When choosing fabrics for your upholstery, it’s essential to get your furniture’s measurements right. Otherwise, you’ll end up buying more or less than you need.

While you should purchase an extra few inches of fabric, buying too much can cost you a lot. Getting a reasonable estimation is crucial. Today, we’re talking about upholstery measurement basics and how you can get the numbers right.

Measuring By Yards

Fabrics are commonly measured by yards (equal to 3 feet) in length and by inches in width. Various fabrics are sold in the market like tweed and chenille. Most of them have diverse width measurements, starting from 36″ to 118″.

While measuring widths can be tricky, taking note of yards is easy. You can estimate a yard by holding the end of the fabric down your chin while extending the other end. Note that estimation results may vary as we have different arm lengths.

How Do You Measure The Fabric You Need?

Your furniture is a three-dimensional object and needs more fabric than the fabric measured in a flat space. This helpful chart will show you how much fabric you’ll need to cover a particular furniture piece.

Understanding Repeats

If you’re picking a solid-colored fabric for your chairs and couches, there’s no need to worry about repeats. However, if you have chosen bright and colorful prints, knowing what repeats are will help you create finely reupholstered furniture.

Repeats measure the prints on the fabric, which can either differ vertically or horizontally. When choosing fabrics with prints, you will need extra fabric to accommodate repeats.

In cutting the main parts of the furniture, you need to determine repeats to showcase the print on the furniture. Calculate the pattern from top to bottom and side by side. By taking the measurements of your furniture, create a line on the cloth to highlight.

Repeats are important because your furniture’s workmanship shines on the patterns used on its upholstery.

You want the floral paisley print to blend seamlessly on your favorite couch, even through the bends. The damask pattern should harmonize even through border breaks. If you reupholster your furniture using prints without calculating repeats, it will look shabby and amateurish. Remember: the larger the pattern, the more fabric is required to cover the furniture.

Final tip: If you’re struggling, you can always ask a trained professional to help you refurbish your old furniture to look brand new. We can help you find the best upholsterer in your area. Contact us to find out how.

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