Should you ever find yourself in a fabric store wondering if there is enough of that must-have fabric left on the bolt, I have a little trick for you. A kind lady at the cutting table taught me this trick years ago, and I use it nearly every time I go into a fabric store.
Instead of asking the cutting table gals to measure out the fabric to make sure there is enough yardage for your project, you can just count the layers of fabric wrapped around the bolt like the rings on a tree. For a medium-heavy fabric, such as cotton and burlap, two wrapped layers equals approximately one yard. For thinner fabrics, such as silk or lace, three wrapped layers equals approximately one yard.
This trick only works for fabric on a rectangular bolt, such as the delicious Amy Butler fabrics shown above. Sadly, I don’t know of a similar trick for the home decor fabrics that are displayed on bolt rolls – do you?
