Fabric shrinkage calculator
Calculate before-wash cut dimensions from measured fabric shrinkage. Keep width and length separate and add your finishing allowance.
Shrinkage from -50% to 95%. No automatic fabric rates or guarantees of future wash behavior. Change the input or settings to update your result. Results update as you type. Up to 1,000,000 characters.
Your result
How to use Fabric shrinkage calculator
- Enter the measured inputs and select their units.
- Review the calculated dimensions, counts and rounding.
- Download the result and verify it against a sample before making the full project.
Useful next steps
Measure both fabric directions
Wash and dry a sample using the process planned for the finished project. Measure the same width and length before and after. Alternatively, enter the two shrinkage percentages directly; negative percentages describe growth.
Allow for the final dimensions
Cut size is final size divided by the retained proportion. At 5% width shrinkage, a desired 50 cm width needs about 52.6316 cm before washing. An allowance entered per edge is added to the after-wash dimensions before the shrinkage correction.
Save the calculation
Download a CSV of the results or instructions, a readable text report and a JSON report with values, formulas and assumptions. Calculations run locally on your device. Unit changes keep the numbers already entered, so check the selected units before using the result.