How to Calculate Yardage for Upholstery
Having fabric upholstered can be costly, and a do-it-yourself upholstery project can save tons of money -- provided you know exactly how much upholstery to get. Buying enough, but not too much, takes a little knowledge and planning. These steps will enable you to learn how to buy just the right amount of upholstery, using as a concrete example a simple upholstery project--a window seat cushion. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Assembling Facts
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1
Measure width, depth and height of one part (here, the window seat foam).
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2
Concentrate on top and bottom; add 1" seam allowance on each side. You will need two pieces this size.
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3
Compute yardage for top and bottom, assuming you will cut the longest dimension, the 78" width, from the length of the bolt. You will need 160", or 4.5 yards, to make a cushion top and bottom.
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4
Calculate yardage for sides. You will need only one piece this size.
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5
Compute yardage for sides, which you also will cut from the length of the bolt, from the excess width generated when you cut the top and bottom. You will need 210", or a total of 5.8 yards, and can cut and seam together strips from the 26" left after cutting the top and bottom.
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6
Decide whether you will use welting, and, if so, buy twice as much cording as the length of the sides. In this example, buy 420 inches, or about 12 yards (420 inches, divided by 36, is 11.7 yards).
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7
Calculate fabric to cover welting cord: 420 inches, or 12 yards, by a 3" width. 420" divided by 54", the width of most upholstery fabric, is 7.8, or nearly 8 strips cut across the bolt. Since each strip will be 3" wide, the cushion requires 24 linear inches of 54" fabric to make a welt between the top and side of the cushion and another one between the bottom and side. Save this number.
Finding the Total
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8
Add the yardage for top, bottom, sides, and welting cover. Draw a layout picture.
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9
Compute fabric required. As it happens, 4.5 yards will not complete this project, since welting alone requires 24" of fabric, and only 13" remain after the top and sides have been cut.
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10
Add yardage needed for pattern repeat (none is illustrated in this example).
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11
Round the number up to the nearest yard, to allow for errors and miscalculations.
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12
Use these techniques to find out how much fabric is needed for each facet of the project: seat, back, sides, cushions and arms. Be sure to plot the parts so you use the fabric economically.
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Tips & Warnings
The roll of self-covered cording, "piping," between seams on upholstered furniture is called welting. It adds a crisp appearance to the upholstered piece by drawing attention to "corners," that is, places the fabric makes a 90-degree turn. Cushions with welting hold a more square shape than do plain-seamed ones. On the other hand, if you love the casual look, omit welts. Matching pattern repeats often makes the difference between an okay and an excellent upholstery job. Listed in the Resources section is a website that discusses pattern repeats in detail. To summarize: add together the length between horizontal and vertical dimensions of the pattern, then consult the chart. An alternative to separate top, bottom, and sides is a self-sided cushion. Self sides require a little less fabric because there are fewer seam allowances to add and no possibility to use welting. They also require sewing fewer seams. The downside is likelihood of the resulting cushion turning out crooked, and an increased difficulty in turning good corners, especially when the fabric is hefty.
Unless your sewing machine is super heavy-duty, pay attention to the thickness of the fabric you buy. At a minimum, the arm and needle will have to pierce two layers. Three or four layers are more like it, if you iron on lining. If you decide to use welting, too, the number of layers jumps to six. Naturally, six thinner layers are easier on your sewing machine than six thick ones.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Photos courtesy of the author
