Fabric Weight and Conversions

Today we have a guest entry from Jennifer Ennis. Jennifer is a DE from Winnipeg Canada. She has worked in the garment industry for both an importer and domestic producer. Her educational background is diverse mix of textile science, design and economics (sustainable development) which includes, in her opinion, far too much time in front of a HunterLab colorimeter. Thanks Jenn!
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Let’s talk about fabric weight. If you’ve been confused with converting weights of fabrics, most often described as “grams per square meter” or “ounces per square yard”, this should help you. Technically, both of these refer to “fabric mass”. I make this distinction only because if you try and look up test methods to determine weight (fabric mass) you’ll not find it. But okay, I am calling it “weight”.

Previously when I worked for a garment manufacturer, I was often working on fabric testing mostly because I paid attention in textile science class. It came in handy to save few rear ends during my time there so it is useful stuff to know (I‘d also like mention that I paid attention in design and economics too).

I tested fabrics from Asia, the United States and Europe (Italy specifically) and I have run across many ways weight was described. I would hesitate to suggest that fabrics were deliberately mislabeled to mislead people but based on what I’ve seen, I can’t say they weren’t either. For example, one mill told us the fabric was 14 oz and everyone assume it was per square yard when in fact it was per liner yard and ended up only weighing 12 oz/yd2. So it is important to understand what unit is being measured and always, if in doubt, clarify and verify.


In my experience, the two most common descriptions of weight were:

  1. GSM aka g/m2 = grams per square meter
  2. oz/yd2 = ounces per yard squared

I have also run across

  • g/m or gram per linear meter
  • oz/yd or ounces per linear yard,
  • g/yd2 or gram per yard squared *
  • oz/m2 or oz per meter squared *

* why in heaven’s name you would mix the two systems (imperial and metric) is beyond me but people do.

Gsm is the standard and I am not just saying this because I one of those weird people trained in new math and metric. Here are three reasons:

  1. Metric is ISO standard units and used in ASTM D3776-07 Standard Test Methods for Mass Per Unit Area of fabric (that is the test method you be asking a material testing lab to run)
  2. Equipment is inexpensive and commonly available for use in measuring these units, even in office situations.
  3. It is internationally understood (USA is one of the only countries not using metric system)

Conversion formulas:
There is an easy way to convert gsm to oz/yd2.
Divide the gsm by 33.906 – really that is all.
To determine gsm from oz/yd2 you do the reverse – multiple by 33.906.

If it helps, this is what the formulas are based upon:

  • 1 oz = 28.3495231 grams
  • 1 yard = 0.9144 meters
  • 1 yard squared = (.9144 m x .9144 m) =.83612736 meters squared

Therefore

  1. 1 oz/yd2 = 28.3495231g/.83612736 m2 = 33.90574744 g/m2
  2. Rounded up to three decimal places it is 33.906

If you don’t like doing the math –I dislike doing calculations repeatedly– you may prefer to use tables to look things up. I know I do. To make it easier for you, I’ve attached a table I made (pdf 16kb) that shows conversion for the most common weights of 50 gsm to 689 gsm to oz/yd2. I recommend sticking it in a plastic protector sheet, storing it in a binder or attached to a cork board and you are all set.

If there is sufficient interest or questions, I can write another part to cover other conversions and perhaps another section on how to do internal approval testing and limitations. I’m thinking a good post would be about converting GSM to oz/linear yard in order to calculate for dye houses i.e. how many yards to make up x number pounds of fabric.

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98 comments

  1. Vesta says:

    Yes, please! I’d love to see both of the additional posts you mentioned. This is all very helpful. I never thought to verify fabric weight! Eeep.

  2. Erin says:

    Very interesting, and timely for me. I’ve been diving into fabric weights for the purposes of more precise dying (on a craft level, not manufacturing). The linear yard vs. square yard is an interesting flub – wouldn’t have thought of it. Any other posts would be read with delight.

    So when you calculated the 14 oz. fabric was actually 12 oz. you just cut out a square yard and weighed it? Is it that basic?

  3. Jennifer E. says:

    Erin
    Actually you cut out a small circle using a die and weight it in gsm and converted it to oz/yd. I then deduced that based on the standard width of that type of fabric (which I new from experience) that they must have been quoting the weight in oz per linear yard. I will talk more about that conversion and the equipment requirements in my other posts.

  4. KW says:

    How do you convert grams per l/m to gram per m2?

    For example 270 gr/ml = 186 gr/m2 but I do not know the calucalation and I assume it depends on the width of the goods?

  5. sfriedberg says:

    In answer to Bobby and KW, yes, you need to know the width of goods to convert between linear yards (which measures length) and square yards (which measures area). Area is length times width.

    Suppose your goods are 54 inches wide. That’s one and a half yards wide. So every linear yard of goods 54″ wide covers an area of 1.5 square yards. If you had goods 72 inches wide (two yards), every linear yard of goods 72″ wide covers an area of 2 square yards.

    [Aside: Be glad we are not in the lumber business and talking about board feet.]

    Since mills seldom weave to a nice multiple of meter or yard widths, you are going to have to break out the calculator or scratch paper and do some arithmetic to convert between linear yards and square yards. J C gave an example just a couple of comments above.

    Suppose you have a fabric weight given in ounces per square yard (grams per square meter), and you want to know the weight per linear yard (linear meter). Find the fabric width in yards (meters) and multiply the given weight times that number.

    Suppose you have a fabric weight given in ounces per linear yard (grams per linear meter), and you want to know the weight per square yard (square meter). Find the fabric width in yards (meters) and divide the given weight by that number.

