Bed sheets contain lots of fabric that you can use for clothing, accessories and home decorating projects. You can calculate yardage from sheets with a few measurements and simple math. Keep in mind that clothing fabric is usually 35 to 36 inches wide, quilt cloth generally runs 40 to 44 inches wide and home decor fabric is commonly 54 inches wide. Determine the width of the yardage that you want to replace to get an accurate figure on the equivalent yardage in a sheet.
Things You'll Need:
- Scissors (Optional)
- Measuring Tape
- Calculator
Measure the usable width and length of the sheet. Do not include the hems on flat sheets. Cut away the elastic and the corner seams and measure along one side to determine the length of a fitted sheet.
Divide the length of the sheet by 36. Round down the answer to the nearest 1/4 yard. For example, a king-size flat sheet measuring 102 inches long divided by 36 equals 2.83. In this case, round down to 2.75.
Divide the width of the sheet by the width of the yardage you are replacing. Round down the answer to the nearest 1/4 yard. For example, a king-size flat sheet measuring 108 inches wide divided by 40 inches in quilt yardage width equals 2.7. In this case, round down to 2.5.
Multiply the length in yards by number of yardage widths for the total yardage in the sheet. For example, a king-size flat sheet with 2.75 yards in length multiplied by 2.5 yardage widths equals a total of 6.875, or 6 7/8 yards.
Tip
To avoid shrinkage, launder new sheets prior to measuring. Use a decimal conversion chart to convert decimal numbers to fractions. Buy sheets on sale to save money on sewing projects.
References
Resources
Writer Bio
Crystal Marie launched her freelance writing career in July 2009 after working for nearly 20 years in public health. She writes for various websites and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in business and human resources management from Simpson University.
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