Fabric strip calculator
A yard of fabric yields 14 strips at 2 1/2 inches wide. Enter your strip width below to count strips from any yardage, or flip the mode to find how much fabric to buy for the strips your pattern needs.
The answer
How many strips are in a yard of fabric?
Divide 36 inches by your strip width and round down; the fraction left over is your leftover fabric. Strip math is the simplest arithmetic in quilting, but it is also the math quilters do most often, usually while standing at the cutting counter doing mental division under pressure. Here is the table to save you the trouble.
| Strip width | Strips per yard | Strips per 1/2 yard | Joined length per yard* |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 1/2" | 24 | 12 | 960" (26.7 yd) |
| 2" | 18 | 9 | 720" (20 yd) |
| 2 1/2" | 14 | 7 | 560" (15.6 yd) |
| 3" | 12 | 6 | 480" (13.3 yd) |
| 3 1/2" | 10 | 5 | 400" (11.1 yd) |
| 4" | 9 | 4 | 360" (10 yd) |
| 5" | 7 | 3 | 280" (7.8 yd) |
| 6 1/2" | 5 | 2 | 200" (5.6 yd) |
*Joined length assumes 40" of usable width per strip on 42" fabric, before join seams.
Cutting accurate WOF strips
Strips are only as straight as your first cut. Fold the fabric selvage to selvage, square the raw edge against a horizontal line on your ruler, and recheck the squareness every 4 or 5 strips; fabric creeps. A strip cut from an unsquared edge comes off the mat shaped like a shallow V, and every piece subcut from it inherits the bend.
Sources and methodology
Strips from yardage = fabric length in inches / strip width, rounded down. Yardage for strips = strips x strip width / 36, rounded up to the next quarter yard. Joined strip length = strips x usable width, where usable width = nominal width minus 2" for selvages. Cross-checked against published quilting references before every update.
Strip questions, answered
14 full strips, with 1 inch of fabric left over. A half yard gives 7, and a fat quarter gives 7 shorter strips at 21" long instead of the full width. To match a 40 strip jelly roll from yardage, you need just under 3 yards.
As long as your fabric is wide: nominally 42" to 44" for quilting cotton, but plan on about 40" of usable length once selvages are trimmed. Patterns that say "cut 1 strip 2 1/2 x WOF" are counting on roughly that 40 usable inches.
Because a partial strip is useless for most purposes; if a border needs 250" of strip and each strip gives 40", the pattern must call for 7 strips even though 6.25 would cover it mathematically. This calculator rounds the same way, which is why our yardage figures sometimes look slightly generous. Generous is the correct direction.
Usually, yes: 3 yards of sale fabric costs less than most 40 strip rolls, and you get to choose every print. What the precut buys you is variety (40 different fabrics from one collection) and pinked edges that shed less. For a strip quilt in just a few fabrics, cutting your own wins on price every time.