  6. Kevin says:

    Your articles are VERY helpful. We have learned many of these things the hard way, but have somehow managed to get our clothing company off the ground in spite of it all. Can you please direct us to a company or source that sells the punch die and scales for testing fabric density?
    Thank You

  7. Bente says:

    This is an extremely useful post, especially for a European newly arrived in US and starting a children’s clothing line. I have mostly worked with Gsm standards and found it quite complicated and time-consuming to change into a new system.
    Could you by the way explain what “per liner yard” means?
    Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with everybody. I am not used to this wonderful attitude.

  8. sfriedberg says:

    Bente, a “linear yard” just means one yard long (36 inches), no matter how wide the fabric is. The use of the word “linear” helps to avoid confusion with “square yard”. Some fabric weights are given per area, while others are given per length. In the case of length, you must also know the width of the fabric to determine the useful weight of the fabric. See my comment from 18 April, just above.

    Let me try this another way: What we really want to know is the weight per area of the fabric. If the mill provides the measurement in grams per square meter or ounces per square yard, that is what we want to know, so we don’t have to do anything more. But often, mills give us a measurement in grams per linear meter or ounces per linear yard. To get what we really want to know, we have to have the width of the fabric, too. Given the width and a weight per length, we can compute the weight per area.

  9. Wing Wing says:

    I have a formula as below:

    Fabric = 210g/meter square
    Fabric width = 80 inches
    Yard need per garment = 1.03 yard/pc

    The coversion as follow:
    1 lb fabric will have 1/0.00082/210/80*16 yd of fabric i.e. equal to 1.16144 yard. Therefore 1KG of fabric with 1.16144*2.204 yd i.e equal to 2.5598 yd of fabric.

    Hence the consumption of one pc of garment will be 1.03/2.5598 kg. i.e. equal to 0.4023 kg

    How to explain this formula??

    1 lb fabric = 1/0.00082/210/80*16 yd

  10. sfriedberg says:

    Wing Wing asks “How to explain this formula?? 1 lb fabric = 1/0.00082/210/80*16 yd

    As a practicing engineer, this kind of formula infuriates me. It is sloppy, cryptic, and mixes units of measurement. I was able to recompute the answer in two different ways much faster than I could come up with an explanation for the formula. Fortunately, nothing more advanced than high school math is needed.

    First, let me show how I would compute it.

    1 pound (lb) is about 454 grams.
    454 grams at 210 g/m^2 is about 2.162 m^2.
    1 m is about 1.094 yd
    1 m^2 is about 1.196 yd^2
    2.162 m^2 is about 2.586 yd^2.
    80 in is about 2.222 yd.
    2.586 yd^2 at 2.222 yd width is about 1.164 linear yd.

    So, the overall formula I would use is
    1 lb fabric = ((454/210)*1.196)/2.222 yd = 1.164 yd

    You can also use the conversion given in the article at the top of this thread:
    1 oz/yd^2 = 33.906 g/m^2
    210 g/m^2 is about 6.194 oz/yd^2
    1 lb = 16 oz
    6.194 oz/yd^2 is 0.3871 lb/yd^2
    1 lb at 0.3781 lb/yd^2 = 2.583 yd^2

    The overall formula would be
    1 lb = (1/((210/33.906)/16)/2.222 yd = 1.163 yd
    The answer comes out a bit different due to arithmetic rounding.

    Notice that both of my answers are closer to each other than to the 1.1614 of the question.

    OK, now let’s look at the formula
    1 lb = 1/0.00082/210/80*16 yd
    The 210 is obviously the fabric weight in g/m^2. The 80 is the fabric width in inches. The 16 is presumably the number of ounces in a pound. The mystery is the 0.00082.

    The order in which those divisions should be done is unclear, so we will try to figure that out, too. We know the answer is supposed to be 1.1614. As it turns out, just doing the operations from left to right gives that answer, so we could rewrite the formula more explicitly as
    1 lb = (((1/0.00082)/210)/80)*16 yd

    Since we have pounds on the left and yards on the right, the overall expression has to have the dimensions of yd/lb. We have
    * 16 oz/lb [This is a fixed conversion constant.]
    / 210 g/m^2 [This is the weight of the fabric.]
    / 80 in [This is the width of the fabric.]
    or 0.0009524 (oz*m^2)/(lb*g*in)
    so what’s left has to have the dimensions of (yd*in*g)/(m^2*oz) to cancel out everything except yd/lb. For reasons I am not going to stop and explain, we can’t compute anything with that. Instead, we will look for an expression with equivalent dimensions of (yd^2*in*g)/(m^2*yd*oz).
    There are 1.196 yd^2/m^2. [This is a fixed conversion constant.]
    There are 36 in/yd. [This is a fixed conversion constant.]
    There are 28.35 g/oz. [This is a fixed conversion constant.]
    Multiply all those together to get 1220.6, which is 1/0.0008192, our mystery number.

    So the original formula
    1 lb = (((1/0.00082)/210)/80)*16 yd
    can be rewritten as
    1 lb = (16 * 28.35 * 1.196 * 36) / (210 * 80) yd
    To break that down into simpler steps:
    1 lb = (16 oz/lb * 28.35 g/oz) = 453.6 g
    453.6 g / 210 g/m^2 * 1.196 yd^2/m^2 = 2.583 yd^2
    2.583 yd^2 / (80 in / 36 in/yd) = 1.163 yd

    And in fact, if you use the more accurate value of 0.0008192 instead of 0.00082, you get the answer of 1.163 yards. And if the author of that formula was going to fold three of the conversion constants into one mystery number, I don’t understand why he left the fourth one (16) out. The formula could have been written as (the equally mysterious, but simpler)
    1 lb = 19530 / (210 * 80) yd

    Wing Wing, that is the explanation of that very bad formula. However, you did not need that formula. The information you had available was sufficient to compute the same answer, more clearly and also more accurately.

