The Way to Quantify Linear Feet for Upholstery

Whether you are likely to do the upholstery yourself or have somebody else do it, then it’s good business sense to know how much material you require for your occupation. Overestimating by a little is great; the excess can be use for arm protectors or throw cushions. Underestimating could signify piecing fabric or using dye lots. It requires a bit of work, but the outcome is you will have the ideal amount of fabric.

Measure Each Section

Measure each section of this item and record the measurements as”width by length.” This keeps the design orientation in perspective. For example, step across the interior rear and record the dimension from left to right as the width, and the dimension from the top of the rear to the junction of the rear and also the deck as the length. The fabric design runs perpendicular to the width edge. On the inner arm, the piece measurement width is contrary to the front of the arm towards the rear edge, along with the length is out of the seam connecting the piece to the outer arm, up and above the arm and down into the deck. The design will be vertical to the width edge. Insert 8 inches to each dimension and record these new figures as the cut piece measurements.

Create To-Scale Patterns

Cut to-scale representations of each design piece, together with the measurements on each piece along with also the design orientation Use 1/4-inch graph paper and convert the piece measurements using a single square to equivalent 6 inches. As an example, if the rear piece measures 86 inches wide and 40 inches long, then cut a pattern from the 1/4-inch graph paper equivalent to 14 1/2 squares wide and 6 1/2 squares long, with a arrow pointing into the 14 1/2-square edge — the 86-inch edge. Remember to cut 1 pattern piece representation for each section of this furniture. For example, cut two arms and two arms.

A Cloth Roll Pattern

Tape several parts of 1/4-inch graph paper with each other to represent the roll of fabric. Upholstery fabric is generally 54 inches wide; indicate the graph paper”roster” nine squares wide. Start with a paper representation of 10 yards, or 60 squares . If your fabric is a different width, then fix your paper roll accordingly.

Arrange the Pattern Pieces

Set the piece patterns on the fabric representation. The width of the pattern piece orients into the length edge on the fabric. As an example, on the rear piece which measures 86 inches wide and has an arrow pointing towards that edge, orient that edge along the long edge of the fabric representation. Put all the pattern pieces on the graph paper fabric representation, rearranging as necessary to optimize space.

Calculate the Footage

Compute the linear footage demanded by counting the amount of squares used across the fabric length point, multiplying this amount by 6 and dividing the result by 12. This gives the amount of linear feet of fabric. To convert this to yards, divide the amount of linear feet. If you are coping with a huge pattern, add 20 per cent to the final fabric requirements to allow for pattern matching. If you are careful, you may incorporate pattern matching on your layout on the fabric roll representation.

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