Fashion Terms — the Apparel Search fashion terminology directory
What is a bolt of fabric? Simply put, it is a roll of fabric. A bolt is a unit of measurement used as an industry standard for a variety of materials from wood to canvas — typically materials stored in a roll. The length is usually either 40 or 100 yards, but varies depending on the fabric: a bolt of canvas, for example, is traditionally 39 yards. This page explains bolt lengths, widths and areas.
What is a bolt of fabric?
Simply put, it’s a roll of fabric.
A bolt is a unit of measurement used as an industry standard for a variety of materials from wood to canvas, typically materials stored in a roll. The length is usually either 40 or 100 yards, but varies depending on the fabric being referred to, for example, a bolt of canvas is traditionally 39 yards. You really would need to consult with the fabric mill regarding the yardage on the bolt before you make your purchase.
A bolt is a commercial unit of length or area used to measure finished cloth. One bolt typically (but NOT always) represents a strip of cloth 100 yards (91.44 meters) long. The width varies according to the fabric. Cotton bolts are traditionally 42 inches (1.067 meters) wide and wool bolts are usually 60 inches (1.524 meters) wide (again this is NOT “always” the case). The bolt of cotton fabric is generally 116.667 square yards (97.566 m2) and a bolt of wool is generally 166.667 square yards (139.355 m2).
You should always check on the length and width of the fabric bolt. Some fabric is made more narrow than other fabrics. The width of the fabric will affect your fabric utilization if you are planning to produce clothes based on a specific pattern.
The width of a bolt is usually 45 or 60 inches, but widths may include 35–36”, 39”, 41”, 44–45”, 50”, 52–54", 58–60” and 66”, 72", 96", and 108". Keep in mind that some fabric has selvedge on the edges of the fabric. This should be considering when planning how much fabric is needed for garment production. A selvage (US English) or selvedge (British English) is a self-finished edge of fabric. The selvages keep the fabric from unraveling or fraying. The selvages are a result of how the fabric is created. In woven fabric, selvages are the edges that run parallel to the warp (the longitudinal threads that run the entire length of the fabric), and are created by the weft thread looping back at the end of each row. In knitted fabrics, selvages are the unfinished yet structurally sound edges that were neither cast on nor bound off. Learn more about the fabric selvedge in the fabric definitions section. Note: raw denim selvage is a bit different.
You can learn about denim selvage if you wish in our industry terms area.
You may also want to read the fabric definitions in our glossary section.
Learn more about the textile industry here on Apparel Search.
You may want to read our fashion blog post about buying fabric by the yard, just in case you can't buy the entire bolt.
Thank you for using the Apparel Search website.
Retail fabric stores cut yardage from the bolt for each customer, but trade buyers think in whole bolts because price, freight and production planning all follow the roll. A garment factory ordering cloth needs to know the bolt's exact length and usable width before it can calculate how many markers the cloth will yield, and a short or narrow bolt changes the cost per garment. That is also why the page's advice — confirm length and width with the mill — matters more than the textbook figures: mills wind bolts to their own standards, fabrics shrink or relax differently, and the first and last yards of a roll are often discounted for flaws or creasing.
Bolts connect to several neighboring terms in this directory. Bulk yardage is fabric bought as actual production yardage rather than samples, and it usually moves by the bolt; the textile units of measure page linked from the bulk yardage entry converts bolts, yards and meters for buyers working between systems. For home sewers the bolt is simply what stands behind the cutting counter, but the same logic applies at small scale: check the width printed at the bolt end before assuming a pattern will fit, because a 42-inch cotton and a 60-inch wool lay out very differently.
It varies by fabric, which is why this page advises consulting the fabric mill before purchase. One bolt typically represents a strip of cloth 100 yards (91.44 meters) long, but bolts are also commonly 40 yards, and a bolt of canvas is traditionally 39 yards.
The width varies according to the fabric. Cotton bolts are traditionally 42 inches (1.067 meters) wide and wool bolts are usually 60 inches (1.524 meters) wide — though, as this page stresses, that is not always the case.
A bolt of cotton fabric is generally 116.667 square yards (97.566 m²) and a bolt of wool is generally 166.667 square yards (139.355 m²), worked out from their standard lengths and widths.