  11. raghav chhabra says:

    hi!
    one difficulty i face while costing knitted garments is to know yarn counts when gsm is given.is there a ready recokner or a table u have that u can share which can help to resolve this problem i face.

  12. sfriedberg says:

    Andrea, the objective of the die is to cut the same size of fabric for weighing each time, very quickly and without human error. However, you can cut a sample for weighing by hand if you measure and cut carefully. Since Jennifer didn’t say, I am going to guess that the die would be used with a “clicker” hydraulic press, often used for cutting leather or plastic with sharp metal dies.

    Raghav, I don’t know of any fixed conversion between yarn counts and fabric weight. While yarn count gives the yarn spacing and size, yarns can be spun tightly or loosely for a given yarn size and this will have a direct impact on the fabric weight. The specific gravity of the yarn material (polyester, acrylic, cotton, etc) will also affect fabric weight for a given yarn count. Knits would vary even more than woven fabrics because they can be knitted “thickly” or “thinly” with the same yarn count, so the knit construction (as well as the yarn count) is important.

  13. Moin says:

    Can someone pls reply to raghav chhabra’s question……………I am too facing the same situation while doing knit costing !!

  14. sfriedberg says:

    I responded to Raghav Chabrav’s question back in August of last year. There is no simple or predictable relationship between fabric weight (gsm) and yarn counts, generally speaking. To produce any kind of table or equation, you must ALSO know many other values, such as yarn density or size, the weave and thickness of the fabric, etc. It is easier to count threads with a microscope to get your yarn count directly than to compute it!

    For a given type of fabric (say, 100% cotton broadcloth), one could prepare a table of yarn counts to fabric weights. But this table would not be correct for a different type of fabric. And I do not have access to any such tables. If you are doing costing, you probably need the data for the specific mill or machinery that will be producing your fabric.

    I suggest that you make your own table from fabric data that you trust. All you need is three or four examples where you have both the fabric weight and the yarn counts. Then you can interpolate between known data points to get new values. Or, you can pay professional fees to a textile scientist (I am not one) to have him prepare a table for you.

  15. annie says:

    hi, i am wondering if you can give any information on weighing sweater yarns. for example, in the industry a finished sweater garment is measured in lbs/doz., so they are weighing the total yarn used to make a complete garment. knowing the yarn size and number of ends in advance will help you to guess what the final weight might be, but the tension, stitch and construction affect the finished weight just as much. the finished weight will vary much more than a standard knit or woven fabric that is being cut instead of constructed to shape.

    that being said, if you have a sweater that is 10.5 lbs/doz, does that just mean that if you had a dozen of that sweater, the average weight would be 10.5 lbs?

  16. simon says:

    Thanks for this page it will come in handy when selling fabric on my website. Thickness/weight is such a hard thing to describe on a website. What is medium , light etc. The only problem i can see is that these figures will mean little to the customer. most wont understand 120g/m. that could mean thick, thin etc.
    what is needed is a fabric scale that people understand straight away and compare with. (please note these are figures not actuall just pulled from the air)
    50g toilet paper
    100g thin poly cotton/shirt material
    200g thick poly cotton fabric
    300g deck chair canvass
    400g kids craft grade felt

    Has anyone got any real life values for real items ?
    I will bookmark this site and add some of mine over the next couple of weeks

  17. Arthur Farmer says:

    Hi, my question relates to fabric which is described, for example, as 60/40 Cotton/Polyester. Are these percentages by weight or what? If not, how can I determine the % by weight of a fabric’s composition?

  18. sfriedberg says:

    Arthur, the US rules require percentage by weight. From the way you phrased your question, that’s what you wanted, so no work to be done.

    If you are given something labeled with percentage by volume or by yarn count, you have only three practical choices. 1) Ask the mill that made the fabric what the percentage by weight is. 2) Assume the percentage by volume is close enough to the percentage by weight to use the same numbers. 3) Hire a laboratory or textile scientist to actually measure the proportions by weight in the fabric.

    As I mentioned a couple of times above, (with the exception of monofilaments) there are no reliable numbers of yard or thread density, so you can’t go from volume to weight with any accuracy. (There are lots and lots of approximate, ballpark figures, but they may be 10% or even more off of the actual values for your fabric.) However, most yarn materials have very roughly similar densities, so you might be able to get by with choice #2. If that’s not accurate enough, or the penalties for an inaccurate label are large enough, you’re going to have to hire an expert to get your numbers.

  19. sfriedberg says:

    Irene, “denier” is technically a measure of monofilament yarn size rather than fabric weight. There is a reasonably good relationship between fabric weight and denier for a given weave, enough that people have no difficulty recognizing 200D fabric as a packcloth and 1000D as luggage material. But different weaves (or mill processing) can produce different fabric weights from the same size denier yarns. Also, the water repellant or waterproof coatings often applied to nylon fabrics described by “denier” will add directly to the fabric weight.

    “T” is short for Tex, and there is rather detailed article that includes Tex, denier and lots of other thread sizing systems here

  20. jERRY says:

    Please advise meaning of 50D/72F re a polyester fabric. Could it mean denier 50; filaments 72?
    please advise how to convert fabric weight 60 grams/sq. meter to denier, if possible.

