Fabric cut crooked at the shop: how much can be used?

Why the slant costs length

Garment pieces are cut on the straight grain: the lengthwise threads run parallel to the selvedge, the finished edge along each side of the cloth. A kameez front is placed square to those threads so that it hangs straight and does not twist. Before cutting, a tailor therefore squares off each end, and anything beyond that line is cut away from the main pieces.

The offcut is not always wasted. A triangle is cut on the bias, which is exactly how strips for piping and binding are often cut, so it may end up round your neckline.

Crooked cut, or crooked fabric?

Before blaming the scissors, check what you are looking at. Some shops tear cotton across instead of cutting it, and a tear follows a single thread, so a torn end is on the grain even when it looks uneven next to the print. Prints are sometimes applied a little off the grain, which makes a straight cut look slanted against the pattern. And some cloth comes off the roll skewed, with the cross threads running at an angle.

On a plain-weave cotton you can find the true cross grain by snipping into the selvedge and pulling one cross thread: it gathers the cloth along a perfectly straight line. That works on lawn and cambric, less well on tightly woven or printed silky fabrics. Our guide to fabric widths explains how width affects what a length will cover.

How to measure a crooked piece

You need a floor or a large table, a tape measure and something with a true right angle, such as a large book, a set square or a sheet of card.

• Lay the fabric flat and smooth it without stretching it.
• At each end, find the point where the cut comes furthest in towards the middle of the length.
• From that point, mark a line straight across, at a right angle to the selvedge. Chalk or pins are fine.
• Measure along the selvedge between your two lines. That is your usable length.
• Note the full length along each selvedge and the width as well, so whoever cuts it sees the whole picture.

What to tell a tailor before you send it

Compare the usable length with what your outfit needs, using our guides on how much fabric a three-piece suit needs and checking you have enough before posting, which assume square ends. If you come up short, what to do if your suit is short of fabric covers the options.

For Stitching Only, send photos of both ends with a tape laid along each selvedge, plus your usable measurement, when you ask for a stitching-only quote. We confirm that the fabric is suitable and that the quantity is enough before you post anything, so a crooked end is dealt with on paper, not after the parcel arrives.