Sewing & crafts
Patchwork strip cutting yield
Estimate fabric length and spare pieces from repeated rectangular strip cuts.
A clear answer. Here’s how.
Subtracts two selvage allowances, floors usable width divided by crosscut size, and rounds required strips up to a whole strip. Fabric length is strip count × cut strip width, also shown in yards. All dimensions are cut sizes including any required seam allowances. Does not nest scraps, join strips, match prints or account for shrinkage.
See a worked example
Worked example
A fixed demonstration, separate from the values you enter above.
- Fabric width (in)
- 44
- Selvage allowance on each edge (in)
- 1
- Crosscut piece width (in)
- 3.5
- Strip cut width (in)
- 3.5
- Pieces required
- 70
Example result
- Usable width (in)
- 42
- Pieces per strip
- 12
- Strips required
- 6
- Fabric length required (in)
- 21
- Fabric length required (yards)
- 0.583333333333
- Spare pieces
- 2
Rectangular crosscuts from strips. Dimensions are cut sizes including any seam allowances; does not nest or account for directional prints.