  21. Stuart Friedberg says:

    jERRY, I believe you are correct, and that notation seems to be used mostly with textured yarns (e.g., “wooly”). I was not familiar with this notation, but some quick web research found a table with the heading “Denier / Filaments”. Presumably, a 50D/36F yarn is made of fewer, heavier filaments than a 50D/72F yarn.

    I don’t have a reliable way of going from fabric weight to denier for reasons discussed immediately above. However, looking at some sample swatches I have, an uncoated 60gsm fabric is probably close to a 60 denier. If it’s coated, it’s probably closer to a 40 or 50 denier.

    For everyone, I need to correct a consistent misstatement of mine. The denier thread sizing system is used for filament yarns, not just monofilament. Monofilament is like fishing line, one solid cylinder. Filament yarns are not limited to monofilaments, and include silk, polyester and nylon yarns of many fine filaments. My apologies.

  22. Selvadurai says:

    I need a solution on the following:
    Available information : Fabric Required is Reed 66 & Pick 44 / Warp 10s PC (65% Cotton & 35 % Polyester) & Weft 14s OE. Bleached White (Peroxide). The Warping Charges @ INR. 12 per Kg & Weaving Charges @ INR 0.28 Per Pick. Finished Fabric Width 94″ after process.

    Required Information : How to calculate Cost of fabric (Grey) per Meter @ Yarn Rate INR 90 for 10s PC & INR 80 Per Kg for 14s OE? What Should be the width of grey fabric before bleaching?

  23. Eric H says:

    @Selvadurai

    With a question with that much technical detail, I am guessing that there may be some money riding on getting the answer correct. Do you really want an answer that you can get for free? I would say no. You should pay for the answer to this question. I would suggest starting with the company that is going to be producing the fabric.

  24. ganesh says:

    Dear Sir,

    I want fabric construction calculating method. Because, buyer given only “GSM” .

    In that how much reed and pick, & cotton count insert on the loom.

    please tell me sir.

  25. Kathleen Fasanella says:

    Ganesh (and Selvadurai) do you have a textile engineering reference book? It may be a worthwhile investment. I mean, I’m delighted if someone in the crowd knows the answers to these questions but even from my limited knowledge of the topic, know that the variables and the costs of each (subject to market conditions), are considerable.

  26. Rashel says:

    I want to knows the relation between GSM & Yarn.
    There is lot of fabric like S/J, Laycra Jersey, 1 X 1, 2 X 2,
    Yarn Count 24’s-30’s
    How Can I make 24′ S/j- which gsm will came like also othere fabric

  27. Sunny says:

    For Knitted Fabrics
    gsm 210 g/meter square
    width 80 inches
    consumton 1.03 yard/pc

    1 lb fabric will have 1.161440186 yd of Fabric
    1.270166432 Mtr of Fabric
    1KG of fabric 2.55981417 yd of Fabric
    1KG of fabric 2.340694077 Mtr of Fabric
    1 mtr of fabic will have 0.005625408 Kg
    1 Yd of fabric will have 0.390653358 Kg

  28. Sunny says:

    gsm 210 g/meter square
    width 80 inches

    1 lb fabric will have 1.161440186 yd of Fabric
    1 lb fabric will have 1.270166432 Mtr of Fabric
    1KG of fabric 2.55981417 yd of Fabric
    1KG of fabric 2.340694077 Mtr of Fabric
    1 mtr of fabic will have 0.005625408 Kg
    1 Yd of fabric will have 0.390653358 Kg

  29. Purnima says:

    WWWOOOOWWWW…!!!!!!!!

    i just wanted to know how much a 20 mtr fabric may approximately weigh..and ended up here..u guys guys are supers geeks of textiles haa

  30. Suman says:

    Hi,

    can anyone please advise how to calculate the consumption of a Knitted garment / Woven garment & the leather jacket…

    your advise would be very helpful to me.

    thank you.

  31. Kuasha says:

    Hi All,

    It seems to be you all are the people closer to my heart! Well, i have reviewed all your posts….but i also know a easy formula for woven…that you did not share……so i like to share it with you.

    it is for woven….getting gsm from construction…
    say ..the fabric construction is 2020/6060
    the gsm calculation will be simple {(60+60)x25} /20=150 gsm.

    in case you have different count for warp and weft….you have to do it separately………and the 25 is universal constant….it will not change.

    so…warp plus weft multiplied by 25……….then divided by their yarn count.

    i hope you all like it as well.

  32. ali says:

    very helpfull im a merchandiser in the firm here in pakistan so its very helpful for me to do it by self

    For Knitted Fabrics
    gsm 210 g/meter square
    width 80 inches
    consumton 1.03 yard/pc

    1 lb fabric will have 1.161440186 yd of Fabric
    1.270166432 Mtr of Fabric
    1KG of fabric 2.55981417 yd of Fabric
    1KG of fabric 2.340694077 Mtr of Fabric
    1 mtr of fabic will have 0.005625408 Kg
    1 Yd of fabric will have 0.390653358 Kg

  33. Jeff Smith says:

    I would like to know how you create a particular weight per sq yard as I am trying to produce denim in particular weights per square yard and I figure it has to do with yarn weight but exactly how I am not sure of.

    Any help would be appreciated.

  34. sfriedberg says:

    Jeff,

    Yarn sizes (not matter which sizing system) are all based on length and weight, and you have control over the both the reed spacing and the degree to which you beat the cloth. You can get into the ball-park of a target fabric weight by deciding your warp and weft pick counts for a given yarn. I.e., if you have a yarn which weighs (unfortunate choice of units here) X ounces per yard, and one square yard of your finished fabric is going to have V warp threads and W weft threads, each nominally one yard in length, then a rough estimate of the finished fabric weight is X * (V + W).

