Quick answer: how to calculate strip yardage
A full width strip is cut selvage to selvage, so its long side is the fabric width, and its short side is the strip width you choose. Total fabric length needed equals number of strips times strip width. Strips per yard equal 36 divided by strip width, rounded down. Exact yardage equals total length divided by 36. Yardage to buy is exact yardage rounded up to the nearest 1/8 yard, one consistent rounding rule on this page.
Example: 20 strips, each 3 inches wide, cut across full fabric width. Total length is 60 inches, strips per yard are 12, exact yardage is 1.67 yards, yardage to buy is 1.75 yards. Same length in feet is 5 feet, in metres is 1.52 metres.
Scope, stated plainly: yardage here does not depend on fabric width, because each strip consumes one strip width of length, whatever the fabric width is. What fabric width decides is how long each strip is, not how many yards you need. This calculator handles full width strips only, not shorter strips, not sub-cut pieces, and not bias strips. For shorter strips, or for pieces cut from a strip, use the Fabric or Pieces to Yardage Calculator, because strip yardage alone will overcount.
If you only need a number, use the Strip Calculator. If you want to understand why strips per yard rounds down, read on.
What a quilt strip means
A quilt strip is a long, narrow piece of fabric, cut across the full width of the fabric, from selvedge to selvedge. Strips are used for binding, for strip piecing, for sashing, for borders, and for jelly roll quilts, where pre-cut strips are already 2.5 inches wide.
A full width strip has two dimensions. Strip length equals fabric width, because the strip runs across the fabric. Strip width is the cut width you choose, for example 2.5 inches, 3 inches, or 4 inches. Strip yardage depends on strip width and strip count, not on strip length, because strip length is already fixed by fabric width.
Common strip widths, compared
| Strip cut width | Strips per yard | Use |
|---|---|---|
| 1.5 inches | 24 strips | Narrow sashing, small piecing |
| 2 inches | 18 strips | Binding, narrow borders |
| 2.5 inches | 14 strips | Jelly roll strips, binding, strip piecing |
| 3 inches | 12 strips | Sashing, wider piecing |
| 4 inches | 9 strips | Borders, wide sashing |
Strips per yard equals 36 divided by strip cut width, rounded down to a whole number, because a partial strip cannot be cut. For 2.5 inch strip width, strips per yard equals 36 divided by 2.5, equals 14.4, rounded down to 14 strips.
Step by step: how to calculate quilt strips
Step 1: Count strips by fabric
Count strips needed for one fabric at a time, not for the whole quilt at once, if different fabrics use different strip widths. A quilt using the same fabric twice counts twice, and a block using the same strip width twice counts twice.
Step 2: Work out total fabric length needed
Total fabric length needed equals number of strips times strip cut width, because each full width strip uses one strip width of length along the fabric roll. For 20 strips of 3 inch width, total fabric length needed equals 20 times 3, equals 60 inches.
Step 3: Work out exact yardage
Exact yardage equals total fabric length needed divided by 36, because one yard equals 36 inches. For total length 60 inches, exact yardage equals 60 divided by 36, equals 1.67 yards, rounded at two decimal places.
Step 4: Work out yardage to buy
Yardage to buy is exact yardage rounded up to the nearest eighth yard, because fabric shops cut in eighth yard increments, and rounding down would give you less fabric than you need. For exact yardage 1.67 yards, yardage to buy equals 1.75 yards, because 1.75 is the next eighth yard step above 1.67.
Try it with the calculator: Use the Strip Calculator with your own strip cut width and number of strips needed. It uses the same steps as this guide, and it shows strips per yard, total fabric length needed, exact yardage and yardage to buy, together.
Worked example: 20 strips, 3 inch width
Take 20 strips, each 3 inches wide, cut across full fabric width.
Total fabric length needed: 20 times 3 equals 60 inches.
Strips per yard: 36 divided by 3 equals 12 strips, exactly, with no leftover.
Exact yardage: 60 divided by 36 equals 1.67 yards.
Yardage to buy, rounded up to the nearest eighth yard, equals 1.75 yards.
Same length in feet: 60 divided by 12 equals 5 feet. Same length in metres: 60 times 0.0254 equals 1.52 metres.
