Fabric & consumption calculator
Calculate woven fabric consumption per garment and per dozen from a marker (marker length and garments in the marker) or from pattern area, fabric width and expected marker efficiency.
Consumption per garment
1.597m
Multiply by the order quantity and add the agreed buffer to get the fabric booking quantity.
Consumption = marker length / garments in marker × (1 + allowance / 100)
| Symbol | Meaning | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| L_m | Marker length | m or yd |
| n | Garments in the marker | pcs |
| a | End loss and allowance | % |
Consumption = pattern area / (cuttable width × marker efficiency) × (1 + allowance / 100)
| Symbol | Meaning | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| A_p | Pattern area per garment | cm² |
| W | Cuttable width | cm |
| η | Marker efficiency as a fraction | - |
From marker: consumption per garment = marker length / garments in the marker × (1 + allowance). The result is shown in meters and yards, per garment and per dozen.
From pattern area: the calculator divides the pattern area per garment by the expected marker efficiency to get the fabric area used, then divides by the cuttable width to get length, and adds the allowance.
Default marker values: a shirt marker 6.20 m long with 4 garments and a 3% allowance.
Use the marker method for fabric booking once a CAD marker exists. If the booked width and the received width differ, remake the marker for the received width. See marker making and reducing fabric waste.
The marker method, because it uses the actual layout of pieces on the fabric width. Use the area method only for early estimates before a marker exists.
The cuttable width inside the selvedges, not the full fabric width.
End loss at each end of the lay and other small losses, based on your cutting room's records.
How to calculate fabric consumption for knit garments (by weight, from panel areas and GSM) and woven garments (by length, from the marker), with worked examples, wastage allowances and the mistakes that cause fabric shortages.
The marker decides how much fabric an order uses. How markers are planned, what limits efficiency (grain, direction, matching, width), how to calculate marker efficiency, and how to improve it without hurting quality.
Fabric is the largest cost in most garments, and the cutting room decides how much of it becomes garments. Where fabric is lost, how to measure it, and practical ways to cut waste through markers, spreading, end loss control and roll planning.
Knitted fabrics are made of interlooped yarns; woven fabrics of interlaced warp and weft. How that difference affects stretch, shrinkage, costing, cutting, sewing and testing, with a side-by-side comparison.