How to Measure for Fabric

A rough measurement is all you need to choose a fabric and get a sense of the cost. Your curtain maker or upholsterer will always take the final measurements before cutting, and we're happy to help with the sums. Just get in touch.

Curtains

  • Width: measure the length of your pole or track, not the window.
  • Fullness: curtains need more fabric than the track is wide so they hang in soft folds. Most headings take between two and two and a half times the track width; your maker will advise for the heading you choose.
  • Drop: measure from the track or pole down to where you'd like the curtains to finish, whether the sill, just below it, or the floor.
  • Widths of fabric: divide the track width multiplied by the fullness by the width of the fabric, and round up. That's how many drops you'll need.
  • Metres: each drop needs the finished length plus an allowance for hems and headings, rounded up to a whole pattern repeat so the design matches across every width.

Roman blinds

  • Decide whether the blind will sit inside the recess or outside it, covering the frame.
  • Inside: measure the width of the recess at the top, middle and bottom, and use the narrowest.
  • Outside: measure the area you want to cover, allowing a little overlap on each side.
  • Measure the drop from where the blind will be fixed down to the sill.
  • Add an allowance for hems and turnings, and centre the pattern on the blind. Your maker will confirm the exact amount.

Cushions

  • Measure the cushion pad edge to edge and add a seam allowance on every side.
  • If you'd like a motif centred on the front, allow for at least one full pattern repeat per cushion.
  • Remember the back, which can be the same fabric or a coordinating plain.

Upholstery

  • Every chair and sofa is different, so the quantity is best worked out by your upholsterer.
  • Large designs and stripes that need matching across seats and backs take more fabric than plains.
  • Each product page gives the fabric width, pattern repeat and recommended uses, so check it's suited to upholstery before you order.

The pattern repeat matters

  • The repeat is the distance before the design starts again. You'll find it on every product page.
  • The larger the repeat, the more fabric each drop needs, because every drop has to start at the same point in the pattern.
  • Plains and small repeats waste very little, so they go further.

Order it all at once

  • Fabric is woven and printed in batches, and colour can shift slightly from one batch to the next.
  • Fabric ordered together is cut as one continuous length from the same batch, so every curtain, blind and cushion matches.
  • Topping up an earlier order? Add the batch number from your label on the product page, and we'll check we can match it.

Measuring for wallpaper?

Our roll calculator works out how many rolls you need from your wall measurements and the pattern repeat.