Buying Fabric by the Yard in St. Louis
Revised September 3, 2026
How much should 1 yard of fabric cost?
For basic quilting cotton, expect roughly eight to fifteen dollars a yard. Mid-weight home decor fabric commonly runs about fifteen to forty. Heavyweight upholstery typically starts near thirty and climbs past eighty. Those are typical ranges, and bolt width changes what a yard is actually worth.
Keep reading ↓The window is measured. Ninety-six inches from the top of the rod down to the floor, forty-eight inches across, and a photo on your phone of the exact print you have been thinking about since spring. Then you drive to the store where you bought fabric for twenty years, and the lot is empty and the sign is gone off the front of the building.
That happened to a lot of people in 2025. Joann filed for bankruptcy and closed all of its stores, which pulled the default chain fabric counter out of most of the country, St. Louis included. For a home sewer in Godfrey or Herculaneum or O’Fallon, the question stopped being which print and became something more basic. Where do I buy fabric now, and how much of it do I actually need?
So here is the sequence, with the math worked out. What a yard generally costs at three different weights, why bolt width makes the same yard a very different amount of cloth, how to calculate curtains without guessing, what a pattern repeat quietly does to your total, and the honest answer on whether sewing your own saves money. Usually it does not. Sometimes it absolutely does.
How much should 1 yard of fabric cost?
For basic quilting cotton, expect roughly eight to fifteen dollars a yard. Mid-weight home decor fabric commonly runs about fifteen to forty. Heavyweight upholstery typically starts near thirty and climbs past eighty. Those are typical ranges, and bolt width changes what a yard is actually worth.
Start at the bottom of the ladder. Utility cloth like muslin, broadcloth and plain cotton lining is the cheapest thing on any wall, commonly a few dollars to around eight a yard, and it is what you should be buying for a first attempt at a pattern you have never sewn. Basic quilting cotton sits above it. Licensed prints and designer quilting cotton from a named collection push higher again, and it is normal to see the same weight of cloth priced twice as high because of whose name is on the selvage.
The middle tier is where most curtain and cushion projects live. Home decor fabric is heavier than quilting cotton, comes on a wider bolt, and is built to hang or to take a seat cushion without going limp. Printed decorator cotton, cotton duck, linen blends and drapery weaves generally land in that fifteen to forty range. Lining is a separate line item most first-timers forget, and it usually runs at the cheap end while adding real weight and light control.
Upholstery is its own world. Chenille, jacquard, heavy woven texture, performance weaves rated for scrubs and faux leather all cost more per yard because there is simply more fiber in them, and the premium end of that market runs well past a hundred dollars a yard. Some of it is “to the trade,” meaning you order it through a designer or a workroom rather than off a retail wall, which is one of the quieter things an interior designer in St. Louis is actually being paid for. Treat every number here as a broad typical range, not a quote.
Why does bolt width change what a yard is worth?
Because a yard is a length, not an area. Quilting cotton is commonly 44 inches wide. Home decor and upholstery fabric is commonly 54 to 60 inches. A yard off a 54-inch bolt gives you about twenty-three percent more cloth than a yard off a 44-inch bolt, at the same stated price per yard.
This single fact explains most of the price gaps that look unfair on a shelf. Two bolts marked eighteen dollars a yard are not the same purchase if one is 44 inches and the other is 60. Before you compare anything, look at the end of the bolt where the width is printed, and do the comparison on width-adjusted cloth rather than on the shelf tag. It takes ten seconds and it changes which bolt is the better buy surprisingly often.
Usable width is smaller than stated width, too. The selvage edges on both sides are woven differently, sometimes printed with the manufacturer name and color dots, and they behave badly in a seam. On a 44-inch quilting cotton, plan on roughly 42 inches you can really use. On a 54-inch decorator fabric, plan on 52. At the far end, quilt backing and sheeting come in extra-wide bolts around 108 inches specifically so a quilt back or a wide panel can be cut without a seam down the middle. If a project is close to a width boundary, going wide is often cheaper than going long.
