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Fabric Calculator

Estimate how much fabric your project needs; choose curtains, a quilt, or a garment, enter your measurements, seam allowances, and any pattern repeat, and get the total fabric to buy in yards and meters.

Project Details

in
Bolt width printed on the fabric label; common widths are 44″, 54″, and 60″.
in
in
How much wider than the rod the flat fabric is, for gather.
Usually 2 for a pair; 1 for a single panel.
in
Added to each panel's length for the top heading and bottom hem.
in
in
in
Extra all around each edge for borders, binding, and squaring up.
Backing usually needs the same yardage as the top.
in
Combined length of your pieces laid end to end down the fabric.
Choose the wider option if pieces are too wide to sit side by side.
in
Added around each piece; 5/8″ (0.625) is the dressmaking standard.
Used to add seam allowance for each edge.
in
Distance the print repeats; leave at 0 for plain or non-directional fabric.
%
Spare fabric for straightening, shrinkage, and cutting errors.

How It Works

The basic idea

Fabric is sold off a bolt of a fixed width, so what you really buy is a length of that bolt. The calculator works out how many widths of fabric your project needs, multiplies by the length of each width (with hems and seam allowances added), then converts the running length into yards and meters.

Curtains
  • Cut width = rod width × fullness ratio, split across your panels.
  • Widths needed = total cut width ÷ fabric width, rounded up.
  • Cut length = finished drop + hem & heading allowance, per width.
Quilts

The finished size plus a border margin gives the area to cover. The calculator finds how many fabric widths fit across the quilt, then how long each run must be, and doubles it when you include a backing layer.

Garments

Pattern pieces are laid down the length of the fabric. The total piece length, seam allowances, and layout together set how many inches of fabric run you need off the bolt.

Pattern repeat

Prints, stripes, and plaids only line up if each cut starts at the same point in the design, so every cut length is rounded up to a whole number of repeats. A large repeat can add a surprising amount of fabric, which is why it has its own field.

Tip: These figures are estimates; always keep the extra buffer for pre-washing and shrinkage, and buy directional or repeating prints from a single bolt so the pattern matches across every piece.

Related Utils

Yarn Yardage Calculator Knitting Gauge Calculator Cross-Stitch Pattern Generator Length Converter

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