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Gather & Ruffle Calculator

How much fabric does a ruffle need? Give the finished edge and a gather ratio and get the cut length, the take-up that disappears into gathers, the strips to join and an even section plan.

The seam the ruffle attaches to
1.5 soft, 2 standard, 3 very full
Bolt width less both selvedges
Counted at both ends

Cut length is the finished length times the gather ratio plus a seam allowance at each end; the take-up is the extra fabric that disappears into the gathers. Strips are cut to the usable fabric width and joined end to end, so the figure to buy is the cut length, not a whole number of widths. Mark both the fabric and the finished edge into equal sections and pull the gathers between the marks to keep the fullness even. Rows that land on a fraction of a millimetre are rounded for display only. Everything is calculated in your browser; nothing is sent or stored.