How Much Fabric to Buy for that Sewing Project?

Of all the supplies you’ll need to assemble your next sewing project, the fabric is probably the most important. The problem is, fabric doesn’t come in a pre-made kit with exactly the right amount you’ll need. When you purchase the fabric you’ll have to determine approximately how much you need to buy enough of the fabric without breaking the bank and buying too much.

There are two ways of going about purchasing fabric. Sometimes you see a fabric you love and want to make sure you get enough but don’t have a pattern yet. Sometimes you’re working with a pattern first and want to make sure you get enough fabric for that particular project.

I’ll first go over how much fabric to buy when you have a pattern (it’s not always what the pattern says), then I’ll help you estimate the amount of fabric you’ll need if you don’t have a sewing pattern to work with yet.

• Learn more about how to read a sewing pattern envelope

How do you know how much fabric to buy for a pattern?

If you already have a pattern you want to work with, it’s fairly easy to know how much fabric to purchase because it should be written right on the pattern envelope. Use your body measurements (bust, waist, hips) to find your size on the pattern (note: it will not be the same as your size in retail stores). Then scan down the column to find the recommended fabric for your pattern.

45 or 60-inch fabric?

When you look at fabric requirements, you’ll usually see two rows. One will be labeled 45 and the other 60. This is because fabric can be bought by the yard in two standard lengths: 45 inches and 60 inches. The amount of fabric you need will be different depending on which type of fabric you get, so you always have to check the width of the fabric when you purchase it to know how much you need (it should be easy to find on the fabric label).

Any fabric that is approximately 45 inches will also fall into that category on the pattern envelope. So it might be 43-inches or 46-inches. That’s fine. It’s close enough to 45 inches. Same with 60-inch fabric widths. It’s common to find 57-inch fabric or 62-inch fabric, and they’re close enough.

What if a pattern only gives fabric requirements for one length of fabric (usually 60”)?

Every once in a while, I come across a pattern envelope that only gives me fabric requirements for 60-inch fabric. Generally, this means one of two things:

1. The fabric suggestions will almost always be sold on 60” bolts. This is more likely the case when you’re working with knit patterns. Most knit fabrics are sold in 57” to 62” bolts.
2. The pattern pieces will not fit on 45” fabric. This is more likely the case if you’re working with a pattern that has large pattern pieces. Something like a long, gathered circle skirt, or shirred pants can start with really wide pieces of fabric.

Do you really need that much fabric?

I’ve found that most of the time the pattern envelope overestimates the amount of fabric needed by about ¼ to ½ a yard. This might not be the case for all pattern sizes. If you look at the pattern envelope, you’ll see the same amount of fabric is often recommended for multiple sizes. 

For example, sizes 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, and 20 will all recommend 1¼ yards of fabric. Usually, you can rearrange the pieces of the smaller sizes in that range to use significantly less fabric. So I will take that into account when determining if I have enough fabric for a pattern.

I’m also on the shorter side and usually need to shorten the length of my pattern pieces, giving me a little more wiggle room. So, I still recommend getting the amount of fabric the pattern suggests in most cases. But you probably don’t need to buy any extra length of fabric ‘just in case.’ (Of course, you can still get extra fabric if you’re worried about making a mistake)

How much extra fabric to buy for one-way designs or pattern matching?

You probably noticed that pretty much all patterns will say that you need extra fabric to match stripes and designs. What this means is, if you want to match up the stripes (or plaid or other designs) along the seams, you need to be pickier about how you cut your pattern pieces, so you will need more fabric.

There is no way to know exactly how much more fabric you need just by looking at the pattern envelope. However, the rule of thumb is that the bigger your pattern or design is, the more extra fabric you’ll need.

For example, if you have simple striped fabric that’s just two alternating colors, you shouldn’t need all that much extra fabric. This is because you can match your stripes just about anywhere, and you don’t have to waste space on the fabric to find your match.

If you have a large design that only repeats every 18 inches down the length of the fabric, you could potentially waste that much length to find the next repeat in the pattern. You would probably want an extra yard to make sure you have enough fabric.

If you are nervous about making sure you have enough fabric, you can always double the suggested amount. This will usually end up giving you significantly more than you need, but double the length will just about always be enough fabric to match stripes and prints.

How much fabric to buy if you don’t have a pattern yet

If you found a fabric that you love, but you don’t have a pattern for it yet, you want to try to get enough that you can use the fabric once you find the right design. This is always a little difficult because the amount of fabric you need will depend on your size, the type of garment you want to make, and how much extra flow or ease you intend to have in the pattern. For example, a pencil skirt uses significantly less fabric than a circle skirt. This chart can give you a basic idea of how much fabric you need for a garment, but it’s not perfect. When in doubt, get a little more fabric than you think you’ll need.

Type of garment	Approximate amount of fabric
Camisole or tank top	1 yard
Short sleeve shirt	1-2 yards
Long sleeved shirt	2-3 yards
Pencil skirt	2 yards
Long skirt	3 yards
Circle skirt	4-5 yards
Knee-length dress	2 yards
Floor-length dress	4 yards
Shorts	1 yard
Straight-leg pants (jeans)	2-3 yards
Leggings	2 yards
Bolero	1-2 yards
Jacket	3-4 yards
Long cardigan	2-3 yards
Tote bag	1 yard
Backpack	2 yards

Estimating the fabric needed based on your body measurements

If you’re trying to find a better estimate that will work for your body specifically, you can do some math by measuring yourself and adding up the pieces. 

Let’s take a shirt as an example:

• Measure the length of your torso (or however long you want your shirt to be), and multiply that by two for the front and back of the garment.
• Measure the length of your arm
• Add the two numbers together and you’ll get the approximate amount of fabric you need (I recommend rounding up to be on the safe side)

If you expect any piece of the pattern to be extra wide (such as a flared or circle skirt), you should add an extra length of the skirt to your fabric estimate.

Adjustments you can make to a pattern if you don’t have enough fabric

If you have some fabric that you really want to use for a pattern, but you don’t have quite enough, you can probably still get away with using it. You’ll need to make some adjustments to the pattern, or you might want to find a contrast fabric that will look good with your main material.

Use these tips to help you squeeze a pattern when you don’t have quite enough fabric:

• Use a contrasting color for cuffs, necklines, waistbands, and pockets.
• You can use a different color fabric for facings, invisible pockets, and other hidden elements.
• Shorten the length of skirts and long shirts by a few inches.
• Use a narrow hem or taped hemline instead of a wide hem.
• Use the salvaged edges in the seam allowance of the pieces.
• Try color blocking to use multiple fabrics in one design.
• Take some width out of large gathered areas so it’s not as tightly gathered.