How much fabric for a maxi dress?

Start with one dress length

Every calculation begins with the finished length of the dress. Our guide to measuring for a maxi dress shows how to take it from the shoulder to the floor in your shoes. For a woman of about 163 cm (5 ft 4 in) that is usually 140 to 147 cm (55 to 58 inches). Add roughly 10 cm (4 inches) for the hem and seams and you have one dress length: about 1.5 to 1.6 metres.

On 44 to 45 inch fabric the front and back are normally cut one after the other, so the body alone uses two dress lengths. On 58 to 60 inch fabric a slim front and back can often lie side by side, and one length does both. That single difference explains most of the gap between the two sets of figures below. Our article on fabric widths has the background.

Typical amounts by silhouette

Each line gives the amount on 44 to 45 inch fabric first, then on 58 to 60 inch fabric, for a wearer of average height.

• Column, sleeveless or short sleeves: 3 to 3.25 m (3.25 to 3.5 yards), or 1.75 to 2.25 m (2 to 2.5 yards) on wide fabric.
• Column with full sleeves: 3.5 to 3.75 m (about 4 yards), or 2.25 to 2.5 m (2.5 to 2.75 yards).
• A-line with full sleeves: 3.75 to 4.25 m (4 to 4.75 yards), or 3 to 3.5 m (3.25 to 4 yards), because the wider hem stops the two panels sharing a width.
• Tiered, three tiers with full sleeves: 4.5 to 6 m (5 to 6.5 yards), or 3.5 to 4.5 m (4 to 5 yards).

What adds to the total

• Height: every extra 5 cm (2 inches) of dress adds 10 cm (4 inches) wherever two lengths are cut. If you are over about 173 cm (5 ft 8 in), allow an extra quarter to half metre.
• Sleeves: full sleeves that cannot be cut beside the body need about 0.65 to 0.75 m of their own. Our full sleeves guide covers the lengths.
• Size and hem width: once a panel is wider than half the fabric, nothing fits beside it, and the layout moves up to the next figure.
• One-way prints, borders and pile: every piece has to face the same way, which usually costs another quarter to half metre.
• Lining: sheer chiffon and georgette normally need one. A lining is cut as a plain slim shape, so plan roughly the column amount in lining fabric.

Why tiers use the most

A tiered skirt is a stack of gathered strips, and each strip is usually about one and a half times as long as the one above it. If the first tier measures 1.5 metres round, the second is about 2.25 metres and the third well over 3. Those strips are cut across the fabric and joined, so the total is the number of strips multiplied by the depth of a tier, plus the bodice and sleeves. Deeper gathers or a fourth tier push the figure up quickly.

If you like the shape but not the arithmetic, our tiered maxi dress is a finished design in chiffon, ordered in a standard size or made to measure, with the fabric already part of it.

Before you buy or send fabric

Sending your own cloth? Tell us the width, the design and your height on the Stitching Only quote form, and wait for us to confirm that the quantity and the fabric are suitable before you post it to us in Pakistan. If you would sooner not work out metres at all, Fabric + Stitching means we supply the agreed fabric and make the dress, so the quantity is our job.