How much 58 to 60 inch fabric for a shalwar kameez?

Why wide cloth saves length

Fabric is sold by length, but garments are cut in width as well. On 44 inch fabric the front and back of a kameez are each a little wider than half the cloth, so they are cut one below the other and the body costs two kameez lengths. On 58 to 60 inch fabric the two panels usually lie side by side, and the body costs one length. Our article on fabric widths shows both layouts.

The saving is real, but it is not a clean third. Sleeves, neck facings and waistbands still need strips of their own, and any piece wider than half the fabric stops sharing. That is why a kameez drops from about 2.5 metres to about 2, not to 1.25.

Typical amounts on 58 to 60 inch fabric

For a wearer of about 160 to 168 cm (5 ft 3 in to 5 ft 6 in), with yards rounded up to the next quarter:

• Kameez, knee length, full sleeves: 1.75 to 2 m (2 to 2.25 yards). With short sleeves or none, 1.5 to 1.75 m.
• Kameez, calf length, full sleeves: 2 to 2.25 m (2.25 to 2.5 yards).
• Straight trousers or cigarette pants: 1.25 to 1.5 m (1.5 to 1.75 yards). The four leg pieces taper, so they can be fitted against each other across the width.
• Shalwar: 2 to 2.25 m (2.25 to 2.5 yards). A shalwar is planned around broad panels, so wide fabric saves less here than on a kameez.
• Palazzo: 2.25 to 2.5 m (2.5 to 2.75 yards). Wide legs fill the width on their own, and the saving is small.
• Dupatta: 2.25 to 2.5 m (2.5 to 2.75 yards) whatever the width, because a dupatta’s length is its long side. Wide cloth only gives a wider dupatta, or a strip to trim off.

When the saving shrinks

The figures above assume a straight cut that lets the panels share the width. These change the picture:

• A fuller size. With a bust or hips above about 46 inches (117 cm), each kameez panel tends to be wider than half the fabric, and the body goes back to two lengths. Allow 2.5 to 2.75 m.
• A-line and flared cuts. A wider hem has the same effect as a larger size.
• Selvedges and printed edges. The usable width is what lies between the woven edges, and inside any printed margin. Measure it rather than trusting the label.
• One-way designs, pile and large motifs. Every piece has to face the same way, or a motif has to sit in the centre of the front, which costs a quarter to half a metre.
• Height. This one works in your favour: in a side-by-side layout, each extra 2 inches (5 cm) of kameez adds only 2 inches of fabric, not 4.

Turning a 44 inch figure into a wide one

Many guides, ours included, give amounts for 44 to 45 inch cloth, as in how much fabric a three-piece suit needs. As a rough rule, take a quarter to a third off for a kameez and straight trousers, a little less for a shalwar or palazzo, and nothing for a dupatta. For the kameez, our guide to kameez fabric by height has the arithmetic; on wide cloth, count the length once instead of twice.

Buying wide fabric, or sending it to us

Many cottons, linens, crepes and viscose sold by the metre in Western fabric shops come at around 150 cm. Our guide to buying fabric by the metre for a kameez covers what to look for, and the linen guide explains how that cloth behaves. Write down the real width when you buy.

To have it made up, tell us the width, the length you have, your height and the outfit on the Stitching Only quote form. We confirm that the fabric is suitable and that there is enough before you post anything to us in Pakistan, as the unstitched suit stitching page explains.