Tablecloth fabric calculator
A tablecloth is the table plus a drop on every side, hemmed all round — so a 90 by 180 cm table with a 25 cm drop finishes at 140 by 230 cm. What decides the fabric is whether that finished size fits across the roll: if it does not, widths have to be joined, and the seams must never fall down the centre of the cloth. Because nothing about a table has a top or a bottom, a plain fabric can usually be turned to run the other way, which often removes the join entirely.
Your table and your fabric
Hems, seams and pattern placement
2.9 m
2 cuts of 144 cm. Rounded up to nearest 10 cm.
- Finished cloth
- 140 cm × 230 cmthe table plus 50 cm of drop
- Widths across
- 2 widthswith the cloth turned to run the other way
- Cut length
- 144 cmincluding hems
- Cuts in total
- 21 cloth
Never put a seam down the centre of a tablecloth — it lands where everyone looks. Standard practice is a full width down the middle with equal part-widths joined either side, so the two seams sit symmetrically and fall over the edges of the table rather than across the top.
Nothing about a table has a top or a bottom, so on a fabric that works either way the cloth can run across the roll instead of down it. That is the layout costed above, and it is why the answer is smaller than the obvious arithmetic suggests.
How we got this
- Finished cloth — 140 cm × 230 cm90 cm × 180 cm table + 50 cm of drop each way
- Widths across — 2 widths230 cm finished + 4 cm of hems, on 140 cm cloth
- Cut length — 144 cm140 cm finished + 4 cm of hems
- Fabric required — 288 cm2 cuts × 144 cm
How this calculator works
A tablecloth is the simplest shape on this site: the table, plus a drop on every side, hemmed all round. A 90 cm by 180 cm table with a 25 cm drop finishes at 140 cm by 230 cm, and the hems are added to that.
What makes it interesting is the roll. If the finished cloth is wider than the fabric, widths have to be joined — and a tablecloth is the one item where a seam cannot go down the middle, because that is exactly where everyone looks. Standard practice is a full width down the centre with equal part-widths either side, so the two seams sit symmetrically and fall over the table edges rather than across the top.
And a tablecloth can usually be turned. Nothing about a table has a top or a bottom, so on a plain cloth the fabric can run across the roll instead of down it. A cloth that needs two widths one way round frequently needs one the other way. The calculator tries both orientations and reports the cheaper, which is the same rule the yardage calculator applies to rectangles — and a nap or one-way print takes the option away.
A worked example
A 90 cm by 180 cm dining table with a 25 cm drop, in plain 140 cm fabric. These are the calculator's own starting values, so the table below is the arithmetic the tool runs rather than a retelling of it.
| Step | Working | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Finished cloth | 90 cm × 180 cm table + 50 cm of drop each way | 140 cm × 230 cm |
| Widths across | 230 cm finished + 4 cm of hems, on 140 cm cloth | 2 widths |
| Cut length | 140 cm finished + 4 cm of hems | 144 cm |
| Fabric required | 2 cuts × 144 cm | 288 cm |
Note which way round it landed. The cloth finishes 140 cm by 230 cm, and it is the long dimension running across the roll. Both orientations take 2 widths here, so the join count is the same either way — what turning saves is length, because the cut is then the short dimension rather than the long one: 288 cm against 468 cm.
What the drop costs
The drop is the input people guess at, and on a table already close to the roll width it moves the answer more than the extra cloth alone suggests: a longer drop widens the cloth as well as lengthening it, so it can push the whole thing over a width boundary.
| Drop | Finished cloth | Widths | Fabric to buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 cm | 120 cm × 210 cm | 1 | 2.2 m |
| 25 cm | 140 cm × 230 cm | 2 | 2.9 m |
| 40 cm | 170 cm × 260 cm | 2 | 3.5 m |
| 70 cm | 230 cm × 320 cm | 2 | 6.5 m |
A drop of 20 to 30 cm is the everyday dining figure — enough to cover a lap without the cloth ending up under the chairs and being pulled. Floor-length looks handsome and gets sat on. If you want the long look on a table people actually eat at, a shorter cloth over a floor-length underskirt is what the trade does.
