Fabric Weight from Dimensions
Turn a fabric's GSM and a roll or cut size into a total weight — handy for costing by the kilo, verifying a supplier's roll weight, and estimating shipping mass.
Total fabric weight
From areal weight to real weight
A GSM figure tells you the weight of one square metre; a roll is just many square metres laid end to end. Multiply the GSM by the roll's area and you have its total mass. Because the relationship is linear, doubling the length doubles the weight, and a wider bolt of the same GSM weighs proportionally more per metre.
This matters wherever fabric is bought, priced, or shipped by weight rather than by length. It also gives you a quick integrity check: if a delivered roll weighs far less than its declared GSM and length imply, something in the paperwork is off.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you calculate the total weight of a fabric roll?
Multiply the fabric's GSM by its area in square metres. Area is length in metres times width in metres, so a 50-metre roll that is 1.5 m wide has an area of 75 m²; at 200 GSM that is 200 × 75 = 15,000 g, or 15 kg.
What is weight per linear metre and why does it matter?
Fabric is often sold by the running (linear) metre at a fixed width, so its price and shipping weight scale with weight per metre. That figure is GSM times the width in metres: a 200 GSM cloth at 1.5 m wide weighs 300 g for every metre you buy, regardless of how long the roll is.
Why doesn't width appear in the GSM number itself?
GSM is grams per square metre, so it is already normalised for area and says nothing about how wide the bolt is. Two fabrics can share a GSM but come in very different widths, which is why total weight needs both the GSM and the actual dimensions.
Can I use this to check a supplier's declared roll weight?
Yes — that is one of its best uses. Compute the expected weight from the quoted GSM and dimensions and compare it to the weight on the delivery note. A large gap can signal a mislabelled GSM, a short roll, or moisture, and is worth querying before you cut.
Does this account for the cardboard tube or packaging?
No. The result is the weight of the fabric only. A shipped roll also includes the core tube and wrapping, so weigh those separately if you need an exact gross shipping mass.
Educational estimate only. The result is fabric weight from the values you enter; real rolls vary with moisture, finish, and tolerance, and exclude the tube and packaging.