Edge to edge quilting designs
An edge to edge design is one pattern stitched over the whole quilt, border to border, without following the blocks. It is the quickest way to finish a quilt, it holds the layers evenly, and it suits busy or scrappy tops where custom quilting would not show.
By Editorial Staff
13 edge to edge designs
StipplingLines ½" apart
MeanderLines 1¼" apart
Boxy meanderLines ¾" apart
LoopsLines 2" rows apart
Straight linesLines 1" apart
MatchstickLines ¼" apart
CrosshatchLines 1½" apart
GridLines 2" apart
Wavy linesLines 1½" apart
ZigzagLines 1½" apart
Baptist fanLines 4" fans apart
ClamshellLines 3" shells apart
Orange peelLines 3" squares apart
Thread for an edge to edge quilt
| Design | Crib | Throw | Twin | Full | Queen | King |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stippling | 384 yd | 614 yd | 896 yd | 1,147 yd | 1,383 yd | 1,659 yd |
| Meander | 153 yd | 245 yd | 358 yd | 458 yd | 552 yd | 662 yd |
| Boxy meander | 276 yd | 441 yd | 643 yd | 823 yd | 992 yd | 1,190 yd |
| Loops | 350 yd | 560 yd | 817 yd | 1,045 yd | 1,260 yd | 1,512 yd |
| Straight lines | 206 yd | 330 yd | 481 yd | 616 yd | 742 yd | 890 yd |
| Matchstick | 824 yd | 1,319 yd | 1,923 yd | 2,461 yd | 2,967 yd | 3,560 yd |
| Crosshatch | 275 yd | 440 yd | 641 yd | 821 yd | 989 yd | 1,187 yd |
| Grid | 206 yd | 330 yd | 481 yd | 616 yd | 742 yd | 891 yd |
| Wavy lines | 151 yd | 242 yd | 353 yd | 452 yd | 545 yd | 654 yd |
| Zigzag | 154 yd | 246 yd | 359 yd | 459 yd | 553 yd | 664 yd |
| Baptist fan | 299 yd | 478 yd | 697 yd | 892 yd | 1,076 yd | 1,291 yd |
| Clamshell | 216 yd | 345 yd | 504 yd | 645 yd | 777 yd | 933 yd |
| Orange peel | 432 yd | 692 yd | 1,009 yd | 1,291 yd | 1,557 yd | 1,868 yd |
Top and bobbin thread together, at the spacing drawn on each design's page, with 10% for starts and tails. A 90" × 108" queen is 67.5 square feet of quilting.
Choosing a design
- Curves soften a quilt of straight seams; straight lines and zigzags suit modern quilts and stripes.
- Scale the design to the quilt. Lines 1" to 2" apart look right on a bed quilt; very small designs like stippling suit wall quilts and small areas, or take a lot of thread and time on a big quilt.
- Denser quilting makes a flatter, stiffer quilt. For a soft bed quilt, quilt as far apart as the batting label allows.
- On a home machine, walking-foot designs and a large meander are the practical choices for a whole bed quilt. On a longarm, any of these can be stitched freehand, from a pantograph or by computer.
See the quilting on your quilt
Quiltspiration draws your quilt in your own fabric, quilting included.