Sewing Fabric Yardage Calculator
Estimate how much fabric to buy for a garment or quilt from your measurements, the bolt width and a safety margin. Supports skirts, shirts, dresses, trousers and quilt blocks in imperial or metric, with a full cutting breakdown.
Input
Project
Pick the project — the measurement fields below adjust to match.
Check the bolt label — common widths are 45, 54, or 60 inches.
Body Measurements
Full circumference at the fullest part of the hips.
Skirt length, shirt back length, dress length, or pants inseam.
Quilt Settings
Extras
Vertical repeat of plaids, stripes, or large prints. Adds one repeat per panel for matching.
Cushion for shrinkage, cutting mistakes, and fabric flaws. 10% is a safe default.
Output
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| No data yet | |
Guides
The Sewing Fabric Yardage Calculator tells you how much fabric to buy for a project before you get to the cutting table. Enter your measurements, the width of the bolt, and a small safety buffer, and it estimates the total length you need in both yards and meters — plus a full cutting breakdown so you can see exactly where the fabric goes.
It handles five common projects: A-line skirts, shirts and blouses, shift dresses, trousers and pants, and quilt blocks. The measurement fields change to match whichever project you pick, so you are only ever asked for numbers the calculation actually uses.
How to use it
- Choose your project. The form shows only the measurements that project needs — a skirt asks for hip and length, a shirt for bust, length and sleeve, a quilt for block size and count.
- Pick your units. Switch between imperial (inches and yards) and metric (centimeters and meters). Every field and result follows your choice.
- Set the fabric width. Bolts are usually 45, 54, or 60 inches (115, 137, or 150 cm) wide — check the end of the bolt or the label. Wider fabric often means fewer panels and less total length.
- Enter your body measurements as full circumferences (all the way around), not half measurements.
- Add a buffer. The buffer slider adds a percentage on top for shrinkage, cutting mistakes, and flaws. 10% is a sensible default; bump it up for pre-washed fabrics that shrink or slippery fabrics that are hard to cut.
The result rounds up to the next quarter unit, because fabric is cut and sold in fractions — you can walk into the store and ask for that amount directly.
How the estimate works
The calculator figures out how the pattern pieces are laid along the length of the fabric ("lays"). It subtracts the selvage edges to get the usable width, works out whether your main pieces fit side by side or need to be stacked, and adds length for secondary pieces — sleeves, facings, waistbands, collars, and pockets. Quilt mode adds seam allowance to every block, packs as many blocks across the usable width as will fit, and counts the rows required.
The breakdown table shows each step: usable width, lay length per panel, number of panels, extras, any pattern-matching allowance, and the buffer, ending with the total length rounded up to yards and meters.
Why include a pattern repeat?
Plaids, stripes, and large prints need to line up across seams. The pattern repeat is the vertical distance between one motif and the next. Entering it adds one repeat's worth of length per panel so you have enough fabric to slide pieces up or down and match the design. Leave it at 0 for plain or all-over fabrics.
Is this exact?
No — treat it as a well-padded shopping estimate, not a substitute for a paper pattern's yardage chart. Real patterns vary with style, ease, nap direction, and how efficiently you can nest pieces. The built-in buffer is there precisely because cutting rarely goes perfectly. When a commercial pattern lists a required yardage, trust that number first and use this tool for drafting-your-own or stash-planning.
Everything runs in your browser — your measurements never leave your device.