How to Measure Fabric Accurately: Length, Width, and Grainline
Learn how to measure fabric correctly. Understand selvages, usable width, straightening grainlines, and measuring for clothing patterns.
1. Lay Fabric Completely Flat
Never measure fabric while it hangs off the edge of a table or over your lap. Gravity stretches textiles lengthwise, causing you to misjudge cuts by several inches. Always lay fabric flat on a cutting mat or clean hard floor.
2. Measuring Usable Width (Ignoring Selvages)
The finished, tightly woven edges along the sides of a fabric bolt are called selvages (or selvedges). Selvages often feature needle holes, brand text, and tighter weave tension that puckers in wash.
When checking width for a sewing project, measure inside the selvages. A 45-inch bolt generally has only 43 to 44 inches of usable width.
Need quick dimension calculations? Check our Fabric Measurement Converter.
3. Checking True Grainline Before Measuring
Woven fabrics have warp threads (lengthwise) and weft threads (crosswise) meeting at 90-degree angles. If raw edges were cut crooked at the store, pull a single crosswise thread across the fabric width and cut along that pulled thread path to establish a true 90-degree square edge.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I include the selvage when cutting patterns?
No. The selvage behaves differently in laundry and will cause puckering along seams. Always trim selvages off.