Fabric Yardage Calculator
Estimate how many yards of fabric you need for a garment based on pattern area, fabric width, seam allowance, and layout efficiency.
Results
What is it?
Fabric yardage calculation estimates how many linear yards of fabric you need to cut all pattern pieces. The total area of pattern pieces is divided by the fabric area per yard (width x 36 inches), then divided by layout efficiency to account for the irregular shapes that waste fabric between pieces. Seam allowance adds extra area around each piece.
How to use
Enter the total area of all your pattern pieces in square inches (check your pattern envelope, or estimate from piece dimensions). Select your fabric width, enter the seam allowance, and the typical layout efficiency for your pattern complexity. The result is rounded up to the nearest 1/8 yard as fabric is sold.
Example scenario
A dress pattern with 3,000 sq inches total area, 5/8 inch seam allowance, 44-inch fabric, 75% efficiency: adjusted area = 3,187.5, fabric per yard = 1,584, raw yardage = 2.68, rounded to 2.75 yards. Always buy an extra 1/4-1/2 yard for directional prints or matching.
Pro tip
For directional fabrics (stripes, plaids, large prints), reduce layout efficiency to 60-65% as pieces must be aligned. For napped fabrics (velvet, corduroy), all pieces must face the same direction — reduce efficiency to 55-65%. Pattern envelopes list yardage requirements for standard sizes; this calculator is useful for custom sizes or when you don't have the pattern envelope.