How Much Is a Yard of Fabric? How Big, Wide, Long A to Z

Fabric yardage is a common term used by professionals. However, this term can mean so many things and can have different measurements depending on the width and length.

To most people, a yard means the area around one’s home or a measure of distance between two locations. But the fabric is also sold using this parameter. I also came to know of it when I DIY-ed our chairs and sofa.

How much is a yard of fabric? From the back of the mind, everyone will tell you it’s about 3 feet or so. On the metric system, it equates to 90 centimeters.

The thing is that a fabric yard can have various widths with a fixed length. And that changes all the equations, doesn’t it?

To understand how all of that works, continue to read this article. As we all know, the devil is in the details.

How to Measure a Yard of Fabric?

When you go to purchase a yard of fabric, you’re assured that you’re getting 36 inches of fabric. But the width of the fabric can vary a lot. Some fabrics have the same width as their length, which is called square fabric.

A piece of a 20-yard fabric means 60 feet of fabric. But for the width, you have to ask for it and measure it yourself.

For the yard measurement, just have a yardstick with you.

How Big Is a Yard of Fabric?

In case you’re not familiar with yards, a yard is equal to 0.9144 meters in the International System of Units and 3 feet in the U.S customary system.

A normal tape is about 5 feet which is 60-inch. And it is roughly equal to 1.66 yards. There are loads of conversion charts available on the internet.

So, you can take help from those to convert the amount into any measurement.

How Many Inches in a Yard of Fabric?

The answer to this question isn’t uncommon at all. Every kid in elementary learns this stuff. Fortunately, this knowledge is going to be very helpful in understanding different measurement units.

A yard of fabric was 37 inches or 0.93 meters in length, but in the stores now, you’ll find them 36 inches or 0.91 meters in length.

Your project will need a lot of different cut fabric pieces. Knowing the size in inches helps a lot when you’re about to divide the fabric for your project.

However, unfortunately, you will not find fabric pieces that come in the sizes of 1/4^th, 1/3^rd, or 3/4^th of inches. Therefore, you’ll have to buy a fabric with a rounded number of measurements.

If you’re lucky, they will divide the fabric into sections of inches once you buy the whole thing. But the chance of getting a pre-cut fabric like this is pretty slim.

How Many Feet in a Yard of Fabric?

There are 3 feet in a fabric yard, but it doesn’t determine the width of the fabric. The width can be as much as the length. If you’re working with something that will look better in a square piece of fabric, you can take 3 feet by 3 feet fabric. So, you’ll have 9 square feet of fabric to work with.

How Many Meters in a Yard of Fabric?

In the metric system, a yard and a meter are two different things with two different measurements. A meter is roughly 39 inches long, whereas a yard is 3 inches less than that. So, for the same number, you’ll get more fabric if you buy in meters.

A yard of fabric is 0.9444 meters. If you don’t know the conversion to cm from m, a yard is equal to 90 to 91 cm since a meter is 100 cm.

Don’t rely on pre-measured fabric as it can be wrongly measured. Always take your own measuring tape so that you don’t buy less than your requirement.

How Many Square Feet in a Yard of Fabric?

How do you buy your fabric? I always prefer to buy them in square feet measurements. It ensures that I’m getting the exact length and width of the fabric. You can choose to buy fabric with a different width than the length.

A yard of fabric corresponds to 3 feet of fabric. So, a yard of fabric can range from 3 square feet to any multiple of 3 feet.

How Many Fat Quarters in a Yard of Fabric?

The uninitiated will be asking themselves, what the heck is a fat quarter? A fat quarter is used to indicate a specific size of the fabric. There are 4 fat quarters in a yard of fabric.

Here’s a breakdown for you all:

A fat quarter fabric piece is made by cutting a half yard or 18 inches of fabric along the lengthwise grain. And then cut that fabric in half along its widthwise grain.

So, a piece of fat quarter fabric has a dimension of 18” by 22”. It is done with most quilting fabrics as they are not as wide.

How Does a Regular Quarter of a Yard Compare to a Fat Quarter of a Yard?

A regular quarter of a yard is 9 inches length-wise and has the full width of the fabric. So, a quarter of a yard of fabric has a dimension of 9 inches by 44 inches.

