How much fabric for a sharara?

Fullness: measure the hem of one leg

Each leg is a flared tube, like a narrow skirt. The distance round its hem is the clearest way to describe how full you want it. On 44 to 45 inch plain fabric, for an average height:

• About 1.5 to 2 metres (60 to 80 inches) round each hem: a soft, wearable flare. Around 3.5 m.
• About 2.5 to 3 metres (100 to 120 inches) round each hem: the classic full sharara. 4.5 to 5 m.
• About 4 metres (around 155 inches) or more round each hem: dramatic volume. 6 to 7 m.

Panels or gathers

There are two common ways to build that flare, plus a third for special pieces, and they use fabric differently. Gathers add bulk at the waist, which matters under a short kurti, so very full shararas are more often panelled or set on a yoke.

• Panelled (kalidar): each leg is made from several panels, narrow at the hip and wide at the hem. On plain fabric they are cut alternately up and down so they nest, which is economical, and the leg lies smooth over the hips. This is the method behind the figures above.
• Gathered: straight widths of fabric are gathered into the waistband or onto a fitted hip yoke. It is simple to count: each width of 44 inch fabric adds about 1.1 m to the hem, and each one uses a full leg length. Two widths per leg is four lengths, roughly 4.5 m; three widths per leg is six lengths, nearly 7 m.
• Cut from a circle: legs cut as curved, skirt-like pieces swing beautifully but waste the most cloth and really need wide fabric.

Height, width, prints and trims

Once the fullness is settled, these adjust the total.

• Height: the cut length is your waist-to-floor measurement in the shoes you will wear, plus about 5 inches (12 cm) for the waistband and hem. A sharara uses three to six of those lengths, so 2 extra inches of leg can add 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 cm) of fabric.
• 58 to 60 inch (147 to 152 cm) fabric: more panels fit across, so a classic full sharara often needs about 3.5 to 4 m instead of 4.5 to 5.
• One-way prints, velvet and fabrics whose sheen changes with direction: panels cannot be flipped, so allow a third to a half more.
• Lace or a border round the hems: measure both hems together. Two hems of 2.5 m need a little over 5 m of trim.
• Lining: often cut straighter than the outer layer; a slim lining takes roughly 2 to 2.5 m. Ask for the figure with your quote.
• The top: the kurti is extra. A short one needs about 1.5 to 2 m, as set out in how much fabric for a kurti.

If you only have a suit’s trouser piece

The trouser piece in a standard unstitched suit is usually around 2.5 metres, which is not enough for a sharara. The usual answers are a second fabric for the trousers, panels in a plain colour taken from the print, or a less fabric-hungry wide trouser; sharara, gharara or palazzo compares them, and what to do if your suit is short of fabric covers the options.

Tell us the fullness you want as a hem measurement or with a photo, along with your height and trouser length. With Fabric + Stitching we supply the agreed fabric in the amount the design needs; ask for a Fabric + Stitching quote. If you are sending your own, we confirm the quantity before you post anything to us in Pakistan.