Fabric Width: 112 cm or 150 cm, and How Width Changes What You Buy

Fabric is sold by length, but it comes in different widths, and the width changes everything about how much you need and what it really costs. A metre of 112 cm cotton and a metre of 150 cm cotton are not the same amount of fabric, and a pattern that needs 2.3 m of one can need over 3 m of the other. This guide explains the common widths, shows how to compare them using the site's Fabric Yardage Calculator and Fabric Weight from Dimensions tool, and covers how to compare prices fairly across widths.

The common widths

Widths vary by fabric type, mill and market, but some come up again and again:

• About 112 to 115 cm (44 to 45 inches): quilting cotton, many craft and dressmaking cottons, some printed fabrics. 44 inches is 111.76 cm and 45 inches is 114.3 cm.
• About 140 to 150 cm (55 to 60 inches): most dressmaking fabrics, many knits, linings, home furnishing fabrics. 58 inches is 147.32 cm and 60 inches is 152.4 cm.
• Extra-wide, about 240 to 280 cm and more: sheeting for bed linen, quilt backings, some curtain fabrics. 108 inches, a common quilt-backing width, is 274.32 cm.
• Knits sold tubular: some circular knits are sold as a tube, so the listed width is half the open width.

Whatever the listed width, the usable width is narrower once selvedges are trimmed. Many projects lose 4 to 10 cm overall.

Same project, two widths

Take a project needing 3 m² of fabric with a 10% waste allowance. In the yardage calculator:

• 112 cm fabric, about 108 cm usable: 2.78 m before waste, 3.06 m to buy (3.34 yd).
• 150 cm fabric, about 145 cm usable: 2.07 m before waste, 2.28 m to buy (2.49 yd).

The narrower fabric needs about a third more length for the same area. That is just the ratio of the widths working through, and it is why pattern envelopes give separate charts for each width.

Area is only part of the story. Some pattern pieces, such as a full skirt panel or the back of a long coat, may not fit across a narrow fabric at all, forcing a seam or a different layout. Others nest better across a wide fabric, two side by side, which can save more than the width ratio suggests. Check the pattern's own layouts when they exist.

Comparing prices across widths

A price per metre on its own does not tell you which fabric is cheaper, because a metre of a wider fabric contains more cloth. Two fair ways to compare:

Price per square metre

Divide the price per metre by the width in metres. A 112 cm fabric at 10 per metre is about 8.93 per square metre; a 150 cm fabric at 14 per metre is about 9.33 per square metre. On that basis the narrow fabric is slightly cheaper.

Cost of the length the project needs

Better still, price the actual length. For the 3 m² project: 3.06 m of the 112 cm fabric at 10 is 30.60; 2.28 m of the 150 cm fabric at 14 is 31.92. Close, and the narrow fabric still edges it here, but the gap is smaller than the per-metre prices suggest, and a layout that uses the wider fabric more efficiently could reverse it. Price the project, not the metre.

Weight per running metre

Width also changes how much a metre weighs, which matters for postage, for buying by the kilo, and for how heavy a finished item is. For a 150 GSM fabric, the dimensions tool gives:

• 168 g per running metre at 112 cm wide;
• 225 g per running metre at 150 cm wide.

Same fabric weight per square metre, a third more per running metre. If you see a fabric sold by the kilo, this is the figure that turns a kilo price into a metre price; the guide to buying fabric by the kilo shows how.

Why narrow widths still exist

If wider fabric is more efficient, why do quilting cottons stay at around 112 cm? Several reasons: the looms and printing machinery that produce them, the convenience of handling and storing narrower bolts in shops, and the fact that quilters cut small pieces where width matters less. Some fabrics are traditionally narrow because of how they are woven, such as some handwoven and specialty cloths. Width is a property of the production process as much as a choice.

When width really matters

• Large single pieces: tablecloths, curtains, bed covers and quilt backs. If the piece is wider than the fabric, you need joins, and the number of whole widths decides the length. Extra-wide sheeting or backing fabric can avoid seams altogether.
• Directional or napped fabrics: every piece must face the same way, so the ability to place pieces side by side across a wide fabric saves more.
• Bias-cut garments: wide fabric gives longer bias lengths.
• Width shrinkage: a fabric that shrinks across its width after washing loses usable width. If a piece only just fits, it may stop fitting. Test a sample with the Fabric Shrinkage Calculator first.

Converting a pattern's quantity to a different width

Pattern envelopes list quantities for the widths the designer expected, and the fabric you love is often a different width. If your width is not on the chart, you can convert. Multiply the length the pattern gives by the usable width it assumes to get the area the layout uses, then enter that area and your own usable width into the yardage calculator. Suppose a pattern asks for 2.3 m of 150 cm fabric, about 145 cm usable. That layout covers 3.335 m². On a 112 cm fabric with 108 cm usable, the calculator gives 3.09 m with no extra allowance, because the pattern's own figure already includes its layout waste. Adding 5% for the less efficient layout a narrow width usually forces brings it to 3.24 m.

Treat a converted figure as an estimate. If the pattern has a piece wider than your fabric, such as a circle skirt or a wide cape, no conversion will make it fit without a seam, and the designer's layout for a narrower width, if there is one, is the better guide.

Checking the width you were sold

Measure the width when the fabric arrives, selvedge to selvedge, and note the usable width. Listed widths are sometimes rounded, and some fabrics relax narrower or wider after unrolling. If the usable width is narrower than you planned for, rerun the yardage calculation before cutting.

Quick reference

• Going from 150 cm to 112 cm fabric, expect to need roughly a third more length for the same area.
• Compare prices per square metre, or better, for the length the project needs.
• Use weight per running metre, not GSM alone, for postage and kilo prices.
• For large pieces, count whole widths and check whether an extra-wide fabric avoids seams.

What the tools assume

The yardage calculator assumes pieces can be placed anywhere across the usable width, and the dimensions tool assumes a uniform GSM across the full width you enter. Neither knows about pattern layouts, selvedge quality, or a fabric that has relaxed to a different width. Use them to compare widths quickly, and a layout to confirm.