    Now, because warp and weft threads, even in a plain weave, are not perfectly straight, the estimate will be a bit on the low side. Since I am not a weaver, I can’t tell you how much lower, but you can run a sample on your loom and measure for yourself!

    If you are running denim, you will be using different yarns for warp and weft, so you will have two yarn weights instead of X. Multiple weft yarn weight times number of weft picks per yard, multiple warp yarn weight times number of warp picks per yard, and add. Then adjust the estimate by whatever empirical factor you need for your chosen weave on your loom.

    I am not going to work out all the conversion factors here, but a Tex size T yarn weighs T grams per kilometer. That’s 3.22545108 × 10^-5 (= 0.0000322) ounces/yard.

    So using T20 yarn for warp and weft, with 60 picks per inch (= 2160 picks per yard) in both warp and weft, you’d expect something like a 2.75-3.0 ounce/square yard fabric.
    (20 * 0.0000322) * (2160 + 2160) = 2.78

    Or work it the other way: You want to end up with an 8 ounce/square yard fabric, using T40 yarn for warp and weft, you need 86 picks per inch.
    ( (8 / (40 * 0.0000322) ) / 2) / 36 = 86.3

    I emphasize that these are lower bound estimates, and the actual fabric weight will depend on the weave structure you choose. Fortunately, most of the usual complicating factors like tightness of weave and density of yarn are all factored out when you work in terms of yarn weight per length and picks per length.

  35. Mathews says:

    Hi
    just went thoru; this site and has valuable information.
    will share few thoughts which i hav learnt from my experience.
    This is for knits.
    The yarn count to be used for the required GSM

  36. Nikki says:

    HI – Can anyone suggest where i should look to get the fabric puncher (die cutter) and scale? i have been trying to find this on-line but i am not finding anything. Band names or sites would be really helpful!

    Thanks!

  37. Shameem says:

    Hi sfriedberg

    This formula is valid for any width or GSM?

    1 lb fabric = ((454/210)*1.196)/2.222 yd = 1.164 yd
    How can I convert it in kg to yrds?

    Thanks

  38. sfriedberg says:

    Hello Shameem. No, that formula was specific for the example Wing Wing asked about. The 2.222 yard comes from an 80″ width, and the 210 was the grams per square meter weight.

    You ask: “How can I convert kilograms to yards?” You will need two additional pieces of information: the fabric weight (in grams per square meter or ounces per square yard), and the fabric width (in meters or inches).

    Let’s keep things metric until the final step. Start with K kilograms of fabric, weighing W grams per square meter, with a width of M meters. (It’s probably measured in millimeters, but you can move the decimal point three places without my help.)
    The total area of fabric is 1000 * K / W square meters.
    The total length of fabric is (1000 * K / W) / M meters.
    To convert meters to yards, multiply by 1.094 (1.0936133, if you need more precision).

  39. Ruby says:

    Hello all, Can you please advise me what would be the lightest material available and the GSM to make a light weight cardigan. Need it to be able to squash & creases OK! Cheers Ruby

  40. Mahmod says:

    how to calculate fabric weight from fabric constraction? is that formula for all woven?
    for example:twill peach fabric: 20×10/120×50 how?
    y/d fabric : 72×64 / 40×40 how?

  41. sfriedberg says:

    Mahmod, please see my earlier comments above dated August 20, 2008 and Arpil 23, 2009. You may find Kuasha’s comment above dated May 12, 2010 useful, but I suggest it’s not as straightforward as he implies.

    You may also find the technical articles on this other blog helpful.

  42. Drea says:

    A sari is a long strip of unsewn cloth worn as a traditional garment by women in India. This cloth is typically 120 cm wide by 5 meters long and comes in a wide variety of colors, patterns and fibers. Some of the finest saris are made from 24 denier silk and are finely woven at 50 ends/cm for the warp (the long, up and down threads) and 40 picks/cm for the weft (the short, side to side threads). Based on this information calculate the mass (in grams) of this sari.

    PLEASE HELP!

  43. Dedy says:

    Dear Sir,
    Please help me, how to calculate weight (gsm) for this articles :
    1. Chiffon Polyester : 15d/12f x 15d/12f 127×112 57/8″ finish width
    2. Polyester GGT : (20d/18f+26d/36f)x(20d/18f+26d/36f) 110×89 57/8″ finish width
    3. Sateen Mono Filament : 50d DTY x 75d FTY +40d Spandex 214×110 57/8″ in finish
    Thank you very much,
    Rgds,
    Dedy SN

  44. mahmod says:

    again I have got different formula that ‘s why I want to sure which is right ?
    fabric weight can also be measure through this farmula,
    1)(EPI/Warp count*27.5)+(PPI/Weft count*24.5)
    2)To calculate the weight of the fabric you should know the numbers of thread count and the yarn count. Use a thumb rule of thread count X 42/ yarn count to have the approximate weight of the fabric per mt
    3)GSM= ((EPI/warpcount X 1.1) + (PPI/weft count x 1.04)) x 23.5
    4)Cloth weight in GSM =[ EPI/Warp ct + PPI/weft ct ] x 25.6
    tell me which one is right from above?

  45. Kathleen says:

    is it possible tracking fabric construction by knowing gsm?

    Not likely. However *depending on intended application*, looser weaves (only tangentially related to gsm) may require different kinds of finishing which affects the specified process within the value stream of textile manufacturing.

