Fabric Unit Converter
Zero Waste & No Sign-up: Convert fabric measurements between yards, meters, inches, and centimeters. Includes fat quarter equivalents and square yardage for quilting projects.
How to Use the Fabric Unit Converter
Type a length in any of the four units — yards, meters, inches, or centimeters — and the converter reports all the others at once. The conversions are exact: one yard is defined as 0.9144 meters, one inch as 2.54 centimeters, and a yard always contains 36 inches.
Because quilting fabric is bought as a length off a bolt of roughly constant width, the tool also translates your length into square yardage assuming the standard 42-inch quilting cotton width, and into square meters from there. This is handy when comparing patterns written for different fabric widths.
The fat quarter equivalent treats one fat quarter as a quarter yard of standard-width fabric — the same area as the familiar 18 x 21 inch cut, just shaped differently. Four fat quarters equal about one yard, so a project calling for 3 yards of assorted prints is roughly a dozen fat quarters. When buying, round the converted figure up to the shop's cutting increment — typically an eighth or quarter yard — so prewash shrinkage doesn't leave you short.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many inches are in a yard of fabric?
There are exactly 36 inches in one yard. So a 1.5-yard piece of fabric is 54 inches long, and a 2-yard piece is 72 inches long.
How many fat quarters equal one yard?
Four fat quarters equal approximately one yard of fabric. A fat quarter is an 18 x 22 inch cut (half a yard cut in half again), giving a more square shape than a standard quarter yard.
How do I convert meters to yards for a pattern?
Multiply meters by 1.0936 to get yards. For example, 2 meters equals approximately 2.187 yards. Always round up to the nearest 1/8 yard when purchasing fabric.