‘Yards’ is a measurement that isn’t used on a daily basis by most people… unless you are into landscaping or sewing that is! Almost all sewing pattern measurements are given ‘by the yard’ in the United States, so it is pretty important to be familiar with yardages!
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There’s lots we could talk about regarding fabric yardage measurements, but lets start with the basics today.. How big is a yard of fabric?
A yard of fabric is 3 feet or 36 inches in length. The width of a yard of fabric varies based on what material you are purchasing, which means there are no single or standard dimensions for one yard of fabric. However, some common widths for fabric yardages include 45” and 60”.
When buying fabric by the yard, how wide is it?
Fabric purchased by the yard does not come in a single standard width. The material is usually folded in half on the roll, with the length cut off being the amount of yards you want, and the width being determined by how wide the fabric was made to be.
No matter how many yards you purchase off the roll, the width will always stay the same.
The width of your fabric can be found 2 ways, by measuring the cut edge (not the selvege edge) or by looking on the end of the fabric bolt and locating the sticker with the measurements on it.
Are there standard widths of fabric?
While there are common fabric widths, there is no one standard fabric width. It is important that you check your sewing pattern instructions to see what width of fabric it requires, otherwise your pattern pieces might not fit on the fabric.
The most common widths for fabric are 45 and 60 inches. Cotton for quilting is often 44/45 inches wide, and knits and apparel fabric are often 60 inches wide.
Most pattern layouts will allow for a bit of wiggle room so if your fabric is an inch off (44 inches wide instead of 45 for example), it may still work.
You can also purchase fabrics at these widths: 36, 38, 42, 48, 54, 58, 72, and 108 inches. And if you are purchasing quilt backings, you can also find material in 104, 106, 120 inches, and even more at specialty shops.
Is a yard of fabric 3×3?
It is a common misconception that a yard of fabric is a square. Because yardage widths vary based on the fabric you are purchasing, a yard is usually not a square, unless you purchase 36 inch wide material. A yard of fabric is usually larger than 3×3 feet.
How to measure a yard of fabric?
When the fabric is folded in half on the bolt, there is a special name for the edges of fabric that are parallel to the fold. This term is “selvedge.”
To correctly measure the length of your fabric, you want to measure the selvedge edge, not the edge that was cut.
Lay out your fabric flat on the floor or a large table, and measure the selvedge to find how long your yardage is.
Fabric Size Conversion Formulas
Since one yard is defined as 3 feet, if you want to know how long is 4 yards of fabric, then all you have to do is multiply 4 yards by 3 feet. 4×3=12. 4 Yards of fabric is 12 feet long.
One yard of fabric is also defined as 36 inches, so if you want to know how long is 6 yards of fabric, all you need to do is multiply 6 yards by 36 inches. 6×36=216. 6 yards of fabric is 216 inches long.
Here are some basic formulas to convert yards into other measurements.
(Y will be defined as the number of yards.)
Yard to Inches
Y x 36 = (number of inches in yardage)
Yard to Feet
Y x 3 = (number of feet in yardage)
Yard to Meters
Y / 1.094 = (number of meters in yardage)
Yard to Centimeters
Y x 91.44 = (number of centimeters in yardage)
Here is a “pinnable” version of these formulas to save for later. Get the printable PDF version by signing up at the bottom of this post!
Fabric Size Conversion Quick-Glance-Table
For those of you who don’t want to do the math, I also wanted to layout an easy table for you to see how large a yard of fabric is in feet, inches (imperial system) and also in meters, and centimeters (metric system).
To use the chart, simply locate the yardage amount on the left, then read across the row to see how big that yardage is in other measurements.
| Yardage | Inches | Feet | Centimeters | Meters |
| 1/8th Yard | 4.5 | .375 | 11.43 | .1143 |
| 1/4th Yard | 9 | .75 | 22.86 | .2286 |
| 1/3rd Yard | 12 | 1 | 30.48 | .3048 |
| 1/2 Yard | 18 | 1.5 | 45.72 | .4572 |
| 3/4 Yard | 27 | 2.25 | 68.58 | .6858 |
| 1 Yard | 36 | 3 | 91.44 | .9144 |
If you need more than one yard, for example, 1 and 1/4 yards, simply add together the rows for 1 yard and 1/4 yard.
Here is a “pinnable” version of the same chart for you to save for later. Get the printable PDF version by signing up at the bottom of this post!
What can you make with a yard of fabric?
1 yard of fabric is actually a very useful and inexpensive cut of fabric. There are lots of things you can make that will take a yard or less.
Here are some examples:
- A baby romper
- Any project that requires scraps
- A zippered pouch
- Pillows
- Lots of scrunchies!
- A baby blanket
- Children’s clothing
- A hat
- Curtain for a small window
- Fabric basket
- Drawsting bag
- Hair Bows and Headbands
- Small-medium Boxy T Shirt
- An XS or S simple gathered skirt
- A men’s tie or bow ties
- Table Runner
- Christmas Ornaments or door hangers
- House slippers
To more easily determine what you can make with a yard of fabric, I created this scale image chart of what 1 yard looks like compared to an average height woman, two year old, and house cat.
This will hopefully help you to visualize the size of a yard in real life!
Now you have learned all about how big a yard of fabric is! I hope this deep dive has helped you visualize what you can do with your fabric better, as well as introduce some new concepts to you.
My very last gift for you is a Printable PDF of EVERY chart in this post as one single document, to make printing super quick and easy for you! Feel free to print these out to reference at home every time you need them.
I will send it to your email when you sign up for the emails below.
I also have made large poster sized versions of these charts that would look great hung in a sewing class.
To keep up my other helpful content and get the printable PDF, make sure to sign up for emails below, as well as pin this post for later!
Great information in this article! I want to pull out my sewing machine early this year and start on some holiday crafts – I will certainly be referring back to this article.
Thanks stephanie, I hope it was helpful
This is super helpful! I’m a novice in the sewing department, and your article answers a lot of questions for me. I especially love the printable PDF charts you created. Cute and informative 🙂 Thank you for sharing!
Thanks Heather I’m so glad you liked them!
Remember buying material and not realising that width is all different many years ago. This is so helpful thanks.