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Drapery Yardage Calculator: Pinch Pleat, Ripplefold & Stack Back

Calculate drapery yardage for pinch pleat, ripplefold, French pleat, wave, and flat styles. Includes stack back calculation. Works in yards and metres.

Pleat Style (sets fullness ratio)

Pinch Pleat (2½×): Standard US drapery — 3 fingers gathered

Full track or rod width — includes returns beyond window frame

From top of heading to hem bottom (finished length)

For matching windows in the same room

Vertical pattern repeat on the fabric bolt

Hem Allowances (in)
Top heading
Bottom hem
Side return

How to Use This Calculator

  1. 1

    Measure your track or rod

    Measure the full track or rod width — including any returns (where the track returns to the wall). This is not the window width. A 72" window with a track that extends 12" beyond the frame on each side = 96" track width.

  2. 2

    Choose your pleat style

    Select the pleat style that matches your track or rod hardware. Ripplefold requires a ripplefold carrier track. Wave requires glider hardware. Pinch pleat, French, goblet, and Parisian work on standard traverse or decorative rod tracks with pleat hooks.

  3. 3

    Enter drop and hem allowances

    Drop = from top of heading to bottom of hem (finished length). Add 4" top heading, 8" bottom hem (folded double = 4" visible hem), and 3" each side for the return. These defaults match standard US workroom specifications.

  4. 4

    Enter pattern repeat if applicable

    If the fabric has a vertical pattern repeat, enter its length. The calculator rounds your cut length up to the next full repeat and shows the extra waste per cut. Multiply by total widths for total pattern waste yardage.

  5. 5

    Read yardage and stack back

    Total yards is the face fabric to order. Stack back tells you how far your rod or track must extend past the window on each side. Add 10% to your yardage before ordering to allow for cutting errors and future repairs.

What Each Value Means

Track / Rod Width (inches or cm)
The full width of the drapery track or decorative rod — including the return (the section that angles back to the wall). NOT the window frame width. Most tracks extend 6–18 inches beyond the window on each side for stack back clearance.
Fullness Ratio (multiplier)
How much wider the cut fabric is compared to the finished drapery width. 2.5× means you cut 2.5 times the finished width. Higher fullness creates richer, more gathered folds. Ripplefold uses a fixed 1.8× (80%) determined by the carrier spacing.
Widths Per Panel (count)
How many fabric bolt widths must be seamed together to make one panel wide enough. A 54" fabric bolt, cut panel width of 120": 120 ÷ 54 = 2.2 → rounds up to 3 widths. The widths are seamed side-by-side, then pleated.
Stack Back (inches or cm)
The horizontal depth each drapery panel occupies when fully open. A pinch pleat panel stacks to about 33% of its total cut fabric width. Your rod must extend at least this far past the window edge on each side so open panels clear the glass.
Pattern Repeat (inches or cm)
The vertical distance after which the fabric pattern repeats. When cutting multiple widths, each cut must start at the same point in the repeat to match across panels. This wastes some fabric on every cut — the calculator adds this automatically.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do I calculate drapery yardage?
Multiply finished panel width by the fullness ratio to get cut panel width, then divide by fabric bolt width (rounded up) to get widths per panel. Add top hem and bottom hem to drop to get cut length. Multiply: widths per panel × panels × cut length ÷ 36 = yards.
What fullness should I use for drapery?
Pinch pleat (standard): 2.5×. French pleat: 2.5×. Goblet / tailored: 2.25×. Ripplefold (80%): 1.8×. Wave / S-fold: 2.0×. Box pleat: 3×. Flat / rod pocket: 1.5×. Higher fullness = more fabric, richer look. Lower fullness = less fabric, more contemporary.
How much stack back do draperies need?
Stack back per side = approximately 33% of the total cut fabric width for pinch pleat. Ripplefold stacks to about 25% of cut width. For a 120" track with 2 panels (each 3 fabric widths at 54"): stack ≈ 3 × 54 × 0.33 = 53" per side. Your rod must extend at least this far past the window frame.
How do I calculate drapery yardage with a pattern repeat?
Round the raw cut length up to the next full pattern repeat. Formula: cut length = ⌈(drop + hems) ÷ repeat⌉ × repeat. For a 102" raw cut length with an 18" repeat: ⌈102 ÷ 18⌉ × 18 = 6 × 18 = 108". Each cut uses 108" instead of 102" — the extra 6" is waste.
What is the difference between drapery and curtains?
Draperies use pleat tape or buckram with formal pleat styles (pinch, French, goblet, ripplefold) and are typically floor-length and lined. Curtains is a broader term covering informal styles (eyelet, rod pocket, tab top). In US workroom terminology, 'drapery' specifically means pleated window treatments on traverse or decorative rod tracks.
How many yards of fabric do I need for drapery?
A typical pair of pinch-pleat draperies for a 72" wide window with a 96" drop needs approximately 12–16 yards of 54" fabric (2.5× fullness, 3 widths per panel). Floor-length draperies for a large window (120" wide, 108" drop) need 18–22 yards. Always add 10% safety margin.
What is ripplefold drapery?
Ripplefold drapery hangs from a special carrier track that controls the wave pattern precisely. Unlike pinch pleat which gathers manually, ripplefold carriers are clipped at fixed intervals, creating a uniform S-shaped wave. Standard fullness is 80% (1.8× multiplier), giving a clean, contemporary look.
How wide should the rod or track be for drapery?
Track width = window frame width + stack back on each side. For draperies that draw fully open: add 15–25" on each side (stack back) so the open panels clear the glass completely. For stationary panels (decorative only): add 6–8" each side just for the return to the wall.