How Much Batting for a Cal King Quilt?

A California king quilt finished at 102 by 100 inches needs its batting cut 110 by 108. The 110 is the number to memorize. Every roll sold as 108 inches wide comes up two inches short, so this is the size where buying batting stops being a choice between widths.

Where 110 by 108 Comes From

A 72 by 84 inch mattress with 15 inches of drop per side and 16 at the foot gives the 102 by 100 top most charts list. Batting takes 4 inches per side:

• Width = 102 + 8 = 110 inches
• Length = 100 + 8 = 108 inches

Width exceeds length here, which is true of no other common bed.

Why No 108-Inch Roll Works

Batting is milled in 90, 96, 108 and 120 inch widths. At 108 the cut fails on width alone: 110 is two inches past the edge. Rotating does not save it either, because the short side is 108 and lands with zero overage.

A 120 inch roll takes the 110 inch width and leaves a 10 inch strip. You buy the 108 inch length and nothing else, which is exactly 3 yards. Turn the rectangle 90 degrees and the 110 inch side becomes the purchase length, rounding to 3.25 yards.

Precuts: The Queen Size Is the Trap

The king precut measures 120 by 120 inches and covers the cut in one piece, with 10 inches to spare across and 12 down. It wastes 2,520 square inches, about 17 percent of the batt.

Queen is the near miss: 20 inches narrow and exactly 108 on the length, so there is no slack where the clamps grip. Piecing 20 inches along a 108 inch edge is a ridge the binding will find.

By the Yard for Five Cal King Tops

Tops for this mattress run from 92 by 94 up to 108 by 102. Only the two smallest clear a 108 inch bolt. The purchase length moves far less than the width does.

Three of the five come in at 3 yards, standard included. The coverlet saves nothing because its 102 inch cut rounds into the same quarter.

What One More Inch per Side Costs

Longarm quilters often ask for 5 to 8 inches of overage, and the jump happens at the first inch. At 5 inches a side the cut is 112 by 110, so the 110 inch length rounds to 3.25 yards. At 6 it is 114 by 112, still 3.25. At 8 it is 118 by 116, one inch inside the 117 inch ceiling. The whole range sits at one price. At 10 inches a side the width hits 122 and a seam comes back.

Loft and Fiber at This Size

A 120 by 120 batt is 100 square feet. The 110 by 108 cut uses 82.5, so the leftovers will bind a throw. Low loft cotton stays the safe pick at this weight: high loft adds bulk without warmth you can feel under a duvet and eats throat space on a domestic machine.

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