  46. Mahmod says:

    Hi Kathleen,
    understand . I need answer of my other question can you help.
    thanks

    Can anybody tell me (from textile point of view)
    1) what are the fabric very suitable/sustainable for shirt with construction , weave,
    2) what are the fabric very suitable/sustainable for pant with construction , weave,
    3) what are the fabric very suitable/sustainable for suit /jacket/blazer with construction , weave
    thanks

    Hi Kuasha,
    since you mentioned in your post 12-may 2010 regarding universal variable 25 but I am getting this number are different from many people like 23.6, 27.5,25.6 can you reconfirm which one is right ? pls help
    thanks

    I would like gather some idea on below fabric can any boday help ?
    cambray , oxford , corduroy,bedford, tapata, taslon, micro fiber with their nature and usuage
    hope i will get a good idea on above fabric

  47. Dedy says:

    Dear Mahmod,
    I’ve formula (for polyester) like this :
    A. Weight of Warp fabric (gsm) : (dencity of warp*36″*warp count*1.2)/9000
    B. Weight of weft fabric (gsm) : (dencity of weft*36*weft count*1.045)/9000
    So total weight of fabric is : (A + B)
    The problem is for some this formula could’n used for general construction, because I found calculation result and actual weighing in between one construction to the others it is different, some of there close and the others big different. So that why I asked you by three different construction of fabric. I think may crepe factor, or twist factor or others. Please help to make correction (or you have some correction factor for any construction, let say for chiffon fabrics, for double GGT fabrics, or for polyester texture fabrics), it will be useful for my job analysis.
    Thank you,
    Rgds,
    Dedy

  48. Kathleen says:

    Mahmod, what I read Alison’s comment to mean reduced to its simplest elements is the matter of resourcefulness. It is largely not possible to supply a ready answer to your questions. Rather, it is a matter of discovery and exploration -resourcefulness in that one can only explore possible solutions for themselves.

    For what it’s worth, I also suspected you were a student wanting help with your homework mostly because your questions seemed simplistic in the sense that (it seemed) there was a presumption of one fast easy answer.

    Speaking again of resourcefulness, this site has nearly 3,000 other posts with content that may be more targeted to your interests. You may find it helpful to explore and find the answers you seek. I can’t speak for anyone else but it strikes me that someone who demonstrates resourcefulness tends to post their questions to entries that are more closely related. We tend to roll out the red carpet for someone who says “I looked for the answer to X but couldn’t find it. Can you tell me where that information would be?”

  49. Mahmod,

    The reason I suggested joining the forum is that it’s a much better place for asking questions. When we know what you are trying to accomplish we can ask you questions as well and give more targeted and helpful answers.

    The forum is private, so you can speak freely about your work in a way that you might not feel comfortable doing in a comment thread on the blog.

  50. Leah says:

    How many die cut circles do you need to cut to get fabric weight? Is it 8 or cut 1 and multiply it by 8. Also does the diameter of the circle determine how many to cut, what should the diameter be

  51. sfriedberg says:

    Leah, the objective is to weight a known area of fabric. It can be a circle, a square, or any other shape for which you know the area. Know the area. Cut out the fabric. Weigh the fabric. If the area you cut out is not exactly one square meter or one square yard, call it A. Divide the weight you measured by A. That is your fabric weight per square yard or square meter.

    The point of the die cut circle is to make it easy to cut the same known area over and over again, month after month, without needing a skilled operator. But any known area (of any arbitrary shape) will do. Know the area. Cut out the fabric. Weigh the fabric. Convert the measurement to the relevant standard area.

  52. Leah says:

    Thanks but I was asking if you cut one die circle because you dont have enough fabric to cut eight circles then measure in oz’s do you then have to multiply this one circle by eight to get the correct weight? Also I was asking are there certain die cuts for measuring grams vs oz, are the die cut circles the same diameter for both or is one larger than the other as well will the gram die cut be larger than the oz die cut

  53. sfriedberg says:

    Leah, let’s say the instructions tell you to cut 8 circles. But you don’t have enough fabric, so you only cut one circle. Okay, the area of fabric you are about to weigh is only one-eighth of what the instructions called for. The weight you are about to measure is therefore only 1/8th of what the instructions called for. So, yes, you need to account for that in the step “convert the measurement to the relevant standard area”. [You can jump to the very end of my comment, if you wish.]

    Are there certain die cuts for grams versus ounces? Well, there certainly could be. But what I tried to tell you is that IT DOESN’T MATTER so long as you know what the actual area of cut fabric is. It doesn’t have to be die-cut. It doesn’t have to be round. You just have to know, accurately, how big it actually is.

    The reason to use a die to cut out circles is to simplify the process for the unskilled worker who doesn’t understand the process. [My objective is to teach you understanding of the process!] One way to simplify the process is to simplify the “convert the measurement to the relevant standard area” step. So, if you cut (for example ONLY) 1/10 of a square meter, then your fabric GSM is 10 times the weight of what you cut. So, if you are measuring GSM, it would be convenient to have a die whose area is a nice simple fraction of one square meter. Similarly, if you are measuring ounces/square yard, it would be convenient to have a die whose area is a nice simple fraction of one square yard. But this is a convenience, not a necessity! If you understand the process, you can use any known area.