Therefore, the difference between a regular quarter of a yard of fabric and a fat quarter of a yard of fabric is in both width and length. A fat quarter is twice as wide and half as long.

Read Next: A Complete Guide on Modal FAbric

How Wide Is a Yard of Fabric?

The width of a yard of fabric can vary greatly from fabric to fabric. There are two different quarter sizes when it comes to fabric.

The regular quarter and the fat quarter; two have different widths with the same length. A fat quarter of a yard of fabric has 18 inches width-wise and 22 inches length-wise.

How Long Is a Yard of Fabric?

Not long ago, a yard of fabric was a bit long at 37 inches. But it changed!

Current Length of a Yard of Fabric

A yard of fabric is as long as a yard! It doesn’t take a genius to figure that out, right?

Now a yard corresponds to 36 inches or 3 feet of fabric. This 1 inch is not a huge difference from a standard point of view.

Nonetheless, you’ll face problems with the 3 feet measurement if your design doesn’t take that into account.

A Yard of Length in Cm

If you convert a yard to a meter or centimeter, you’re going to see some complex numbers. And sadly, the world doesn’t work with yards anymore.

On the other hand, a yard of the fabric means 0.9444 meters or 90-91 centimeters.

Read Next: How to Identify Cotton Fabric

How Many Inches in 1/4 Yard of Fabric?

Talking about length or width here? In both cases, the answer will be different. A quarter of a yard of fabric can mean 9 inches or 18 inches in length.

Then, you have the fat quarter of a yard measurement. Although it’s not a standard measurement, a fat quarter is a pretty familiar unit of measurement in the fabric world.

A fat quarter of a yard means it has 18 inches of length which is double the regular length.

A 3/4^th of a yard means 27 inches and a 1/16^th of an inch. This translates to 68.5 centimeters for those using the metric system.

Read Next: Tips & Guide on cutting fabric straight

How Many 5 Inch Squares in a Yard of Fabric?

This is a tough one, and you can’t figure it out without mapping it on the fabric.

But why should you go through all of that trouble? You can simply follow the charts available from the experienced crowd.

In a yard of fabric, you’ll get 49 to 63 pieces. If the fabric is 36 inches, it has 49 5-inch squares. If the fabric has 45 inches in length, it should give you 63 pieces of 5-inch squares.

The bigger you go, the fewer pieces you’ll find in a yard of fabric. For example, in the same fabric, you’ll only find either 36 pieces or 42 pieces of 6-inch square.

If you go lower in size, you’ll see that the same fabric will give you 84 or 99 pieces of 4-inch square fabric.

Read Next: Step-by-Step Guide for Making Backdrops from Fabric

How Many 10 Inch Squares in a Yard of Fabric?

You can easily cut out pieces of square fabric from a given fabric. Depending on the dimensions of the given fabric, you’ll find various numbers of square fabrics.

For example, in a 36 by 36 fabric, you’ll find 9 pieces of 10-inch square fabric which will increase to 12 pieces if the fabric is 36 by 45 inches. The number of pieces will go up and down depending on the dimensions.

If your fabric is 45 by 60 inches, then you’ll get even more pieces of the same size. Use the conversion chart below to understand more.

Size of Square	Pieces in 36″ Fabric	Pieces in 45″ Fabric
3″	144*	180
4″	81*	99
5″	49	63
6″	36*	42
7″	25	30
8″	16	25
9″	16*	20
10″	9	12
11″	9	12
12″	9*	12
13″	4	6
14″	4	6
15″	4	4
16″	4	4
17″	4	4
18″	4*

*includes using of the salvage: it allows no waste to be produced

How Much Does a Yard of Fabric Weigh?

The weight of fabric with a yard length has a weight range of 2.5oz to 18oz. Different fabrics have differences in fabric thickness, fabric width, fiber density, type of fiber, etc.

It’s mostly measured in ounces per yard or grams per meter.

Final Words

I hope you don’t have any confusion regarding the question, How much is 1 yard of fabric? You shouldn’t! since this article went over it quite extensively.

You now know the nuances that are in the concept of a yard of fabric and how it can change.