Cuttable Width Explained: The Number That Decides Your Fabric Yield

Cuttable width — sometimes called usable width — is the width of fabric a cutter can actually lay pattern pieces on: the overall width minus the selvedges, the pin or clip marks left by stenter finishing, and any uneven or distorted edge. A fabric described as 60 inches overall may offer only 57 to 58 inches of cuttable width, and it is the cuttable figure — not the number on the spec sheet — that decides how many pieces fit across a marker and how many metres each garment consumes.

Overall width versus cuttable width

Overall width (also called full width) is measured selvedge to selvedge and includes everything: the selvedges themselves, the pinned edge zone and the usable centre. Cuttable width is what remains once the edges are excluded. The gap between the two is often 2 to 4 centimetres per side on stenter-finished woven fabric, though it varies with the finishing route and the condition of the edges.

This is why a claim such as "60 inch fabric" needs a qualifier before anything can be planned against it. Sixty inches overall and sixty inches cuttable are different fabrics as far as a marker is concerned.

	Overall (full) width	Cuttable (usable) width
What it measures	Selvedge to selvedge, everything included	Only the zone a marker can occupy
Selvedges	Included	Excluded
Stenter pin or clip marks	Included	Excluded
Uneven or bowed edges	Included	Excluded
Where it belongs	Loom and finishing specifications	Marker planning and consumption

Greige width is not finished width

Width is not fixed through processing. Woven fabric leaves the loom at its greige width, then contracts through scouring, dyeing and finishing; the stenter sets the final width, gripping the cloth by pins or clips along both edges — which is precisely what leaves the pin marks excluded from the cuttable figure. As our greige fabric guide sets out, a 63-inch loom-state fabric commonly finishes at 57 to 58 inches. If you are buying greige for onward processing, the width you receive and the width you will eventually cut are two different numbers, and both belong on paper.

Why two inches moves your consumption

Marker efficiency — the percentage of marker area actually covered by pattern pieces — depends directly on the width the marker was nested for. A marker planned at 58 inches that meets 56-inch fabric loses pieces off the edge and must be re-nested; the narrower nest almost always raises consumption per garment, because pieces that once sat side by side now stack lengthwise. Across a bulk order, a small width shortfall compounds into real extra metreage.

Width also carries a tolerance. On our orders the written band is plus or minus 3 inches, so a quality confirmed at 58 inches cuttable may arrive within tolerance at 55 — and markers should be planned to survive the lower bound, not the nominal figure. Our guide to woven fabric tolerances covers how these bands work in practice.

What to confirm in writing

Before markers are made, pattern and marker teams should have these points confirmed on the order rather than assumed from the spec sheet:

• Finished cuttable width, stated separately from overall width, with its tolerance band
• Whether the quoted width is greige or finished — and, if greige, the expected finished width after processing
• How width is measured: selvedge to selvedge or inside the pin marks, and whether the fabric is relaxed when measured
• The pin or clip mark allowance per side for the intended finishing route
• That bulk width will be checked at inspection against the approved retained sample

One honest caveat: wider is not automatically better. Edge zones are where tension, GSM and construction are hardest to hold consistent, so a wide fabric with unreliable edges can yield less dependable cuttable width than a narrower quality with clean ones. Judge the usable centre, not the headline number.

As a sourcing and development partner with 1,600+ qualities on file, Burhan Enterprises puts width and its tolerance in writing on every order — cuttable width included when you ask for it — browse the Fabric Library, request free swatches or start a development.