How do you figure the fabric for a pair of curtains?
Five steps in order. Add hem and header allowances to the finished length to get your cut length. Multiply window width by a fullness factor of 2 to 2.5. Divide that by usable bolt width to get the number of widths you need. Multiply widths by cut length. Divide by 36 for yards.
The allowances are where beginners lose the most fabric. A drapery bottom hem is usually doubled, four inches turned twice, which eats eight inches. The top gets a doubled header or a rod pocket with a small ruffle above it, call that another eight. Add two inches for squaring the cut and for the shrinkage you did not plan on. So a panel that finishes at a given length needs roughly eighteen more inches of cloth than the number on your tape measure, before you have considered anything else.
Fullness is the step people skip, and it is why homemade curtains sometimes look thin. A curtain that is exactly as wide as the window hangs flat like a bedsheet. To read as a proper gathered drape it wants two to two and a half times the window width across the pair, more for sheers, less for a panel that is purely decorative and never actually closes. Decide that number before you shop, because it doubles or triples everything downstream.
A worked example on a 96-inch curtain
Take a 48-inch-wide window with a 96-inch finished drop, which is a common combination in a foursquare in Rock Hill or a newer build out in Wright City. Cut length is 96 plus 8 for the bottom hem plus 8 for the header plus 2 for squaring, so 114 inches. That is 3.17 yards for one cut. At 2x fullness you need 96 inches of gathered width across the pair, and on a 54-inch decorator fabric with 52 usable, that is two widths, one per panel.
Two widths at 114 inches each is 228 inches, or about 6.4 yards. Round up to 7. If the same window took a 44-inch quilting cotton instead, 96 inches of fullness needs three widths rather than two, and your total jumps to roughly 9.5 yards for a fabric that is also lighter than the job wants. Now widen the window to 72 inches and go to 2.5x fullness. That is 180 inches of gathered width, four widths of 54-inch fabric, two per panel, and about 12.7 yards before lining. This is why a quote for a pair of custom drapes can look startling. The cloth alone is a serious number.
Does a pattern repeat really add that much yardage?
Yes, and it is the biggest budget surprise in the whole project. A printed or woven design repeats itself at a fixed interval down the bolt, often 12 to 27 inches on decorator fabric. Every cut has to start at the same point in that design so the panels match, which means rounding every cut length up to the next full repeat.
Run it through the example above. A 114-inch cut length on a plain fabric stays 114 inches. On a fabric with a 24-inch vertical repeat, 114 rounds up to 120, because 24 does not divide evenly into 114 and you cannot start a panel halfway through a motif. That is six wasted inches on every single cut, plus usually one extra repeat at the top of the order so the first cut can be placed correctly. Across four widths it can add most of a yard, and on a large repeat it adds considerably more.
The repeat size is printed on the bolt end or the sample tag, usually as a vertical repeat and a horizontal one. Ask for it if you cannot find it. The same rule applies to a slipcover, to cushions that sit side by side on a bench, and to a headboard, because the eye catches a mismatched pattern across two adjacent pieces instantly. If the budget is tight and the window is large, a texture or a small all-over print with no meaningful repeat is the honest way to save money without the result looking cheap.
Is it actually cheaper to make your own curtains?
For a standard window at a standard length, usually not. Ready-made panels are cut by the thousand on wide machinery, and a pair often costs less than the fabric alone for the example above. Sewing your own wins on odd sizes, extra-long drops, specific cloth, and quality you cannot buy off a rack.
Be honest with yourself about which situation you are in. If the window takes an ordinary rod at an ordinary height and a common stock length works, buying is faster and cheaper, and there is no shame in it. Where the arithmetic flips is a 108 or 120-inch drop, a window that is unusually wide or narrow, a bay that needs three panels in graduated widths, an old house with a nine-foot ceiling, a blackout requirement in a bedroom, or a print you have found and cannot get any other way. In those cases ready-made either does not exist or has to be altered anyway.