    What’s the simplest possible way to measure your fabric weight in GSM? Cut out exactly one square meter and weigh it. You are done! But you don’t have one square meter, you say? Cut out exactly one quarter square meter, weigh it, and then multiply what you weighed by four. But you don’t even have one quarter a square meter, just this handkerchief-sized swatch, you say? Cut out exactly one hundredth square meter (that’s a square 10cm on each side), weigh it, and then multiply what you weighed by 100. Does not have to be die-cut, does not have to be a circle, does not have to be a square. Just has to be a known area.

    By the way, the larger the area you measure, the more accurate your resulting GSM or ounce/square yard result will be. So, it’s not a good idea to use a tiny sample, weigh it, and them multiply it by a big number. But you CAN, if you accept that the result will be less accurate than using a larger sample.

    Okay, suppose you have some round die of arbitrary size. You ask someone who remembers their grade school geometry what the area is. Unless you are very lucky, it’s not some simple convenient fraction of one square meter or one square yard. Doesn’t matter. That area, whatever it might be, is what you use when “convert the measurement to the relevant standard area”. You cut out some fabric, and it weighs G grams. You know (because your 14-year old child told you) that the area of your die is A square meters. The GSM of the fabric is G/A.

    But now your production manager wants to measure fabric in ounces/square yard! But you don’t have a special “ounces” die! What to do!? Ask your 14-year old child to give you the area of the die in square yards. This will be a different number than the area in square meters. [Same die, same area, but different units.] Call the die area in square yards B. Cut out some fabric, and weigh it as O ounces. The ounces/square yard of the fabric is O/B. [BTW, A = 0.836 * B and B = A / 0.863, which you can use to double-check your 14-year old child’s arithmetic for A and B.]

    Suppose you only have a teeny, tiny die and it’s got a really small area. Call the area T. Cut out multiple samples of fabric, say S of them. The total area you just cut is S * T. Weigh all the samples together, and suppose they weigh G grams. Then the GSM for your fabric is G/(S*T).

    Suppose you were SUPPOSED to cut S samples, but didn’t have that much fabric. What to do?! The GSM for your fabric is STILL G/(number_you_actually_cut*T). So you need to know T, the area of each sample cut. But your mean, nasty supervisor didn’t give you T, they just gave you a magic number to divide into G, saying “Cut S samples with this die, then divide G by magic number M”. Well, if you look back to the previous paragraph, M is S*T. So T = M/S. And now you can plug in what ever number of samples you actually DID cut, and get the correct GSM [or ounces/square yard].

  54. Leah says:

    I have an old fashion die cut where we would cut across the fabric full width and fold into eighths to cut the circles then weigh for oz’s, sometimes we didn’t have the full width of the fabric so I would cut one circle weigh it and multiply it by 8, I don’t know what you mean by know the area you are cutting? Can I just cut a circle from a legging due to not having enough fabric then multiply it by eight. What if I don’t know the width of the fabric I’m using? Can you suggest equipment a die cut and weigh machine I have an old one by ohaus and. I don’t want a lot of scientific numbers just a simple way to do fabric weight

  55. sfriedberg says:

    Leah, the width of your fabric doesn’t matter at all. The only exception would be if you are dealing with something like a very fancy weave that is actually heavier in some places than others.

    By “know the area you are cutting”, I mean how big is the piece you are cutting out, in either square meters or square yards. Look, I will play grade schooler for you. What shape and size is your die cut? Tell me that, and I will tell you the area the die cuts. You will then know the area you are cutting. If you cut eight layers, then you will have cut eight times the area of the die. If you cut one layer, you will have cut just one times the area of the die.

    I’m sorry, I don’t have a recommendation for specific equipment.

  56. Leah says:

    Thanks so much for your help. As it has been a while since I had to do fabric weight and now I’m asked to do it. I have a die cut that measures 2.6974 diameter, I would cut eight circles and weigh in oz’s or gms or cut one circle and multiply by eight if using oz’s. But I was wondering with this cutter does it matter if I use oz’s vs gms as I was told with gms I only need one cut if weighing in this unit vs eight cuts using oz’s. So from what you’re saying the die cut diameter does not matter just cut something and weigh it, so basically all I need is a scissor and a scale??

  57. sfriedberg says:

    The first sentence in the ASTM D3776 procedure is
    [quote]9.4.1 Determine the area of the specimen(s) used.[/quote]
    That’s what I meant by “know the area you are cutting”. So, yes, all you really need is a scissor and a scale.

    OK, if you are using ASTM D3776, I assume you’re using Option C since that’s the one that calls for a die cut. Option C requires you to use one or more samples totaling at least 20 square inches or 130 square centimeters. [You may use more; 20sq.in. is the minimum.] That 2.698″ diameter die has an area of 5.715 square inches or 36.87 square centimeters. To comply with ASTM D3776, you would have to cut at least 4 samples with the die and weight them all.

    This die does not appear to have a very convenient area for either GSM or ounces/sq.yard. It is 1/226.8 of a square yard and 1/258.5 of a square meter. A convenient area would be something like 1/100 or 1/8.

    But they have done something sneaky and clever. If you cut 8 samples and measure in [b]grams[/b], the resulting number is the fabric weight in ounces/sq.yard. (If you measure in ounces, you get nonsense.)

    Suppose you want GSM rather than ounces/sq.yard. If you cut 4 samples (the minimum by ASTM D3776) and measure in grams, multiple the result by 64.63 to get GSM. If you cut 8 samples and measure in grams, multiply the result by 32.32 to get GSM. If you cut 1 sample (inadequate by ASTM D3776) and measure in grams, multiply the result by 258.5 to get GSM.

