How much fabric for an anarkali or kalidar frock?

Count the yoke and sleeves separately

These pieces are cut like the top of an ordinary kameez. If the yoke is a separate embroidered piece or a contrast fabric, take its share off the main fabric. On 44 to 45 inch fabric, typical amounts are:

• Bodice or yoke: about 0.5 m, since the short front and back fit side by side in most sizes.
• Full sleeves: about 0.6 to 0.75 m: one sleeve length plus hems, the two cut next to each other.
• Short sleeves: about 0.25 to 0.3 m. Sleeveless needs only a little for armhole facings.
• Together: roughly 1 to 1.25 m for a bodice with full sleeves, and 0.5 to 0.75 m for sleeveless or short sleeves.

Work out the skirt from length and panels

The skirt is made from kalis: panels that are narrow at the top and wide at the hem. On plain fabric they are cut alternately, one the right way up and the next upside down, so they nest and waste very little. Four things decide the metres.

• Skirt length: the total length minus the bodice. A 46 inch (117 cm) calf-length anarkali with a 14 inch (36 cm) bodice has a 32 inch (81 cm) skirt, plus about 2 inches (5 cm) for the seam and hem.
• Hem circumference: a gentle flare is around 2.5 to 3 metres round the hem, a medium one 4 to 5 metres and a very full one 7 metres or more.
• Number of panels: the hem is shared between 8, 12, 16 or more kalis. More panels give a smoother flare, but each is narrower, so the count alone adds little fabric.
• Panels per width: add a panel’s top and bottom widths, halve the total, and see how many of that average fit across the fabric. Divide the number of panels by it, round up, and multiply by the skirt length.

A worked example, and what increases it

Take a floor-length anarkali of 56 inches (142 cm) with a 14 inch bodice, 12 panels and a 4 metre hem. Each panel is about 44 inches (112 cm) long with allowances, 4 inches wide at the top and 14 at the hem. The average is 9 inches, so four fit across 44 inch fabric and twelve panels need three lengths: 132 inches, about 3.4 metres. Add 1 to 1.25 metres for the bodice and full sleeves and the total is about 4.5 metres. It grows when any of these apply:

• One-way prints, velvet and other napped fabrics: the panels cannot be turned upside down, so they no longer nest and the skirt can need a third to a half more.
• Height and heels: every extra inch is multiplied by the number of rows of panels.
• A fuller hem: doubling the hem roughly doubles the skirt fabric.
• Fabric width: on 36 inch (91 cm) cloth fewer panels fit across, so more rows are needed; on 58 to 60 inch (147 to 152 cm) fabric the same anarkali often takes about a metre less. See fabric widths explained.
• Lining: usually cut with less flare than the outer layer, so it needs less.

Getting the amount confirmed

Because the answer depends so much on the design, settle the design first and the fabric second. Send a reference photo, your height, the length you want and the fabric width, and say how full the skirt should be. With Stitching Only we confirm the quantity before you post anything to us in Pakistan; with Fabric + Stitching we supply the agreed fabric, so the sum is ours to get right.

A standard unstitched suit is cut for a straight kameez and rarely stretches to a full anarkali; what to do if your suit is short of fabric sets out the options.