Loading…
Loading…
Calculator
English paper piecing by the numbers: hexie counts, rosettes, papers, cut squares, fabric — and an honest answer to “how long will this take?”
A 60″ × 72″ all-over top takes about 1,764 hexagons (36 across × 49 rows, edge pieces counted whole).
Cut squares include the standard ⅜″ EPP allowance. Yardage assumes 40″ usable width and one fabric — scrappy quilts just split the same totals.
Free. No trial, no subscription, no account needed — ever. Save results on this device, or sign in to keep them on every device.
Making rosettes? The quilt sizes chart helps pick the top; the finished-block math lives in the other calculators.
| Quilt | ½″ hexies | 1″ hexies | 1½″ hexies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baby (40×52") | 3,360 | 900 | 408 |
| Lap (50×65") | 5,192 | 1,320 | 630 |
| Throw (60×72") | 6,887 | 1,764 | 825 |
| Twin (66×88") | 9,204 | 2,400 | 1,080 |
| Queen (90×108") | 15,225 | 3,869 | 1,764 |
Hexagon size = side length (EPP convention). Cut squares: 1.75″ for ½″, 2.75″ for 1″, 3.75″ for 1½″ hexagons.
Scrappy EPP eats fat quarters — line a few up.
We may earn a commission on purchases made through these links, at no extra cost to you. Learn more.
It depends on the hexagon size (measured by SIDE length in EPP) and the quilt. With classic 1" hexagons, a baby quilt takes roughly 900, a throw about 1,700, and a queen about 4,000 — the calculator above gives exact counts for any size, and switching to 1.5" or 2" hexagons cuts the count dramatically.
In English paper piecing, hexagon size is the length of one SIDE, not the width. A 1" hexagon has 1-inch sides, measures about 1¾" across the flats, and 2" point to point. That is why hexie counts sound so high — a "1 inch" hexagon is small.
Cut a square the hexagon's point-to-point height plus ¾" for the standard ⅜" basting allowance: 2¾" squares for 1" hexagons, 2¼" for ¾", 3¾" for 1½". Squares are faster to cut than hexagon shapes and baste just as well.
No. Papers come out once a hexagon is surrounded on all sides, and each paper survives two or three uses. Plan on about half as many papers as hexagons if you sew in sections, or just a few hundred if you baste as you go and recycle aggressively.
The classic rosette is 19 hexagons: 1 center, 6 petals in the first round, and 12 in the second round (usually the path or a second petal color). A throw-size Flower Garden runs around 60–80 rosettes with 1-inch hexagons.
At a relaxed pace of ten to fifteen minutes per hexagon (baste, whipstitch, unpick papers), a 1,700-hexagon throw is a few hundred hours of handwork — which is the point. EPP travels in a zip-lock bag and fills waiting rooms and car rides; nobody sews one over a weekend.
Dimensions, bed fit, batting, and backing math for every size on the quilt sizes chart.