Curious

[bladespark]

I just am curious. How many of you know how much you'd expect to get if you bought a "yard" of fabric?

Just wondering how common knowledge this is...

Comments

[crystallinegirl.livejournal.com]

Well, that would depend on the length of the bolt, but one dimension would be three feet. I think the average bolt is what - 52" long? So 3 feet by 52" is about what I'd expect.

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

I've usually seen 45" and 60" myself. The 60" may be a fur fabric specific thing though, I don't too often buy non-fur. The cheap cotton I usually get for doing patterns and undersuit stuff is 45" wide.

[crystallinegirl.livejournal.com]

*shrug* 45, 60, 52's right in the middle. *L* I was just guessing. Knew it was somewhere around that. Why the question?

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

Well, I know the actual number does vary quite a bit!

And I was thinking of this because somebody on one of the fursuiting communities I'm on was asking about fur for her suit, and said she needed 5 yards to do head, hands, feet, tail. I can get that out of one yard if I'm careful, I can't imagine needing more than two! So I wondered if she assumed square yard, or something.

[wulfsbane.livejournal.com]

It depends on the kind of fabric - is it on a standard-size bolt?
We have a fabric warehouse literally across the street (well, highway) that has the HUGE rolls of fabric (literally taller than me), so a yard of that would be way more than a "normal" yard.

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

Ah yes. I've worked with an 80" roll of fabric once. That was a hassle! 60" is plenty huge as it is. I don't think I'd be able to manhandle my fur rolls around if they were much bigger. I don't manhandle well, not being a man. *grin*

[wulfsbane.livejournal.com]

But you're EXCELLENT at womanhandling <_<

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

I have no comment on this issue at this time.

[wulfsbane.livejournal.com]

Hahahaha! Doesn't that icon count as a comment? >_>

[silveradept]

I would assume about one square yard of fabric is the amount I'd get, give or take a couple inches.

(From the looks of the other comment, though, it's actually a bit more than a square yard.)

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

Well, the only really correct answer is "it depends" but it's pretty much universally more than a square yard, sometimes a whole lot more.

[silveradept]

Huh. Shows how much I really know. Of course, I always manage to poke myself with the needles whenever I try to put thread and stitches in anything, so I suppose I can be forgiven for not knowing.

[ellixis.livejournal.com]

3 feet by however many inches wide the bolt happens to be.

[kiwihunter8.livejournal.com]

I've grown so accustomed to fur being 55-60" wide that I was surprised, going to Walmart this week and buying some yards of fur that I swear, was only about 36" wide. At first I thought it was a deal and I was getting these awesome yards of fur for only $8 each. But once I saw the smaller width, I realised it was really 1 yard of this fur=2 yards of most standard furs. So, $16 a yard still, if you counted square inches.

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

I think WalMart is the only place I've seen fur with that short of a bolt, too. You're right that it seems to be very standard to be 55-60"

Not that $16 a yard is that bad, for decent fur!

[reaverta.livejournal.com]

While I can't say what width it would be (I think that varies anyway?) you'd get a yard in length of fabric, regardless of width.

And I'm a guy.

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

You are? Really?!

[reaverta.livejournal.com]

My main point is that I'm a typical kiwi bloke, and even I know how fabric is measured.

Mind you, it usually helps that we call bits of fabric a 'length', which might have been a subliminal clue. >.>

[unspeakablevorn.livejournal.com]

What he said. Though I always thought cloth was 3 feet wide for some reason.

Vorn

[svashtar.livejournal.com]

I made a full suit with two yards of purple and 1/2 yard of blue. I can't imagine needing 4-5 yards for a partial unless the tail is going to be ten feet long, or something.

[coyoty.livejournal.com]

Before buying the fur I got from Joanne's, I thought a yard meant square yard, but they measured it out by length. I haven't measured the width. I've always heard that you should get 5 yards for a full suit. I'm assuming that's to compensate for at least 6 feet of person front and back, and to have enough material left over for repairs and enhancements.

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

Yeah, 5 yards is the number most people give. Honestly I've made a size XL suit, entirely out of one single color, 4 yards of it, and I had some left over, so... you know, 5 is plenty. (Admittedly this was one case where I didn't screw up any pieces, which does sometimes cut into my yardage! I usually do buy 5, having a spare yard lying about can't hurt.)

The fur I've gotten from Joanne's has always been around 60" wide.

[tk-creations.livejournal.com]

Not a clue, but ask me the same question, only "meter" instead of "yard"

[sparkindarkness.livejournal.com]

I am assuming that the answer is not "a yard, duh?"

*reads comments* oooh width of the bolt? I'd never assumed it was standardised, I'd have to check every time

[jackalopejess.livejournal.com]

Umm, a yard? Well, one yard by the fabric width. Most fabrics I see are 45" across, but most furs are 60".