Buying fabric by the metre for a kameez

What to check before you buy

• Fibre content: cotton, linen, viscose, silk or a blend. It decides breathability, creasing and care. Our guides to viscose and linen cover two popular choices.
• Weight and opacity: hold a single layer up to the light. Thin fabric may need lining, which adds to what you buy.
• Drape: unroll a length and let it hang. Stiff fabric suits structured cuts; soft fabric suits flow.
• Width: it changes how much length you need. See fabric widths explained.
• Print direction and repeat: one-way prints must run the same way on every piece, and large motifs need matching, so both use more fabric.
• Shrinkage and care: ask whether it shrinks and how to wash it. Our guide to pre-washing explains when to wash first.
• A crease test: scrunch a corner in your hand for a few seconds and see how it recovers.
• The right side: on some plain weaves it is hard to tell the face from the back. If the shop tells you, make a note of it for your tailor.

How much to buy

Our fabric quantity guide gives typical figures for each garment. On top of those, add a little for shrinkage on cotton and linen, more for one-way or large prints, and more again if you are tall, a larger size, or want a long, flared or full-sleeved design. Buy everything for one outfit at the same time, from the same roll if you can, because a second batch can be a slightly different shade.

In the USA, fabric is usually sold by the yard, which is about 91 cm, so buy a little more than a metre figure suggests. If you are unsure, send photos and the width before you buy, and we can tell you how much the design needs.

Matching trousers and a dupatta

A printed kameez usually looks best with plain trousers in a colour picked from the print, and a plain kameez can take printed trousers or a patterned dupatta. Take a cutting or a photo of the kameez fabric when you shop, and compare colours in daylight. Our guides to pairing printed and plain pieces and matching dupatta and trouser colours have more ideas.

For the dupatta, a ready-made one is often easier than buying dupatta fabric by the metre, because it usually arrives with its edges finished. Our guide to dupatta sizes and styles gives the lengths to look for.

Ordering online, and getting it stitched

Online, order swatches before committing to a length, especially for colour-sensitive outfits, and check the returns policy: many shops do not accept returns on fabric cut to length. When it arrives, photograph it with the width measured and send the photos with a Stitching Only quote request.

If you would rather not source it yourself, choose Fabric + Stitching: describe the fabric, colour and style you want, and we supply the agreed fabric and make the outfit. Ask for a Fabric + Stitching quote, or see the custom stitching page for how made-to-measure works. The minimum order is one suit, and we do not send free samples.