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This is probably the most often asked question and one that has a very simple answer and a not so simple answer. So I will take it in stages. When you read the one that covers your situation, and then don’t read any farther. No need to complicate things if you can make it simple.
For our purposes lets say you are making a cornice for your slider window that has verticals on it. The rod the verticals are on is 109” long. So at the very least your cornice needs to be 110” providing a half inch space on either side.
Here is the simplest answer: Add 25” to the 110” = 135” divide that by 36 = 3.75. You will need to purchase 3.75 yards of the fabric for the center and the top/bottom contours if you want to just cut one long strip that will cover from end to end.
You might be asking yourself, why add 25”. The straight part of the cornice is 110” but when you attach the end cap the length of the front of your cornice will expand by 2.5” on each side, the thickness of the end cap in that center contour. Then to cover down the length of the end cap is another 7.5” if using the standard 5” bracket, only 5.5” if using the 3” brackets, so a maximum 7.5 + 2.5 + 7.5 + 2.5 = 20” and 5” for insurance. You will use about an inch on each side to turn under at the end of the end cap.
If your fabric is a solid color, or the pattern is random or a pattern that runs down the length of the bolt, this is generally referred to as a railroad direction.
Now let’s say your fabric has a gorgeous pattern that you want to feature in the center contour but it runs across the width of the bolt. This requires a bit more math. Let’s say the width of the fabric is 54”. For your cornice you need a total of 135”, 135 divided by 54 = 2.5. So for the center section you need to cut 3 strips of that pattern. But that has not quite got us the yardage.
You also need to get the repeat distance for the pattern. Does the pattern repeat every 10”, every 17” every 23”, what is it? If it is not written on the fabric label, then lay it out on the cutting table and measure it. In our example we need 3 repeats, but since you cannot guarantee that your starting yardage is at the very beginning of the pattern, get one more repeat for insurance, get 4. For our example, I am going to say the pattern repeats every 21”—so 4 times 21 = 84” and that divided by 36 = 2.33 or 2.5 yards. Most fabric stores will cut in ¼ yard increments, some in as small as 1/8th.
Various methods of joining the fabric strips are covered in the next blog post.
Cheers,
Jan
For our purposes lets say you are making a cornice for your slider window that has verticals on it. The rod the verticals are on is 109” long. So at the very least your cornice needs to be 110” providing a half inch space on either side.
Here is the simplest answer: Add 25” to the 110” = 135” divide that by 36 = 3.75. You will need to purchase 3.75 yards of the fabric for the center and the top/bottom contours if you want to just cut one long strip that will cover from end to end.
You might be asking yourself, why add 25”. The straight part of the cornice is 110” but when you attach the end cap the length of the front of your cornice will expand by 2.5” on each side, the thickness of the end cap in that center contour. Then to cover down the length of the end cap is another 7.5” if using the standard 5” bracket, only 5.5” if using the 3” brackets, so a maximum 7.5 + 2.5 + 7.5 + 2.5 = 20” and 5” for insurance. You will use about an inch on each side to turn under at the end of the end cap.
If your fabric is a solid color, or the pattern is random or a pattern that runs down the length of the bolt, this is generally referred to as a railroad direction.
Now let’s say your fabric has a gorgeous pattern that you want to feature in the center contour but it runs across the width of the bolt. This requires a bit more math. Let’s say the width of the fabric is 54”. For your cornice you need a total of 135”, 135 divided by 54 = 2.5. So for the center section you need to cut 3 strips of that pattern. But that has not quite got us the yardage.
You also need to get the repeat distance for the pattern. Does the pattern repeat every 10”, every 17” every 23”, what is it? If it is not written on the fabric label, then lay it out on the cutting table and measure it. In our example we need 3 repeats, but since you cannot guarantee that your starting yardage is at the very beginning of the pattern, get one more repeat for insurance, get 4. For our example, I am going to say the pattern repeats every 21”—so 4 times 21 = 84” and that divided by 36 = 2.33 or 2.5 yards. Most fabric stores will cut in ¼ yard increments, some in as small as 1/8th.
Various methods of joining the fabric strips are covered in the next blog post.
Cheers,
Jan
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