In this example, rounding up adds 0.08 yards to buy, compared with exact yardage, because exact yardage 1.67 is close to the next eighth yard step 1.75. In other examples, rounding up may add up to 0.125 yards, which is one eighth yard, the largest rounding step.
Strips per yard table, our own computed table
This table is computed from the same rule as the calculator, strips per yard equal 36 divided by strip width, rounded down, and yardage for 10 strips equal 10 times strip width divided by 36, rounded up to the nearest 1/8 yard. It is not copied from another site. A partial strip does not count, so strips per yard is always rounded down, never up.
| Strip width | Strips per yard | Yardage to buy for 10 strips |
|---|---|---|
| 1.5 in | 24 | 0.50 yards |
| 2 in | 18 | 0.63 yards |
| 2.5 in | 14 | 0.75 yards |
| 3 in | 12 | 0.88 yards |
| 4.5 in | 8 | 1.25 yards |
How to make sure your result is correct
- Total length check. Total length must equal number of strips times strip width, not number of strips times fabric width.
- Strips per yard check. Strips per yard must be rounded down. A partial strip does not fit in a yard of length.
- Buy versus exact check. Buy yardage must never be below exact yardage, and buy yardage must be a multiple of 1/8 yard.
- Full width check. This calculation assumes full width strips. If your strips are shorter, or you sub-cut pieces from a strip, strip yardage alone will overcount.
- Usable width check. Strip length equals usable fabric width after removing selvages, not bolt width. Square the fabric end before cutting, and do not count selvages as usable width.
When strip yardage is enough, and when it is not
- Strip yardage is enough when: you need full width strips, cut across the full fabric width, with no shorter pieces, and you will check strip count before cutting.
- Strip yardage is not enough when: your strips are shorter than fabric width, your strips must be cut in a specific orientation, or your fabric has a directional print and strips must all run the same way. In those cases, check piece layout with the Pieces to Yardage Calculator, before buying.
- Strip yardage does not fix a wrong strip count: if your strip count is wrong, or if you already added extra in another calculator, do not add extra again here, or you will buy more than you need.
Common mistakes with quilt strips
- Using finished strip width as cut width. Cut width already includes seam allowance. For example, a finished 2 inch strip, with 0.25 inch seam on each side, is cut 2.5 inches wide. Use cut width, not finished width, in the calculator.
- Rounding strips per yard up. Strips per yard must be rounded down, because a partial strip cannot be cut. Rounding up would count a strip you cannot actually cut.
- Rounding yardage down. Rounding down gives less fabric than needed. Always round yardage to buy up, to the nearest eighth yard.
- Counting strips for the whole quilt at once. Count strips by fabric, not by quilt, if different fabrics use different strip widths. Adding strip counts for different fabrics into one buy gives the wrong yardage for each fabric.
Calculate your own strip yardage now
Use your strip cut width and number of strips needed in the calculator, and check the result against the steps in this guide.
Open the Strip CalculatorFrequently asked questions
Multiply number of strips by strip cut width to get total fabric length needed, divide by 36 to get exact yardage, then round up to the nearest eighth yard to get yardage to buy. For example, 20 strips of 3 inch width need 60 inches total, which is 1.67 yards exact, and 1.75 yards to buy.
A full width strip is cut across the full width of the fabric, from selvedge to selvedge. Its length equals fabric width, and its width is the cut width you enter. This calculator assumes full width strips.
Strips per yard equals 36 divided by strip cut width, rounded down to a whole number, because a partial strip cannot be cut. For 3 inch strip width, strips per yard equals 12. For 2.5 inch strip width, strips per yard equals 14.
Use cut strip width, not finished strip width, because cut width already includes seam allowance. For example, a finished 2 inch strip, with 0.25 inch seam on each side, is cut 2.5 inches wide.
No. Strip yardage assumes full width strips, cut across the full fabric width. For shorter strips, or for finished pieces, use the Pieces to Yardage Calculator or the Fabric Calculator, and check piece layout before buying.
Related guides and calculators
Next, read How to Calculate Quilt Binding for binding strips, and How to Calculate Quilt Yardage for yardage with extra added. For strip yardage itself, use the Strip Calculator.