Afghan & Blanket Sizes

November 2, 2014: When I published this list back in March of 2008 the world was a different place! Today there are much easier ways to create graphic content that is easily downloaded and I've gained a few years experience with Photoshop & Illustrator. As I scrolled through this page for the umpteenth time looking for a mattress size for a new project, I decided to spend some time creating an infographic that I could pin up in my workroom. 

That ended up being a much bigger project than I would have imagined! I ended up re-researching all the sizes and did find some changes in 6 years. So here's what I've come up with:

Downloadable graphic of popular U.S. mattress, blanket, comforter and afghan sizes

If you'd like to save it to your computer or print it and pin it in your workspace you can download a printable pdf file here. And if you'd like to see what I've been up to in my new life as a surface and pattern designer check out my new blog.

Now that you've figured out what size to make your quilts you still need to figure out how much fabric to buy. Here are my favorite books to help with that process: 

                           



And I also found this great system to hang quilts on a wall:
  

And here's my original post from March 6, 2008 (exactly 65,543 visits ago!):

In trying to figure out what size I ultimately wanted my Babette Blanket to be I did some research on standard mattress, sheet, blanket & comforter sizes. I know I've done this before but I can't find the papers so I'll put it here so I can find it again. Flat sheet measurements are from bedding industry standards. Everything else is sort of an average that seems about right. Crib blankets & receiving blankets seem to have the biggest variances - there's pretty much every size possible available. I listed the most prevalent.

Mattress depths vary widely be manufacturer. Measure the depth of the mattress before designing the blanket/quilt/comforter. Standard & older mattresses average 9 - 12", while newer pillow-top mattresses are 14 - 16" deep and up. These deeper mattresses obviously rquire more depth & width to cover the mattress completely. Be especially careful about making covers for very fluffy comforters such as down-filled. They tend to puff out the fabric, so there is much more area to cover than the dimensions listed on the package. Take several measurements of the comforter after it has been fluffed to decide how big to make the cover.




If you're making a blanket using squares, in addition to figuring out what size you want you'll need to calculate how many squares to make. I've written up notes on the process I use to figure out how many granny squares you need here.

TWIN: mattress top is 39" x 75"
Twin flat sheet: 66" x 96"
Twin Blanket: 66" x 90"
Twin Comforter: 69" x 90"

EXTRA LONG TWIN: mattress top is 39" x 80" ** Most popular size in college dorms
Extra Long Twin Flat Sheet: 66" x 102"
Extra Long Twin Blanket: 66" x 95"

FULL/DOUBLE: mattress top is 54" x 75"
Full/Double Flat Sheet: 81" x 96"
Blanket: 80" x 90"
Full Comforter: 84" x 90"

QUEEN: mattress top is 60" x 80"
Queen Flat Sheet: 90" x 102"
Blanket: 90" x 100"
Queen Comforter: 90" x 95"

KING: mattress top is 76" x 80"
King Flat Sheet: 108" x 102"
Blanket: 108" x 100"
King Comforter: 106" x 98"

CALIFORNIA KING: mattress top is 72" x 84"
California King Flat Sheet: 102" x 110"
Blanket: 104" x 108"

INFANTS & TODDLERS:
Receiving Blanket*:  23" x 23", 24" x 24", 29" x 32", 30" x 36" or 36" x 36"
Stroller Blanket: 30" x 40"
Porta Crib (mattress top is 24" x 38") use receiving blanket
Small Cradle Blanket (mattress is 15" x 33") 15" x 30"
Large Cradle Blanket (mattress is 18" x 36") 18" x 33"
Crib Blanket(mattress top is 28" x 52"): 28" x 42" or 30" x 40" or 36" x 42" or 36" x 46"

AFGHAN SIZES
Infant - 2 years: 24" x 30"
2 - 6 years: 30" x 36"
7 - 11 years: 36" x 42"
12 years and over: 48" x 60"

Lapghan: 36"x 48" often used in nursing homes & wheelchairs

Adult: 50" x 70"

BED PILLOW SIZES
Standard 20" x 26"
Queen 20" x 30"
King 20" x 36"

* Receiving Blankets: I've seen lots of discussion on receiving blankets. Most people seem to think 23 or 24 inch squares are perfect for newborns, as there isn't too much fabric to manage. 29" x 32", 30" x 36" or 36" x 36" are the sizes most often made by manufacturers that are available in stores.

"Janem" also provided the following helpful info: Bev’s Country Cottage website gives suggestions for different size blankets.

This is basically what she recommends….

Blanket Sizes (approximate) For preemies, blankets without ‘holes’ are best.

Small Preemie: 18” - 20” square

Medium Preemie: 20” - 22” square

Large Preemie: 22” - 28” square

Full Term Baby: 28” - 36” square

Baby 30” x 36” = crib sized (6” granny squares= 5 across x 6 down ~ 30 sq)

Children 42”x 48” (6” squares= 7 across x 8 down ~ 30 sq)

Lapghan often used in seniors homes 36” x 48” (6” squares= 6 across x 8 down ~ 48 squares)

Adult Afghan (Will fit across top of bed) 48” x 72” = twin sized. (6” squares= 8 across x 12 down ~ 96 squares)

Adult Double Bed (Will fit across top of bed) 60” x 84” = full sized. (6” squares= 10 across x 14 down ~ 160 squares)

Please post a comment if you have suggestions or real-life experience with any of this!

Shantel R M brought up a great point in the comments below. If you're not happy with the size of a project when you've finished you can always add a border. I think the crochet book I turn to the most is:

I highly recommend it as a book you'll turn to time and time again.