Upholstery Yardage Calculator
Reupholstering means cutting many different pieces from one bolt. List your cushions and panels with their sizes and quantities, add a repeat if the fabric is patterned, and get the total yardage with waste included.
Set quantity to 0 to skip a row. Measure the largest dimension across each shaped piece.
Formula & how it works
Each piece grows by seam × 2 in both directions. For each type, pieces across is floor(usable width ÷ cut width) and rows is ceil(quantity ÷ across), giving a length of rows × cut length.
With a repeat, each type's length rounds up to a whole repeat. Lengths are summed and multiplied by 1 + waste ÷ 100.
Worked example
Two 22 × 22 inch cushion faces, three 40 × 4 inch boxing strips, and two 30 × 24 inch back panels on 54-inch fabric with half-inch seams total 88 inches of fabric. With a 15% allowance that is about 2.8 yards — rising to roughly 3.5 yards on a fabric with a 27 inch repeat.
Buying upholstery fabric
Width works in your favour
Upholstery fabric is typically 54 inches wide rather than the 44 of quilting cotton, which means larger pieces fit across without piecing and boxing strips can often be cut two or three abreast. Always confirm the actual width before calculating, since decorator fabrics vary.
Repeats and railroading
A patterned fabric forces every piece to start at the same point in the design, which adds length. Some fabrics can be railroaded — turned so the pattern runs along the width — which lets long pieces like sofa backs be cut without seams. It only works if the pattern is non-directional.
Buy from one bolt
Dye lots differ visibly, and returning for two more yards weeks later often means a slightly different shade on one cushion. Because upholstery pieces are shaped and mistakes are costly, a generous allowance bought in a single cut is cheaper than the alternative.