Determining additional yardage needed in certain cases, when customer is providing the fabric:

We will quote the basic yardage needed for your order, going by what we know about the size, model and fabric-related options of your purchase. This basic yardage will be calculated on the assumptions that (1) the fabric if at least 54" wide (which they essentially always are, if they are intended for upholstery use), (2) there are no flaws that have to be cut around (flaws are rare in first-quality fabric), and (3) there are no complications regarding dealing with a specific pattern, which might cause a need for additional yardage. The basic yardage will be the yardage needed in 90% of all cases, including for solid-colored fabrics, most tweeds, and patterns that don't require matching or turning off our normal cutting orientation.

But, with some patterned fabrics, there will be cases in which additional yardage will be needed, as follows: (Please excuse the complexity of the following; it has to be complicated, or else we would need to always quote yardages that would be grossly inflated in relation to the actual requirements for most customers.):

1) Additional yardage is needed when we need to turn the fabric 90 degrees in order to make the direction look the way you want it. For instance, in the case of a striped pattern or a corduroy-type fabric, if you want the stripes or ribbing to be turned a certain way. In most cases (as itemized below), the fabric will automatically be turned the way the customer wants it when we cut it in our normal, efficient way, as explained in the following: No additional yardage is required for turning the fabric if the fabric is turned the way you want it when:
a) seeing the fabric in a swatch book that is being held upright, if the word "railroaded" is included in the description, or
b) when it is on a roll that is unrolling horizontally (the tube in the center is vertical), or
c) when it is in a sample that points to selvage edges at the top and bottom of the sample.

If a patterned fabric looks OK to you in any of the above three specific cases, no additional yardage will be needed for turning the fabric, although additional yardage might be needed for a different reason (see #2 below).

IF you want the fabric to be turned 90 degrees in comparison with an orientation seen as described above, we will need 60% more yardage just to allow for fabric wasted when turning it that way. As a silver lining to the cloud of wasteful cutting, bear in mind that there will be lots of leftover fabric for toss pillows, etc.

If a fabric swatch is shown without saying "railroaded" in the description, and if it must be turned in the orientation that's shown (when the swatchbook is upright) in order to look right to you, 60% additional yardage will be required. Likewise, if you see a fabric unrolling vertically (as on a rack in most fabric stores), and if it has to be turned that way in order to look correct to you, 60% additional yardage will be required. And if a sample indicates the selvage edges are located at each side, and if it has to be turned that way to look correct to you, 60% more will be needed.

2) Additional yardage would also normally be needed when there is a design element that you want us to (a) center, or (b) match vertically; for example, a row of diamonds that runs front-to-back on seat cushions, which you want us to align with a corresponding row going vertically up the back cushions. If you want us to do that, multiply the number of cushions by the width of the repeat. (If there are two repeats quoted, use whichever repeat is larger.) Then divide that figure (in inches) by 36" to get the additional yards needed.

Horizontal matching does not normally require extra fabric; the only exception is when the fabric has to be turned 90 degrees (see next paragraph, below). However, the additional labor cost of horizontal matching must be allowed for.

If you have decided to turn the fabric 90 degrees and therefore are already adding 60% to the basic yardage, there's no need to add any additional yardage for vertical matching; but any horizontal matching requested would require additional fabric in that case.

Additional yardage needed to take care of any case where centering or matching is required: Width of largest repeat times the number of cushions to which it would apply.

3) Additional yardage might also be needed in the following situation: One in which there is a flower or other design element that you want turned upright. (Note: In at least half of all cases, flowers and leaves are turning in various different directions in a fabric pattern, and there is no obvious "right side up" to be concerned about.) Given the way we normally sew our covers, if a design element is "right-side-up" on the front side of a back cushion, it will be turned the opposite way on the back side. So if covers are made in our normal way, when you turn the back cushions around, the flowers might look upside down. You can deal with that problem either by (1) turning the cushions the wrong way at some times when company is not coming, to distribute the wear, or else ( 2) we can cut the fabric apart at the top of the back cushion and turn and re-sew it so that the flowers will always look upright. But when we do that (cut it apart, turn and re-sew it), be prepared for the facts that
(a) there will be a seam at the top edge of the cushion that would otherwise not be there,
(b) depending on the symmetry of the pattern, we may not be able to sew the two sides together so as to make a good-looking match at the seam,
(c) additional yardage may be needed to achieve at least a minimally-acceptable-looking seam at the top of the cushion, even if centering or matching of a pattern is not requested (allow width of largest repeat times number of back cushions); and
(d) we must charge $12 extra per back cushion for the extra labor.

(Note: We don't offer the option just mentioned in the case of seat cushions, on which a sometimes "upside down" pattern would be less noticeable, and where the seam created would be more of a problem.)

Labor costs for matching: When ordering new furniture from us, any extra labor on our part for doing the matching in one direction will be at no charge; if you want us to match in two directions, the deduction for providing your own fabric will no longer be allowed. If ordering replacement covers or cushions, our very modest pricing for those will need to be adjusted upward to allow for matching in either or both directions, as itemized in the replacement covers page of our website.

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