Buying fabric – Work Out How Much You Need

This post is aimed at guesstimating the fabric yardage/meters for some of the clothes you sew.

Some general facts about fabric – Fabric is usually measured by yards or meters. One yard is around 3 feet, which is about 91 cms.
One meter equals 1.09 yards or 39.4 inches. The width of the fabric (checkout the different types of fabric available ) is usually 35-36 inch, 44-45 inch, 54 inch and 58-60 inch.

Because fabric also comes several widths and your pattern envelope may only give you yardage requirements for two widths, you can refer to this guide to buy the correct amount for the width of the fabric.

Garment	Fabric Width 35-36 inches	Fabric Width 44-45 inches	Fabric Width 50 inches	Fabric Width 52-54 inches	Fabric Width 58-60 inches
Pants, full length (add -1/4 yard for cuffs)	3-1/4 Yards(3 Meters)	2-5/8 Yards(2.5 Meters)	2-5/8 Yards(2.5 Meters)	2-1/4 Yards(2 Meters)	2-1/4 Yards(2 Meters)
Pants, Capri length	2-3/4 Yards(2.5 Meters)	2-1/4 Yards(2 Meters)	2-1/8 Yards(2 Meters)	2 Yards(1.9 Meters)	1-1/2 Yards(1.5 Meters)
Shorts, Bermuda length	2-1/2 Yards(2.3 Meters)	2-1/8 Yards(2 Meters)	1-7/8 Yards(1.7 Meters)	1-3/4 Yards(1.6 Meters)	1-1/4 Yards(1.2 Meters)
Skirt, straight	2 Yards(1.9 Meters)	1-5/8 Yards(1.5 Meters)	1-1/2 Yards(1.5 Meters)	1-3/8 Yards(1.3 Meters)	1-1/4 Yards(1.2 Meters)
Skirt, A-line	2-1/4 Yards(2 Meters)	1-3/4 Yards(1.6 Meters)	1-5/8 Yards(1.5 Meters)	1-1/2 Yards(1.5 Meters)	1-3/8 Yards(1.3 Meters)
Skirt, softly gathered	2-1/4 Yards(2 Meters)	1-3/4 Yards(1.6 Meters)	1-5/8 Yards(1.5 Meters)	1-1/2 Yards(1.5 Meters)	1-3/8 Yards(1.3 Meters)
Shirt/blouse, short sleeves	2 Yards(1.9 Meters)	1-5/8 Yards(1.5 Meters)	1-1/2 Yards(1.5 Meters)	1-3/8 Yards(1.3 Meters)	1-1/4 Yards(1.2 Meters)
Shirt/blouse, long sleeves	2-1/2 Yards(2.3 Meters)	2-1/8 Yards(2 Meters)	1-3/4 Yards(1.6 Meters)	1-3/4 Yards(1.6 Meters)	1-5/8 Yards(1.5 Meters)
Blouse, long sleeves with tie	3-3/4 Yards(3.4 Meters)	2-7/8 Yards(2.7 Meters)	2-5/8 Yards(2.5 Meters)	2-3/8 Yards(2.2 Meters)	2-1/4 Yards(2 Meters)
Blouse, capped sleeves	2 Yards(1.9 Meters)	1-5/8 Yards(1.5 Meters)	1-1/2 Yards(1.5 Meters)	1-3/8 Yards(1.3 Meters)	1-1/4 Yards(1.2 Meters)
Camisole, bias cut	1-1/3 Yards(1.3 Meters)	1-1/3 Yards(1.3 Meters)	1-1/4 Yards(1.2 Meters)	1-1/8 Yards(1 Meter)	1 Yard(0. Meter)
Dress, short sleeves with straight skirt	4-1/4 Yards(4 Meters)	3-1/8 Yards(2.9 Meters)	2-3/4 Yards(2.5 Meters)	2-5/8 Yards(2.5 Meters)	2-3/8 Yards(2.2 Meters)
Dress, long sleeves with straight skirt	5 Yards(4.6 Meters)	3-5/8 Yards(3.3 Meters)	3-1/4 Yards(3 Meters)	3-1/8 Yards(2.9Meters)	3 yards(2.7 Meters)