Turn yards into metres (and back), then see how much to buy when your fabric comes in a different width from the one on the pattern.
Type the length from your pattern, a shop listing or a remnant label and choose its unit. Decimals, a comma as the decimal mark and fractions such as 2 3/8 all work. You get the same length in yards, metres, centimetres, inches and feet, plus what to ask for at the cutting table: shops cut in steps, so the amount to buy is rounded up to the next ⅛ yard or 10 cm.
Step 2 answers the classic problem: the pattern gives yardage for one width, but the fabric you want comes in another. The converter keeps the area of cloth the same, so the new length is the old length × the pattern width ÷ your width. For example, 2¼ yd of 45 in fabric holds as much cloth as 1 11/16 yd of 60 in fabric (2.25 × 45 ÷ 60), so you would buy 1¾ yd. The table repeats the sum for the usual bolt widths. Enter the width you can really use: selvedges are kept out of pattern pieces, and some fabrics narrow a little when pre-washed.
Add a margin with the extra menu, try the garment fabric estimator for a typical range, or lay out your real pieces in the pattern layout estimator.
From the first estimate to the cutting table.
Typical yardage for skirts, shirts, dresses, trousers and coats by size, width, sleeves and length.
Fabric weight in g/m², oz/yd² and per linear yard, with weight classes and a swatch weigher.
Price a whole project, mixing per-yard and per-metre prices, with notions, discount, tax and shipping.
Lay your pattern pieces on the fabric width, see the cutting layout and the length to buy.
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Check a shop with WebTraceCheckOne yard is exactly 0.9144 metres (91.44 cm), so one metre is about 1.094 yards, or 39.37 inches. A metre is about 3½ inches longer than a yard, and the gap adds up: 5 yards is 4.57 metres, not 5.
Multiply the length by 45 and divide by 60, which is the same as taking three quarters of it: 3 yards of 45 inch fabric holds as much cloth as 2¼ yards of 60 inch fabric. Round up to the next ⅛ yard and add a margin for nap, one-way prints or matching.
A listed width is the whole cloth from edge to edge. The selvedges, the firm woven edges, are usually kept out of pattern pieces, and many fabrics narrow a little when pre-washed. If the layout is tight, measure the width you can really use and enter that.
Fabric is usually cut in fixed steps rather than to the exact inch or centimetre, so the amount to buy is rounded up to the next step. Shops differ: some cut only in ¼ yard or 25 cm steps and many have a minimum cut, so check before you order.
Yes. Choose metres or centimetres for the length and centimetres for the widths, and the table switches to common metric widths such as 115, 140 and 150 cm. Every result is shown in both metric and imperial units.