Fabric Yardage Calculator
Zero Waste & No Sign-up: Estimate total fabric requirements for your next quilt. Calculate yardage for blocks, sashing, and borders. Supports both yards and meters. Accurate fabric math helps you purchase the correct amount of materials, preventing mid-project shortages and minimizing leftover scraps.
How to Use the Fabric Yardage Tool
Enter the cut width and height of the piece, how many you need, and your fabric's usable width after trimming selvages — 40 to 42 inches is typical for quilting cotton. The calculator reports how many pieces fit side by side across the width, how many rows you must cut, and the total yardage to buy.
The math mirrors how you actually cut: pieces per row is the fabric width divided by the piece width, rounded down; rows needed is the piece count divided by that figure, rounded up; and the fabric length is the row count times the piece height. A 10 percent waste allowance is added and the result rounds up to the next eighth of a yard — forty 5-inch squares from 42-inch fabric, for example, take five rows and 7/8 of a yard.
Enter the sizes you actually cut, seam allowances included, not finished sizes. The tool assumes pieces are cut in straight rows across the width, so plan directional prints or extra-wide pieces by hand. The built-in 10 percent margin covers prewash shrinkage and squaring-up, but on a long project an extra quarter yard is still cheap insurance.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does WOF mean in quilting?
WOF stands for Width of Fabric. Standard quilting cotton is usually 42-44 inches wide. Most calculations assume a usable WOF of 40 inches after removing selvages.
How do I calculate yardage for sashing?
You need to determine the number of sashing strips required between blocks and multiply by their width. Our tool handles this complex math for you.
How many 5-inch squares can I get from a yard of fabric?
From 1 yard of 42-inch wide fabric, you can typically cut fifty-six 5-inch squares (7 rows of 8 squares each).