Fabric Meter to Kg Calculator: Meters, Yards, Kg and Pounds

How to use

To convert fabric meters to kilograms or kilograms to meters, you need three things: the fabric width, the GSM (g/m²) and the quantity you want to convert. Use the tool in this order:

1. Enter the fabric width and pick its unit (cm or inches). If the width of a knit is quoted as a tube, tick the tubular box and enter the flat width; the tool uses an open width of twice the flat width.
2. Enter the GSM in “Fabric weight (g/m²)”. Use the value on the quote or the roll label; if you do not know it, find it from a sample with the fabric GSM calculator.
3. Enter the quantity and pick its unit. Meters, yards or square meters give a weight (kg and lb); kilograms or pounds give a length (m and yd) and an area (m²). The unit sets the direction of the calculation. For yards per pound, enter 1 lb as the quantity and read the length in yards.
4. Optionally enter a GSM tolerance (± %). The result is then shown as a range with a lower and an upper limit.

If you leave the width empty, the tool only calculates between weight (kg or lb) and area (m²); the width is needed to enter meters or yards and to read a result in meters or yards. The result updates as you type; with JavaScript turned off, press “Calculate”.

Formula

The weight of a fabric is its area times its GSM, and the area is the length times the width. All conversions follow from these two relations:

• Meters to kilograms: kg = meters × width (m) × GSM (g/m²) ÷ 1,000
• Kilograms to meters: meters = kg × 1,000 ÷ (GSM × width (m))
• Square meters to kilograms: kg = m² × GSM ÷ 1,000
• Linear weight (g/m): GSM × width (m); m/kg = 1,000 ÷ (g/m)

Unit conversions: width (m) = cm × 0.01 or inches × 0.0254; 1 yard = 0.9144 m; 1 pound (lb) = 453.59237 g (NIST Handbook 44, Appendix C). For a tubular fabric, open width = 2 × flat width.

For the GSM tolerance, let t = tolerance ÷ 100. The weight lies between kg × (1 − t) and kg × (1 + t). When you go from weight to length, the range is [m ÷ (1 + t), m ÷ (1 − t)] and it is not symmetric, because the GSM is the divisor: if the GSM comes out high, the same kilogram gives fewer meters.

Worked example

Start with the values the tool opens with: 1 kg of fabric, 180 cm wide, 240 g/m².

1. Width: 180 cm × 0.01 = 1.80 m.
2. Linear weight: 240 × 1.80 = 432 g/m.
3. Length: 1,000 ÷ 432 = 2.3148…; the tool shows this as 2.31 m and 2.315 m/kg.

So 1 kg of this fabric is about 2.31 m long. A Turkish fabric supplier's page works out the same example as 2.3148 m/kg (Erkan Tekstil, September 2024; in Turkish).

Meters to kilograms. 1,700 m of fabric that is 183 cm wide and 230 g/m² has an area of 1,700 × 1.83 = 3,111 m² and weighs 3,111 × 230 ÷ 1,000 = 715.53 kg (1,577.47 lb).

With a tolerance. If the GSM of the same fabric varies by ±5%, the weight lies between 679.75 and 751.31 kg. When you place an order or accept fabric, work with this range instead of a single figure.

Knitted fabric, kilograms to meters. For 50 kg of fabric at 250 g/m² with a 46-inch open width, the area is 50,000 ÷ 250 = 200 m², the width is 46 × 0.0254 = 1.1684 m and the length is 200 ÷ 1.1684 ≈ 171.17 m (187.2 yd). Online Clothing Study works the same example with the same result. With a ±5% tolerance the length lies between 163.02 and 180.18 m.

Tubular fabric. 25 kg, 90 cm flat tube width, 180 g/m²: the open width is 1.80 m, the area is 25,000 ÷ 180 ≈ 138.89 m² and the length is 138.89 ÷ 1.80 ≈ 77.16 m. If the tubular box is not ticked, the same data gives about 154.32 m; the error is a factor of two.

Meters per kilogram table: how many meters is 1 kg of fabric?

The table shows the meters you get from 1 kilogram of open-width fabric (m/kg). Rows cover 120–320 g/m², columns cover widths of 150–200 cm; for example, a 180 cm wide, 240 g/m² fabric reads 2.31. For tubular fabric, double the flat width and pick the matching column.

As GSM or width grows, the meters per kilogram fall. At the same price per kilogram, a heavy or wide fabric therefore costs more per meter: price per meter = price per kg × linear weight (g/m) ÷ 1,000. For a 432 g/m fabric, the price per meter is 0.432 times the price per kilogram.

Common mistakes

• Entering a tubular fabric as an open width. One meter of tubular fabric is two layers of fabric; entering the flat width as an open width doubles the length (154.32 m instead of 77.16 m in the example above). Have the quote state whether the width is open or tubular.
• Confusing the usable width with the full width. For the weight, enter the full width including the selvages. Cutting and marker planning use the usable width after the selvage allowances; mixing the two shifts the result slightly.
• Weighing the roll with its packaging. If you do not deduct the cardboard core and the wrapping, the calculated length comes out too high. In Online Clothing Study's example, a 1 kg cardboard core is deducted from the roll weight.
• Treating GSM as a single figure. GSM varies within a roll and from roll to roll; with a ±5% tolerance, 240 g/m² means 228–252 g/m². Read the result as a range.
• Not asking in which condition the GSM was measured. Raw and relaxed knits have different GSM (see fabric weight (GSM)); ask which condition the quoted value refers to.
• Mixing up units. 1 yard is 0.9144 m and 1 pound is 453.59237 g. Entering a 46-inch width as 46 cm makes the length 2.54 times too large.

Standards and measurement: how exact is the result?

The formula is exact by definition; the uncertainty comes from the inputs. GSM is measured on a small sample with a standard such as EN 12127 (woven and knitted) or, for woven fabrics only, ISO 3801. Write into the order specification which standard governs and in which condition the GSM was measured. For how to find GSM from a sample, see the fabric GSM calculator.

This tool is for preliminary calculation. Knitted fabric is often sold by the kilogram in bulk, while the cutting plan is made in meters (see the fabric weight guide). To work out the fabric an order needs, go to the fabric consumption calculator. If you are looking for fabric from stock or in lots, see stock and lot fabric, knitted fabric and woven fabric suppliers in Turkey.