Round tables
A round cloth is worked out the same way — diameter plus twice the drop — but it is cut from a rectangle, so roughly a fifth of what you buy falls off the corners. That is unavoidable and is already in the figure the calculator gives.
Do not throw the corners away. On any normal table they are big enough for napkins or a matching runner, and cutting those first costs nothing. If you are binding the curved edge — and a curve is the one place straight-grain strips will not lie flat — the bias binding calculator works out the strip.
How to measure for this
- Measure the table top. Width and length of the top itself, not of the frame or the leaves you rarely use. On a round table, the diameter straight across.
- Choose the drop. How far the cloth hangs over each edge. 20 to 30 cm for everyday dining; floor length for occasional and banqueting tables.
- Take the roll width. From the fabric label. This is what decides whether the cloth needs joining, and it is the number the answer turns on.
- Say whether the fabric has a direction. A nap or a one-way print fixes which way every piece runs. Anything else can be turned, which often removes a seam.
- Set the hem. Per edge. A double-turned hem takes twice its finished depth, which on four edges adds up.
What this assumes
- No shrinkage allowance. A tablecloth is washed often and hot, and cotton or linen commonly moves 3 to 5 per cent. Pre-wash the fabric and measure it before cutting; the calculator works from what you enter.
- A plain hem all round. A mitred corner takes a little more; a bound edge takes none of this and is calculated separately.
- Hems on the two outer edges only across the roll — a joined cloth is charged two seam allowances at each join instead, the same rule as a curtain.
- Square corners on a rectangular table. An oval or a shaped table needs its bounding rectangle entered, and will waste more.
- Rounding is always up, at every step.
For napkins, runners and anything else cut as identical rectangles from the same cloth, the fabric yardage calculator packs them across the roll. The roll widths themselves, and which cloth comes on which, are on the fabric width chart.
Common questions
- What size tablecloth do I need for my table?
- Add twice the drop to each dimension. A 90 by 180 cm table with a 25 cm drop needs a cloth of 140 by 230 cm. For everyday dining a drop of 20 to 30 cm is normal — enough to cover a lap without ending up under the chairs. Floor-length drops are for occasional and banqueting tables.
- Where should the seam go if my table is wider than the fabric?
- Never down the centre. A seam in the middle of a tablecloth lands exactly where everyone looks. Standard practice is a full width down the middle with equal part-widths joined either side, so the two seams sit symmetrically and fall over the edges of the table rather than across the top of it.
- Can I turn the fabric sideways to avoid joining widths?
- On a plain, non-directional cloth, yes — and it often removes a join outright, because a tablecloth that is too wide for the roll one way round frequently fits the other way. A nap or a one-way print fixes the direction and takes the option away. The calculator tries both and reports the better one.
- How much fabric does a round tablecloth waste?
- Roughly a fifth. A circle has to be cut from a rectangle, so four corner pieces fall off, and that is already included in the figure above. Do not throw them away — on any normal table they are big enough for napkins or a matching runner, and cutting those first is free.
- Should I allow for shrinkage on a tablecloth?
- Yes, more than on most things, because a tablecloth is washed often and hot. Pre-wash the fabric before cutting and measure it afterwards, particularly on cotton and linen where 3 to 5 per cent is common. This calculator works from the measurements you enter and does not add a shrinkage allowance of its own.
Related tools
Fabric yardage calculator
Piece size, how many, roll width — the length to buy, and the strip you pay for but never cut.
Seam allowance calculator
Finished size to cut size — and what a different allowance does to the garment you end up with.
Pattern repeat calculator
The cut length a repeat forces, what is trimmed from every piece, and what matching the design costs.
Fabric width chart
Standard roll widths in both systems, and the gap between the label and the cloth.
Bias binding calculator
Straight-grain strips or one continuous bias strip from a square, costed side by side.