Upholstery: Pattern-Repeat Extra Yardage

All versions

Patterned fabric has to line up across cushions and panels, and matching a repeat means cutting around waste. Take your plain-fabric yardage, pad it by a waste percentage for the repeat, and round up to whole yards.

Quick formula: Base yardage padded for repeat waste, rounded up:

=ROUNDUP(B2*(1+C2/100),0)

Fourteen plain yards with a 15% repeat allowance rounds up to 17 yards to buy.

Functions used (tap for the full reference guide):

ROUNDUP

The example

Three pieces, each with a plain-fabric yardage and a waste percent for the pattern repeat.

	A	B	C	D
1	Piece	Base yd	Waste %	Buy yd
2	Sofa	14	15	17
3	Chair	6	20	8
4	Ottoman	3	10	4

The formula

Grow the base by the waste factor, then round up to whole yards:

=ROUNDUP(B2*(1+C2/100),0) // base yardage x (1 + waste%), rounded up

How it works

Three steps in one cell:

C2/100 turns the waste percent into a fraction.
1+... makes it a multiplier — 1.15 for a 15% allowance.
B2*(...) grows the plain yardage by that factor.
ROUNDUP(...,0) rounds up to whole yards, since fabric is cut and sold by the yard.

Bigger repeats waste more — a large plaid can need 20% or more, while a small all-over print needs almost none. Set the percent to the repeat size.

Try it: interactive demo

Interactive

Enter the plain-fabric yardage and the waste percent for the pattern repeat.

Base yards

Waste %

Variations

Fabric cost

Multiply the yards to buy by the price per yard.

=ROUNDUP(B2*(1+C2/100),0)*32

Plain fabric (no repeat)

Solid fabric needs no repeat pad — just round the base up.

=ROUNDUP(B2,0)

Pitfalls & errors

The waste percent scales with the size of the repeat, not the piece. A large repeat on a small chair can still waste 20% — set the percent from the fabric, not the furniture.

Directional and railroaded fabrics change how pieces are cut. When in doubt, add a little extra — running short mid-project can mean a dye-lot mismatch on the last yard.

Practice workbook

📊

Download the free Upholstery: Pattern-Repeat Extra Yardage practice workbook

Edit the yellow base-yard and waste cells; the yardage to buy recalculates.

Frequently asked questions

How much waste should I allow?

It depends on the repeat size: small all-over prints need almost none, medium repeats around 10 to 15%, and large plaids or stripes 20% or more. Match the percent to the fabric's repeat, not the furniture.

Why round up to whole yards?

Fabric is cut and sold by the yard, and running a fraction short can force a second cut from a different dye lot that will not match. Rounding up guarantees enough from one lot.

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Function references: ROUNDUP