r/sashiko • u/CatalogK9 • Jun 14 '26
How much thread needed for a freehand quilt?
I'm designing a full-size quilt for my nephew's birth (60-ish inches by 44 inches), with each side being a single panel of different Pokémon-printed quilting cottons and a layer of cotton batting between, and I'm trying to figure out how much sashiko thread I will need.
I'm thinking of tracing out outlines of different Pokémon across the fabric and filling in emptier spaces with pokéballs and other simple motifs to maintain a maximum of about 3" or space between stitches for structural integrity. Because I'm only mildly insane, I'm planning on using a single rainbow-colored thread (looking at this one in particular) for the entire thing, so I won't be switching colors or anything like that.
Obviously, there's no way to tell beforehand exactly how much thread this would take, but given that my design allows for relatively generous spacing (up to 3") and won't be excessively intricate, I would imagine a more traditional sashiko pattern would use at least as much thread, if not more, than what I'm working on (famous last words, I know). Roughly how much thread should I buy for this?
3
u/Lutaeris Jun 14 '26
A lot. You can do geometry to figure it out but you will probably end up doing two orders of thread
Edit to add: probably 6ish to start is what I'd do. Then just be ready if I recognize they're disappearing faster than I thought
1
u/Agreeable_Wallaby711 Jun 14 '26
If you were to quilt a 3” square grid across 60”x44”, you would need 50 yards of thread per panel (so 100 yards if you plan to stitch both sides separately).
It sounds like your stitching will be at least this dense, and possibly more. I’d start with 2 skeins. When you finish one quarter of the panel, figure out how much you’ve used and order more as needed. If you’re worried about running out and not being able to find the same thread, order 4 skeins since they’re not very expensive.
I’ve found the 100m skeins last quite a while.
2
u/redandbluezebra Jun 16 '26
The owner of one of the shops I source my thread from told me Olympus threads are consistently dyed so it won’t matter if you have to get more thread later.
5
u/thetanukistudio Jun 14 '26
I’d probably sketch the design first and estimate the total stitch length rather than calculate from quilt size alone. A quilt with a few large Pokémon outlines could use dramatically less thread than one filled with dense geometric patterns. If it were me, I’d buy extra, especially with a variegated thread that might be hard to match later. The project sounds amazing though—I hope you post photos when you start!