Thread: Questions about math and design on proposed quilt and wool batting question

Question 1: I used EQ to prove the 12.75 & it's actually 12.728" Not enough to make a difference but could on a king size quilt.
Question 2: That's a personal choice.
Question 3: Don't know about the wool batting. I mostly use Warm & Natural or Warm & White. I like being able to quilt up to 10" apart, although I almost never do that. I use Pantographs on my LA and I quilt much closer seams. The wool batting that I looked up using Yahoo says to quilt 4" apart. That's too close for me.

Your diagram comes out at about 114.5 x 101.8. A king bed (not CA king) is 76" wide x 80" long. Measure your mattress depth. If you want to use the 114.5 as the width of the quilt you have an overhang of 19.25" on the sides and 21.8" at the bottom or at the top (don't know how you want the quilt to lay on the bed - depends on whether you want a pillow tuck, whether you have a footboard, etc.) For question 2, I would wait until the rest of the quilt is put together and then make the decision. Generally I lean toward scrappier.

I don't usually design a quilt for a specific bed - might be better if I did - but since you are doing that, you might want to consider where the 9-patch blocks are going to be when the quilt is on the bed. It looks like they will be just off the edge on both sides. Their position top and bottom depends on how you place the quilt on the bed. Just something to think about...

Originally Posted by Maureen NJ

Barb, thanks for checking in EQ for me. I usually use Dream cotton Select but I thought I 'd try wool, since so many people sing it's praises about not getting fold lines and it is a little poufier than the Select. Dunster, the mattress is 12" thick and then it is 8" from the bottom of the mattress to the bottom of the side rail. That's why I made it the 114"width. I find a dust ruffle annoying so I don't use them. I think you are right about waiting with # 2 until I get the center done. I appreciate both of your comments. It's been a UFO and has been bugging me. Fabric is so nice I don't want to screw it up.

Is your bed a CA King? (They are 72x84; regular kings are 76x80.) If not CA king, then you need to make the quilt larger.

Bed width + 2*(mattress depth + distance to side tail)=76+2*(12+8)=76+40=116

You need at least 116 inches, and that's just touching the bed rail. You probably want to overlap it by just a little. Add in some shrinkage and you won't be reaching the bed rail at all.

If it's a CA King, you need only 112 inches to just touch the bed rail. 114 inches would be kind of skimpy - only 1 inch over on each side and nothing allowed for shrinkage.

Originally Posted by Maureen NJ

Barb, thanks for checking in EQ for me. I usually use Dream cotton Select but I thought I 'd try wool, since so many people sing it's praises about not getting fold lines and it is a little poufier than the Select. Dunster, the mattress is 12" thick and then it is 8" from the bottom of the mattress to the bottom of the side rail. That's why I made it the 114"width. I find a dust ruffle annoying so I don't use them. I think you are right about waiting with # 2 until I get the center done. I appreciate both of your comments. It's been a UFO and has been bugging me. Fabric is so nice I don't want to screw it up.

Originally Posted by dunster

Is your bed a CA King? (They are 72x84; regular kings are 76x80.) If not CA king, then you need to make the quilt larger.
Bed width + 2*(mattress depth + distance to side tail)=76+2*(12+8)=76+40=116
You need at least 116 inches, and that's just touching the bed rail. You probably want to overlap it by just a little. Add in some shrinkage and you won't be reaching the bed rail at all.
If it's a CA King, you need only 112 inches to just touch the bed rail. 114 inches would be kind of skimpy - only 1 inch over on each side and nothing allowed for shrinkage.

Am I reading this wrong? I interpreted Maureen to say the 20" was to the bottom of the rail, not the top of the rail. Please correct me if I'm wrong!

If you are using an off-white/cream solid, the light cream of the wool batting won't change the color of the quilt. If you are concerned, you can use a double batting - a bleached white batting (like Warm and White) on top and wool on the bottom. I honestly don't think you would have a problem with just a wool batting. I love the way the quilting shows with wool, it is warm in the winter and yet cool enough for summer - breathes really well - and it doesn't hold wrinkles like cotton. However, when you wash wool, I have found it to shrink much more then cotton. If you don't want your quilt to shrink and crinkle, soak the batting in hot water, spin out water in washer, and dry in a dryer with some dryer balls or clean tennis balls for about 30 minutes.

I love, love, love wool battings! The color of Hobbs wool and dream wool is much lighter than cotton batting and I've used wool in an all White quilt, the batting did Not dim the whiteness. And, the Hobbs & dream wool battings do Not shrink anywhere near as much as cotton batting- they are preshrunk. Ready to use and a joy to use!

this is a really great pattern you have there especially if using lush fabric in the middle squares. I have now done 2 kings and one thing i really like about the first one is that the inner border (sashing) fell in the exact right spot. i also have a huge drop and the pattern i used was king but about 15" too short on both sides! i wound up getting very creative in making it wider but it worked really well. I could see you floating another row of the squares on the sides even if not the same size as your middle. i typically like things calming and serene in a master...which can still be scrappy depending on the fabrics used.