If you are forever googling fabric yardage conversion just when you are about to go fabric shopping or start sewing, you can now save yourself some time and energy and print this handy chart to keep in your sewing room. Here I will show you conversions from yards, inches, centimeters, and meters and back again. I have also included a fabric conversion calculator for quick access.
Yardage Conversion Tutorial
With the explosion of downloadable sewing patterns, you can now order patterns from all over the world at the click of a button. While this is just amazing, you may sometimes be scratching your head over the mathematical conversions between the metric and imperial systems.
Fabric Converter Calculator
In case you are just looking for some quick calculations, use this free fabric conversion calculator:
Some Yardage Conversion Maths
People always look at me strangely when I say I love maths! But just in case you do, too, and want to work the conversions out yourself, here are the basic conversion formulas used.
- 1 yard = 36 inches
- 1 yard = 0.91 metres
- 1 yard = 91 centimetres
- 1 inch = 2.54 centimetres
Read more about what is a yard of fabric.
Yardage Conversion Chart (Printable)
Now if you hate maths, or have just had a sleepless night with the kids and your once sharp brain is fried (this is often my excuse!). Here is a printable chart you can hang in your sewing room. There is a colored version, a black-and-white version, and a small card for your wallet. Just print the pages you need.
Printable Yardage Conversion Chart (PDF)
For the yardage in the very last column, I rounded up for all measurements and not down since I figured it is better to have a little extra fabric than not enough.
Buying Fabric after Yardage Conversion
When buying fabric, it is always best to purchase a little extra in case you make a mistake in cutting. You should also allow for a small amount of shrinkage in your pre-washing.
Scraps can always be used for small sewing projects and for color-blocking. Most fabrics come in 44-inch (112cm) or 60-inch (150cm) widths. Now you are all set with your conversions, it is time to get to the fun part - the actual sewing!
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