How To Choose Baby Quilt Size

Baby quilts are available in different sizes and shapes for you to choose from. Some of them are square quilts, while many others are rectangular or even rhombus in shape.

Despite that fact, it is not easy to choose a suitable baby quilt size due to the difficulty in picking the one that will fit both baby body length and mattress dimension. The below content will provide you with relevant information about the baby blanket size and other useful tips related to the topic.

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Contents

Well, how big is a baby quilt for the best use? It depends on your baby’s body length, ages, and where the quilts sit. We will show you right away. Let’s continue on reading!

Baby Body Length

At stages of growth, babies have different body lengths. These measures will help to choose the right baby blanket :

A preemie: 13 – 18 inches
A newborn: 18 – 23 inches
A 3-6-month-old: 22 – 27 inches
A 6-9-month-old: 25 – 30 inches

Mattress Dimension

A mattress must have the appropriate dimension to fit on the baby beds. There are three common baby blanket dimensions, including:

Small cradle: 15 x 30 inches
Large cradle: 18 x 33 inches
Crib: 28 x 52 inches

Quilt Sizes for Beds of Babies

It often takes a long time to sew up numerous pieces of fabric and put them together for a lovely baby quilt. Besides, our little friends tend to grow up so fast that the quilt will become quite small for them within a short period.

We suggest choosing big enough sizes so that the quilt is still useful even when your baby grows.

What Is The Standard Size For A Baby Quilt?

Generally, you can determine the average size of a baby quilt by applying the mattress dimension mentioned above. We recommend making the quilt a bit bigger than the bed in case of fabric shrink after quilting.

Let’s take standard cribs as an example.

A crib is commonly 27” wide and 52” in length. Thus, the suitable crib quilt size should be 36 x 54 inches to have a great overhang. You can also increase the width to 45 inches for a better overhang if necessary.

As for the toddle, the size of 36 x 54 inches won’t possibly cover well. Therefore, you should consider 40 x 60 inches which even enables you to roll the toddle with a quilt easily.

Sizes For Square Quilts

When it comes to the baby quilt in a square shape, the standard size is from 40 to 42 inches. This measure requires you to prepare a 45-inch square single fabric before the backing. Moreover, a 60-inch quilt will be the best option for long-term use.

The following is a list of detailed size suggestions :

A preemie: 18 – 24 inches
A newborn: 30 inches
A baby: over 35 inches

Sizes For The Batting

For better consideration, we are here with standard measurements for the quilt batting. In terms of a crib, its mattress will be 28″ x 52″ in size. Hence, a quilt with a size of 39″ x 54″ will be the most suitable option. Based on this measurement, the size for the batting gets 45” wide and 60″ long.

Many people also love to share the quilt with their babies. And here we’ve got you a standard sizes measurement for the “family quilt” :

Single mattress (39″ x 75″): 65″ x 88″ (quilt), 72″ x 90″ (batting)
Double mattress (54″ x 75″): 80″ x 88″ (quilt), 81″ x 96″ (batting)
Queen mattress (60″ x 80″): 86″ x 93″ (quilt), 90″ x 108″ (batting)
King mattress (78″ x 80″): 104″ x 93″ (quilt), 120″ x 120″ (batting)
California King mattress: (72″ x 84″): 100″ x 97″ (quilt), 120″ x 120″ (batting)

Tips To Choose Baby Quilt Materials:

The quilted material somehow affects the quilt size after long-term use. More specifically, a low-quality fabric can get shrunk or stretched in shape after washing. This problem not only affects the size but also impacts the beauty of the quilt over time.

When choosing quilt materials, you should always prioritize fabric types with light-to-medium and high breathability. With these requirements, cotton and flannel will be the two best choices. Honestly, remember that the softer the fabric is, the smoother quilt you will have.

Choosing these materials will save you from making a quilt in fleece. More specifically, fleece can cause skin and respiratory problems when sticking to the baby’s body.

Besides cotton and flannel, double gauze is also not a bad idea. But there are some notes for you while using it :

Air-fluffing the fabric on the low heat and leaving it fully dry.
Using a new needle to avoid snagging on the double gauze.
Bumping the stitch up to 3

Different Best Uses of a Baby Quilt

Besides using it as a baby’s bedding accessory, you can still utilize the quilt for many different purposes. Here are five examples to show you how versatile it is.

Stroller Covers

If you have a premium baby cotton quilt, you will surely find it perfectly lightweight and breathable. Hence, these features of a quilt are perfect for making a stroller cover.

You won’t need to waste your money buying a separate shelter, as the quilt can shade your baby from the sunlight well.

Furthermore, we suggest choosing a cotton quilt instead of the synthetic one as it is often more lightweight than the others.

Play Mats

There are dozens of mats for baby gyms or activities available nowadays. But why don’t you try to re-use the old quilt as a play mat for your baby?

In this case, the quilt not only covers the floor where the little friend stays and plays. It can also become an ideal type of cloth, helping to stimulate the baby’s senses.

Nursing Covers

The quilt will never be out-of-date due to the outgrowth of the baby when you use it as a nursing cover. The nursing cover is simply a piece of cloth for you as breastfeeding the baby. So, a small quilt can do this role perfectly.

For this third purpose, our suggestion is a muslin cover. This material is considerably lightweight with high ventilation to avoid causing discomfort for the baby.

Baby Bibs

Another use of the quilt is a backup for the baby bib. Assuming you forget to bring the baby bib when your family is on the trip, don’t worry since the baby quilt can effectively do this task. Its great softness in an adequate width will help keep any mess of your babies in detail.

Decoration

How about the idea of using the baby quilt for the nursery decoration? Well, this part will surely lighten the room.

Conclusion

Picking the right baby quilt size is always a must for effective use. Many people tend to make the quilt as big as possible since they worry about the unfit size for their baby’s outgrowth.

However, it is not truly necessary as you only need to follow the size list above. You can also use the quilt for different purposes when it becomes smaller due to the baby’s growing body.

Further reading:

Charlotte Jane

I’m Charlotte Jane, I love quilting. I provide my reviews of the best quilting tools. I hope to help beginners share their love of Quilting with the world.