Fabric cost calculator
What will this project really cost? List the fabrics and notions, mix prices per yard and per metre, and let the shop's cutting steps, discount, tax and shipping fall into place.
How to price a project
List everything the project needs, one line each. For fabric, enter the length you will buy and the shop's price. The two units do not have to match: if your pattern says 2½ yd and the shop sells by the metre, enter 2.5 yd at the price per metre, and the calculator converts (1 yd = 0.9144 m). Notions such as thread, zips, buttons and elastic are items: a count times a price each.
The settings below the list cover the rest of the bill:
- Shop cuts in steps of rounds each fabric up to the shop's cutting step in its own unit, so 1.83 m becomes 1.9 m when the shop cuts in 10 cm steps. Rounded lines are marked in the breakdown.
- Discount comes off the goods, fabric and notions together.
- Tax to add is applied after the discount. Leave it at 0 when the prices already include VAT or sales tax.
- Shipping is added last, as a flat amount.
- Items made divides the total, for batches of tote bags, cushion covers or gifts.
Example: 2½ yd of twill at $16/yd, 1¾ yd of lining at $7.60, ½ yd of interfacing at $6, two spools of thread at $3.25 and six buttons at $0.60 come to $66.40. The breakdown also shows each fabric's price per yard and per metre, which makes two shops easy to compare. Copy the summary into a note, download a CSV for a spreadsheet, or print it to take to the shop.
Questions
How do I convert a price per yard to a price per metre?
Divide the price per yard by 0.9144. A fabric at $12 a yard costs $13.12 a metre, because a metre is longer than a yard. To go from per metre to per yard, multiply by 0.9144: £20 a metre is £18.29 a yard.
Why does my total change when I pick a cutting step?
A shop that cuts in 10 cm or ⅛ yard steps charges for the next full step, so an awkward length costs a little more than the exact amount. Rounded lines are marked in the breakdown, and you may find it cheaper to adjust the length to fit the step.
Is my project saved?
Yes, in this browser only. The list and settings are kept in your browser's local storage and never sent anywhere. Start again clears them, and clearing your browser data removes them too.
Should I include the cost of the pattern?
If you want the true project cost, add it as an item with a quantity of 1. For a pattern you will use again, you could divide its price by the number of times you expect to sew it.