Justice, When I started quilting I did the four inches all around. But now I have slimmed down that amount to about 3 " and occasionally 2". I would rather have the little extra than get to the end of my quilting and find the back and batting have shifted from poor basting or simply from the density of the quilting. I have had to make a last minute adjustment by piecing the batting and backing because I cut the bat and back too close to in size to the top. Recommendation: always cut batting and backing a bit bigger than the quilt top..