Baby Quilt?

It depends entirely on the size of the finished quilt and how many fat quarters you will need to make it. There will be more fabric needed for a large lap throw baby quilt than for a small newborn quilt!

Fat quarters are 18″ by 21″ squares of fabric. It may look like a fat quarter is the same size as a quarter yard, but a fat quarter is cut out with more length than if you simply folded a yard of fabric into quarters.

Fat quarter bundles with matching colors or fun themes like cats or teddy bears are often available at fabric stores.

You will probably be able to find out how many fat quarters you need in a quilting pattern if you use one. Calculate how much fabric you’ll need for your pattern if you plan to design it yourself.

The fat quarter can be divided into twenty 4” squares, twelve 5” squares, and nine 6” squares. You can easily determine how many fat quarters to use if you know how many squares your quilt will include!

A baby quilt should also include multiple colors and patterns when choosing fat quarters. To get those additional colors and patterns, you may need to purchase more fabric than the exact area of your quilt surface.

How Many 5X5 Squares Do You Need for a Baby Quilt?

Depending on the size of the quilt, you’ll need a certain number of 5″ squares. Here is a quick chart you can use to determine how many 5″ squares you need for each baby quilt size:

Baby Quilt Batting Sizes

Ideally, your batting should measure six to eight inches bigger than your quilt’s surface. A baby quilt’s batting size is determined by its size.

A good batting for a quilt should be able to cover the entire shape of the quilt without any problems. In contrast to full-sized quilts, baby quilts are usually quite small, so one-piece batting is often easy to find!

So, what exactly is batting? Quilt batting provides an extra layer of warmth between the fancy quilt surface and the plain backing. In this case, the stuffing is rolled up rather than in a big cloud of stuffing like in a pillow.

As far as quilt batting is concerned, you can purchase it in varying thicknesses, called lofts. High-loft batting is usually not necessary for baby quilts. If you want to buy batting, look for one with a low loft. You will also be able to sew the quilt more smoothly this way!

There are many types of batting available. Parents may prefer cotton batting over synthetic polyester batting due to its natural properties and breathability.

The batting for your quilt should also be a bit bigger than the surface area of the quilt. Your “quilt sandwich” is sealed with the batting in the middle and can be bound with a pretty binding!

Ultimately, you will need to measure the batting you will use for your baby quilt based on its size. It is recommended that you use batting that measures at least 36″ X 36″ for a newborn quilt that measures 30″ X 30″.

How Should You Choose Fabric for a Baby Quilt?

Cotton flannel, organic quilting cotton, and quilting cotton are the most common fabrics used in baby quilts. A large number of quilters prefer using organic cotton, which has the same benefits as quilting cotton, but contains no chemicals or pesticides and is safe for baby’s sensitive skin.

What makes cotton the best material for baby quilts? To begin with, cotton can be washed in a washing machine without destroying it. You should use a washable fabric since babies tend to make a lot of mess!

Additionally, cotton has excellent breathability and absorbs moisture easily. A baby can stay warm without feeling stifled or clingy wearing it.

Aside from its softness, cotton is also very durable. It may even be a good idea to use cotton flannel if you are looking for extra-soft cotton fabric for your quilt. In many fabric stores, you can find kid-friendly prints and colors in this type of material.

There may be a temptation to purchase the cheaper synthetic quilting fabrics on the market. Synthetic fabrics such as polyester, however, may cause allergic reactions in some babies. Your handmade baby blanket should therefore be made of an all-natural fabric like cotton.

Conclusion

The standard baby quilt size ranges from newborns, preemies, toddlers, and lap throws to baby cribs. Despite some variations among these standard types of baby quilts, using the most common measurements will make it easier to plan your handmade quilt. A newborn quilt is typically 30″ x 30″, a crib quilt is usually 36″ x 52″, a toddler quilt can typically measure 70″ x 90″, and a lap throw quilt is typically 46″ x 60″.

In addition, you will need to find a piece of batting that measures about 60 to 8 inches larger than the quilt’s surface. In this way, the blanket will provide a layer of insulating warmth.