    By the way, I found an [url=http://www.luenyickhong.com.hk/index.php/en/component/customproperties/tag/ASTM-ASTM-D3776.html]equipment reference[/url] for sample cutting dies. Not recommending for or against it, just passing it along. Notice that the dies they offer for metric (GSM) measurement are convenient sizes: 1/100 of a square meter, etc.

  58. Leah says:

    Thank you so much for your help and knowledge I really appreciate you taking the time out to explain this to me, you have been very comprehensive with your answers, it has really helped me in understanding how fabric weight is measured, btw I understand I can divide oz’s by 33.906 to get gsm and visa versa. Again thank you…..

  59. sfriedberg says:

    Yes, multiply ounces/square yard by 33.91 to get GSM. That actually points out an arithmetic error in my previous comment, which I will now correct.

    Suppose you want GSM rather than ounces/sq.yard. If you cut four samples (the minimum by ASTM D3776) and measure in grams, multiply the result by 67.81 to get GSM. If you cut 8 samples and measure in grams, multiply the result by 33.91 to get GSM. If you cut one sample (inadequate by ASTM D3776) and measure in grams, multiply the result by 271.25 to get GSM.

  60. Confused says:

    Please explain the simplest way to calculate the following

    Knit fabric of weight 230 gsm and width 60 inches.
    How do u calculate the yield ( approx metres per kg ) for this fabric ?

    Please explain how to calculate this ?

  61. sfriedberg says:

    Confused, if you know how inches and meters are related, the rest is simple arithmetic.

    60in = 1.524m is the width of your fabric. One meter length therefore contains 1.524 square meters. At 230gsm, one meter length therefore weighs 0.35kg (0.23 * 1.524).

    Since you asked for meters per kg, rather than kg per meter, invert 0.35 (i.e., divide it into 1) to get 2.853 meters per kg.

  62. Sean says:

    A very interesting discussion. for those who want a weight disk cutter try James Heals if in UK or SDL Atlas if in states, I don’t know any Chinese / Asia ones but I am sure that there are plenty out there, you would also need a balance or scale capable of weighing to 1/100ths gsm, these would be avainalbe at the same companies as the cutter or try a laboratories supplies company.

    as for weight caluslations with epi and ppi + counts we use (epiX25)/Ne +(ppiX25)Ne = weight in gsm. this si rough and ready as it makes a fixed assumption on crimp factor.

  63. adrienne says:

    I have two fabrics with two different designations and would like to know what it all means:

    1. Composition: 65%Polyester 35%Cotton P/D Poplin; Construction: 83X75 (I’m assuming this is WarpXWeft), 30sX30s (I have no idea what this means); Width/Weight: 57/8″ (Width of sample?), 4.1oz
    2. Composition: 65%Polyester 35%Cotton P/D Poplin; Construction: 147X72, 45sX45s; Width/Weight: 57/8″, 3.5oz

    I am trying to select between the two for a retail uniform shirt – needs durability, and will be washed often. I feel #1 is coarser, and is more balanced for durability than #2 because of the construction. Is this true?

    Overall, they both look a bit thin and see-thru. Which would be the better fabric for light retail work, but with more durability.

    Thanks for any comments!

  64. Hi we have a small apparel company and we make pants,shorts,skirts and bags from towels which we currently purchase retail fro stores like JC Penney, Kohl’s and the like but we are looking to buy wholesale in bulk which is very hard in itself to find them anyway what i am confused about is the weight of these towels. Does anyone know what a bath towel 30×60 from JC Penney or Kohl’s weighs. I am thinking it is in the 400-475 gsm or 12 oz. per linear yard.

  65. Sherry says:

    Hi. Can anyone tell me how to calculate the volumetric/ dimensional weight of a fabric if the fabric’s total weight is given in yards?

    Air shipments needed volumetric or dimensional weight of the garment consignment to calculate the freight rates.

    Total weight – 9560 yards
    width – 58 inches or 147.32 cm
    gsm – 90

    Now, I really need an answer on this because volumetric weight calculation based on (L*W*H/6000)
    But, in case of fabric, we don’t have height for calculation…??

  66. John Anthony says:

    How would one figure out an approximate number of t-shirts that could be manufactured from the below information. Understanding size makes a difference. And calculating off the MOQ

    Width: 58/60′
    weight:150-190 gsm
    MOQ:400 kilogram one color

  67. Kathy Wandelmaier says:

    I am a fabric nerd and I am thrilled to have Just discovered your website. I’d like to have a die to cut fabric for measuring mass, but I don’t know where to get one. Barring that, What dimensions should I cut my sample for measuring g/sm or o/sy?

  68. Jess says:

    Hi! I am dealing with a vendor currently that is in switzerland and using the measurment g/lfm. What does this mean? And how can I convert to g/m2? Thanks!

  69. Avatar photo

    g/lfm? That’s a new one -around here that is. “LFM” is a German acronym; it means laufenden meters, or what we’d call continuous or running meters. This is to avoid confusion with square meters. In other words, g/lfm refers to the weight of the fabric by meter on the selvedge edge and the width of the yardage on the cross grain. Meaning, if the fabric is 150 cm wide, the g/lfm figure refers to 150cm x 100 cm weight of the goods.

    • Stu Friedberg says:

      *sigh*

      I had hoped that the metric world would use the simple, single, sane gsm exclusively. g/lfm is like the metric equivalent of oz/linear yard, which as Kathleen says, means you have to know the width of the fabric to get either gsm or oz/sq.yd.

  70. Holly Dumont says:

    Is GSM calculated before or after sizing? My linen just came in and the vendor says it’s 7 oz to square yard. After washing and drying I’m getting 6.1
    Is this normal?

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