Fabric is sold by the yard, cut in whole yards, and always short if you guess low. Total the inches each piece needs, divide by 36, and round up — the little bit of extra becomes your matching and mistake allowance.
Three sofa cushions at 54 inches each is 162 inches, which is 4.5 yards — so you order 5.
The example
Three pieces, each with a cushion count and the inches of fabric one cushion takes.
| A | B | C | D | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Piece | Cushions | In each | Total in | Yards |
| 2 | Sofa | 3 | 54 | 162 | 5 |
| 3 | Loveseat | 2 | 54 | 108 | 3 |
| 4 | Chair | 1 | 48 | 48 | 2 |
The formula
The count times the inches per cushion gives total inches; dividing by 36 and rounding up gives yards:
How it works
Three quick moves:
B2*C2multiplies the cushion count by the inches each one needs — the raw fabric run./36converts inches to yards, since a yard is 36 inches.ROUNDUP(...,0)pushes the fraction up to a whole yard, because fabric is cut in yards, not partial ones.- The rounding gives you a built-in cushion of extra fabric for cutting around flaws.
Patterned fabric needs more — matching the repeat across seams can add a yard or two. Add a repeat allowance column rather than fudging the inches-each number.
Try it: interactive demo
Enter the number of cushions and the fabric inches each one needs.
Variations
Add a pattern-repeat allowance
Pad the total inches for matching a repeat before converting to yards.
Total a whole job
Sum the inches across every piece, then round once at the end.
Pitfalls & errors
Round up the yardage, never down. A job that needs 4.5 yards and gets 4 leaves you a dye-lot short, and the new bolt rarely matches.
Round once, at the whole-job total, not on every cushion. Rounding each piece up separately buys far more fabric than the job actually needs.
Practice workbook
Frequently asked questions
How many inches does a cushion really take?
Does railroaded fabric change the math?
Stop fighting formulas. Learn them in a day.
This recipe is one of hundreds of real-world formulas we teach. Our Excel Formulas & Functions class covers lookups, logic, text, and dynamic arrays hands-on — live in Dallas–Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, Oklahoma City, Denver, or online.
See the Formulas & Functions Class