Fabric consumption calculator for garment markers
Use this fabric consumption calculator to calculate fabric per garment and per dozen from a marker. Enter shrinkage and fabric wastage separately, then add width and GSM if you also need weight per garment.
How this is calculated
Start with net = marker length ÷ garments per marker. Count complete garments in the marker, including all the pieces each garment needs. Use the same unit of length throughout.
If the fabric will shrink after cutting and the marker does not allow for it, use with shrinkage = net ÷ (1 − shrinkage fraction). Enter 3% as 0.03 in this written formula. Leave shrinkage at zero in the calculator if the pattern already includes it.
Add cutting-room losses with total = with shrinkage × (1 + wastage fraction). To find grams per garment, multiply total metres by width in metres and GSM: grams = total × width × GSM.
Worked example. A 6.0 m marker holds 4 garments: net 1.5 m. With 3% wastage and no shrinkage: 1.5 × 1.03 = 1.545 m per garment (18.54 m per dozen). With 3% shrinkage as well: 1.5 ÷ 0.97 × 1.03 = 1.593 m.
Questions
- What is the fabric consumption formula for a T-shirt?
- For a T-shirt marker, divide marker length by the number of complete garments in it. Then apply any shrinkage and fabric wastage that the marker does not include. A 6 m marker with four T-shirts gives 1.5 m each before these allowances. Body length and sleeve length alone do not account for all pattern pieces or the gaps between them.
- How do I turn total consumption into fabric cost?
- Multiply metres per garment by the fabric price per metre. For example, 1.545 m at 4 currency units per metre costs 6.18 per garment. If the supplier sells by weight, use the calculated kilograms per garment and the price per kilogram instead. Keep the units the same on both sides.
- How do fabric width and fabric weight affect the result?
- The marker must fit the usable fabric width. A narrower roll may need a new marker, so do not keep its old length without checking. GSM is fabric weight per unit area. Together with width and total fabric length, it converts the length estimate into weight. Different types of fabric may need different markers and allowances.
- Why use the marker rather than the pattern area?
- The marker already includes the gaps between pattern pieces - its efficiency - which a pattern-area calculation has to guess. If you have a CAD marker, its length per garment is the most reliable consumption you can get before cutting.
- When should I enter shrinkage?
- Only when the marker has been made to the finished dimensions and the fabric will shrink afterwards, for example in a garment wash. If the pattern has already been graded up for shrinkage, enter 0 or you will count it twice.
- What does the wastage allowance cover?
- Losses the marker does not show: end loss at each end of the lay, splicing, fabric faults cut out, and short ends. 2-5% is common; use your own cutting-room records.
Read the full guide
Sources & verification
The marker method and the allowance structure follow standard cutting-room and garment-costing practice; the shrinkage compensation is the algebra of the ISO 3759 / ISO 5077 dimensional-change definition. The worked example is recomputed in the automated tests.