How Much Fabric for a Queen Dust Ruffle

The dust ruffle is the base of the bedscape.

The dust ruffle is the base of the bedscape.

Your luxurious bedscape makes the statement for the oasis that is your bedroom, and the dust ruffle is the anchor for that bedscape. Also called a bed skirt, it is functional but also completes and complements the bedcovers. Finding just the right cover can be challenging; the answer may be a custom-made dust ruffle. Whether you are making it yourself, or buying the fabric for your drapery-maker, it is helpful to know how much fabric you require; too much is almost as undesirable as too little.

Get Out the Calculator

Decide how deep you want the ruffle and add 3 inches for the bottom hem and top seam. A typical box spring requires a ruffle depth of 16 inches finished, plus the 3 inches for hem and seam, for a cut piece measurement of 19 inches. Measure your bed from the top of the box spring to the floor to be sure. For the finished ruffle strip length, add the width of the box spring plus twice the length, because the dust ruffle typically does not run across the head of the bed. A queen-sized bed is 60 by 80 inches; add 60 plus 80 plus 80 for a total of 220 inches.

Not-So-Advanced Math

Calculate the number of fabric strips necessary to make the pregathered strip by multiplying the finished ruffle strip length by the amount of fullness you require. Typical gathering on ruffled bed skirts is 2 1/2 times, meaning that a piece of fabric 2 1/2 times the finished measurement is gathered down to the required finished measurement. Using 2 1/2 times fullness, the strip required for a queen dust ruffle is 220 inches times 2.5, to equal 550 inches. Add 4 inches for end seams, for a total of 554 inches. Before gathering, the strip of fabric needed is 554 inches long and 19 inches from top to bottom. You will need to join several cuts of fabric to make a strip this long.

Multiplication and Division

Divide the pregathered length of the strip you need by the width of the chosen fabric and round the figure up. For example, if the fabric is 54 inches wide, divide 554 by 54 for a total of 11, which means you need 11 pieces of 54-inch-wide fabric, 19 inches from top to bottom. Multiply the number of pieces of fabric required --11-- by the top-to-bottom measurement of each piece --19 -- for the total running inches of 54-inch-wide fabric for the ruffle. In this example, 11 times 19 equals 209 running inches of 54-inch fabric. Divide the running inches by 36 for the number of yards required; in this instance it is 6 yards.

An Easy Sum

Buy and cut one piece of sheeting equal to the size of the top of the box spring plus 1 inch all around for the deck of the dust ruffle. In this example, you need 1.7 yards of 96-inch sheeting. A flat sheet one size smaller than the bed is usually large enough for a deck and is an economical alternative to cut goods.

From Memory

Patterns repeat on fabric and should be matched whenever possible. Matching the pattern can increase the fabric requirements by 20 percent or more, but is essential for a custom-made look. Start by measuring from one point on the pattern to the next instance of that point on the next pattern print down the bolt of fabric. This is the repeat. Divide the cut piece measurement by the repeat and round the number up for the pattern match cut measurement. For example, if the repeat is 26 inches and the cut piece measurement is 19, the pattern match cut measurement is 1. Nineteen divided by 26 equals 0.73; rounded up, it equals 1. Multiply this number by the repeat length for the pattern match cut measurement. Each cut piece in this example must be 26 inches, not 19, in order to match the pattern. Multiply the number of pieces of fabric required by the pattern match cut measurement for the number of running inches of fabric necessary to match the pattern. In this example, 11 pieces at 26 inches equals 286 inches, or 8 yards of fabric. Match the pattern on each piece, sew the pieces together, and remove the excess.

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