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Are you thinking of sprucing up your home with some new decor, but don't know where to start? One of the first steps when it comes to tackling a DIY project is understanding the material that you'll be working with.
If you're planning to tackle a sewing or craft project, it’s important to know how many yards in a bolt of fabric to help save yourself time and stress when picking materials.
If you’re new to sewing and fabric stores, it may be useful to understand the basics of fabric bolts. Simply put, a fabric bolt is a standard unit of measurement used for selling fabric. Fabric bolts consist of a center core, usually made of wood or cardboard, around which fabric is wrapped in a spiral.
When entering a fabric store, you can purchase fabric by the yard or by the bolt. If you choose to go by yardage, they’ll remove the whole fabric bolt off its display, measure your chosen length of fabric, and cut the required yardage so that you only purchase what you need.
Buying fabric from fabric stores is usually a first-hand experience. When the fabric is purchased, it comes wrapped on a fabric roll - also known as a bolt. It is these fabric bolts from which you buy fabric, and the exact amount of fabric per bolt depends on the type of fabric, its thickness, and its rarity. A typical bolt can hold anywhere between 30 and 100 yards, but that figure can change due to factors like fabric width or more expensive fabric needing more space to roll around.
For example, canvas is thicker than cotton and therefore yields less yardage per bolt - 39 yards to be exact. Cotton fabric, meanwhile, is slightly thinner so it gets 100 yards or more per fabric bolt. So ultimately, the amount you get in your fabric bolts depends heavily on the fabric itself.
Shopping at fabric stores can often be confusing, especially when it comes to fabric widths. Whether fabric is wrapped around a bolt or lying flat on the table, the width should always be measured from the fabric’s left and right edges, excluding the selvage - the self-finished edge that prevents it from unraveling.
Generally, fabric widths typically range between 45 and 60 inches when used for apparel. Thinner fabrics usually are listed as 56 to 108-inch widths. Keeping such measurements in mind can help save time going through fabric store bolts looking for something that suits one’s sewing needs.
When buying fabric from a fabric store, it is important to understand how the fabric is folded on the bolt. This will help ensure that you get exactly the fabric required for your sewing project. The length of the fabric is what is wrapped around the cotton bolt, not the width.
Before the fabric is wrapped around the bolt, it is usually folded in half widthwise to avoid exposing selvage and fabric imperfections. If you measure the fabric width while it's on the bolt, you'll notice that it is half of what the fabric type would typically be, so be sure to keep this in mind when you’re choosing the right width for your project.
When shopping for fabric, it is vital to be aware of exactly how much you're getting with each bolt. This becomes particularly significant when you're looking to purchase in bulk or acquire the entire roll. Fortunately, there are a few ways to determine the amount of material on a single spool so that you can rest assured knowing that your order will provide sufficient coverage!
Measuring fabric on a bolt is made easy by looking at the label. Information such as fabric content, fiber composition, fabric name, color, and pattern is all indicated on the label, which will also give you the width of the fabric within that bolt, excluding the selvage edges.
While the label on the bolt is instrumental in determining the width and length of fabric on a bolt, it can be slightly deceiving when looking at the actual length of fabric that remains. For instance, the initial yardage noted on the label may no longer be accurate if someone before you decided not to purchase a complete bolt. Therefore, checking with an employee is essential to ensuring that you get what you need without any surprises.
One of the quickest and most convenient ways to measure how much fabric is on a bolt without relying on a store employee to do so is by evaluating the layers of fabric that are folded around it. This method can give you an approximate idea of the yardage, especially when combined with observation of the thickness of the fabric.
When assessing the layers, ensure you make a note of any inconsistencies in layer height that could indicate a torn or missing piece of fabric was left off or isn't accounted for in the fold. Although this strategy may not give you a precise measurement, it does work well if time is an issue and you need a general estimate quickly.
A bolt of fabric can contain anywhere from 30 to 100 yards, and the yardage amount is determined by its type. To ensure you know how much material you are getting for your purchase, it's essential to read the label or have the fabric measured. This way, you will be aware of not only what kind of fabric is on the bolt but also exactly how wide it is and at what cost!
If you’re looking to get started on a new project but still need to source high-quality materials, look no further than the YourCotton catalog. With a wide selection of fabrics that are available in whatever quantity you need, you’ll find everything you want - and more.