There is also a quality argument that is real. A ready-made panel usually has a single-turn hem, no weight in the corners, and no lining, so it hangs like what it costs. A lined panel with a doubled hem and drapery weights hangs straight and blocks light, and it is a different object in the room. Budget it the way you would budget any other permanent surface, alongside the paint and what new flooring costs in St. Louis, rather than as a small craft purchase you make on a Saturday.
Where do you buy fabric now that Joann is gone?
No single chain has taken that slot. The closing of Joann in 2025 removed the default cutting counter, and what replaced it is a mix rather than a successor: independent fabric shops, quilt shops, upholstery and drapery suppliers, big-box craft stores carrying a narrower selection, and online sellers who cut yardage to order.
Each one is good at a different thing. A quilt shop carries deep quilting cotton at 44 inches, notions, thread to match, and staff who will actually work through your block math with you. An upholstery or drapery supplier carries the 54-inch goods and the heavy weaves, along with foam, welt cord, webbing and lining, and some of them sell retail while others work only through a workroom or a designer. A general craft store will have thread, cutting tools, interfacing and a limited fabric wall, which is fine for pillows and school projects, and where to buy craft supplies in St. Louis covers that end in more detail. Estate sales, thrift stores and remnant bins are genuinely worth a look for anything small.
Online cut yardage fills the gap for selection, with one hard rule: order a swatch first. Screens lie about color, and they say nothing at all about hand, drape or weight, which are the three things that decide whether a fabric works. Pay the few dollars, hold the swatch against the wall at the time of day you will actually be in the room, and wait. That patience matters even more on garment and formal sewing, where the fabric decision drives everything else, in the same way the wedding dress shopping timeline in St. Louis is really a story about lead time.
What should you check before they cut?
Four things, every time. Buy a little more than your number says, take it all off one bolt, know whether the finished item will be washed, and check the print direction. A cutter cannot un-cut a bolt, and a second trip for matching fabric usually ends in a different dye lot.
Add roughly ten percent, or at least a half yard, to whatever you calculated. That covers a crooked cut off the bolt, a cutting mistake at home, straightening the grain, and the small piece you will want later for a tie-back, a pillow or a repair. Fabric is dyed in lots, and two bolts of the same print from the same shop can be visibly different under a window. Cut everything you need at once, from one bolt, in one transaction.
Prewash only if the finished item will be washed. Cotton commonly shrinks a couple of percent, sometimes more, and a curtain that shrinks after it is hemmed is scrap. So a slipcover, a duvet, an apron or a garment gets washed and dried before you cut, the same way you plan to launder it later. Drapery and upholstery that will be dry cleaned or vacuumed should not be prewashed, because washing strips the finishes that make it behave. Last, check whether the print is directional or a one-way design, because a one-way print means every piece is cut in the same orientation and your yardage goes up again.
Fabric piles up fast. Storing the overflow has its own price.
How do you pick a shop or a workroom worth the drive?
Shortlist two or three worth interviewing, then walk in with your measurements written down. The window size, the finished length you want, the fullness, the weight you have in mind and the budget. Let each one show you what it would do with that. You are comparing what you want against what each is prepared to deliver.
The gap is the signal, not the price. One shop hears “forty-eight inch window, ninety-six inch drop, lined, and I want it to actually close” and immediately talks about bolt width, repeat and lining weight. Another says any of the wall will work and does not ask what the window does. A third tells you plainly that the fabric you are pointing at is too light for that drop and will look tired in a year. That third answer is the one worth driving back for, even when it is not what you hoped to hear.
Bring a picture and a piece of what is already in the room. A cushion, a paint chip, a photo of the floor. Ten seconds of holding something against a bolt beats twenty minutes of describing a color. If you are handing the sewing to a workroom rather than doing it yourself, the same interview applies: say what you want, hear what they would build, and pay attention to whether anyone asks about the room, the light and how often the panels get pulled. Those questions are how you tell who has done this before.
Where do you find fabric stores near you?
Go in with the measurements, not just the idea. You can browse fabric stores across the metro on St Louis Near Me Directory, then visit two or three with your window size, your finished length and your fullness number in hand. Quilt shops, decorator suppliers and general fabric counters all cut yardage, and they are good at different jobs, so ask which one yours is before you drive across the county.
Frequently asked questions
Is 2 yards a lot of fabric?
It is a moderate amount, and what it makes depends entirely on bolt width. Two yards of 44-inch quilting cotton is 72 by 44 inches, roughly twenty-two square feet, enough for about three envelope-back eighteen-inch pillow covers or a simple top. Two yards of 54-inch decorator fabric is closer to twenty-seven square feet. Neither is enough for a single floor-length curtain panel, which needs over three yards by itself.
How to calculate how much material is needed for curtains?
Work in five steps. Add hem and header allowances to the finished length, roughly eighteen inches for a doubled four-inch bottom hem, a doubled header and squaring, to get your cut length. Multiply the window width by a fullness factor of 2 to 2.5. Divide that by the usable bolt width to find how many widths you need. Multiply widths by cut length, then divide by 36 for yards. Round up.
How many yards of fabric do I need for my curtains?
For an average window with a floor-length drop on 54-inch decorator fabric, plan on roughly six to eight yards for a lined pair, plus a similar amount of lining. A wide window at 2.5 times fullness can reach twelve or thirteen yards. Short cafe curtains or a sink window may need only two to three. A pattern repeat adds on top of all of those numbers.
How many yards of fabric do I need for 96 inch curtains?
A 96-inch finished panel needs a cut length near 114 inches once you add a doubled hem, a header and squaring, which is about 3.2 yards per width. A 48-inch window at 2x fullness takes two widths of 54-inch fabric, so roughly 6.4 yards, and most people buy 7. On 44-inch quilting cotton the same window takes three widths and roughly 9.5 yards.
Is it cheaper to make own curtains?
For a standard window at a stock length, usually no. Ready-made panels are mass cut, and a pair often costs less than the fabric alone for a lined homemade version. Sewing your own wins on extra-long drops of 108 or 120 inches, unusual widths, bay windows, blackout requirements and fabric you cannot buy ready-made. It also wins on quality, since ready-mades rarely have lining, doubled hems or weights.
What is the best fabric to use for curtains?
Mid-weight home decor fabric on a 54-inch bolt is the workhorse: cotton duck, printed decorator cotton, linen blends and drapery weaves all hang properly and take a hem well. Add a separate lining for light control, insulation and to protect the face fabric from sun. Sheers and voile suit a room that wants privacy without darkness. Quilting cotton is generally too light for a floor-length drop and will look limp.
What company is replacing Joann fabrics?
No single chain has replaced it. Joann filed for bankruptcy and closed all of its stores in 2025, and the practical replacement is a mix: independent fabric shops, quilt shops, upholstery and drapery suppliers, big-box craft stores carrying a narrower fabric wall, and online sellers who cut yardage to order. Different needs go to different places now, so it is worth calling ahead to ask what a shop actually stocks.
Does Walmart still carry fabric by the yard?
It varies by store, and most locations no longer staff a cutting counter. What you typically find on a shelf is precut packages, fat quarters, remnants and craft felt rather than cut-to-order yardage. Cut yardage is generally a website purchase, often shipped by third-party sellers, which means no touching the cloth first. Call your nearest store before driving over, and order a swatch if you buy online.
Written by a dedicated team of St. Louis locals who live, work, and play right here in the St. Louis metro. Founder Lane Forman and team are committed to building the region’s most trusted directory by verifying listings and connecting local businesses with loyal customers across Missouri and Illinois.