Shrinkage and print repeat allowance
Two things turn a correct fabric figure into a short one: the cloth shrinks on the first wash, and a print with a repeat has to be matched between pieces. Start with the figure from the suit calculator and add both here.
Fill in the form and press Calculate.
| Step | Adds | Running total |
|---|
Shrinkage is a range, not a promise. The same fibre shrinks differently depending on weave, finish, wash temperature and whether it goes in a dryer. If the exact fit matters, wash a 12" test square first and measure it.
Adding 5% is not the same as allowing for 5% shrinkage
This is the mistake that costs people a suit. If cloth shrinks 5%, you do not need 5% more — you need enough that what survives equals what you wanted.
| Method | Sum | You buy | After a 5% shrink |
|---|---|---|---|
| Add 5% (wrong) | 3 × 1.05 | 3.15 gaz | 2.99 gaz — short |
| Divide by 0.95 (right) | 3 ÷ 0.95 | 3.16 gaz | 3.00 gaz |
At 5% the gap is small. At 10% it is not: adding 10% leaves you 1% short, while dividing by 0.90 lands exactly. The calculator above uses the divide method.
Shrinkage ranges by fibre
These are first-wash ranges collected from textile and fabric-supplier references. Use the low end for a good-quality finished cloth washed cold, the high end for raw cloth in hot water.
| Fibre | Typical | Worst case | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cotton (lawn, cambric, poplin) | 3–5% | up to 20% | Untreated cotton reaches 5–10%; unsanforized cloth in a hot wash is the 20% case |
| Linen | 4–7% | up to 15% | Stabilises after the first two or three washes |
| Viscose / rayon | 5–10% | up to 15% | Woven 3–8%; knit 8–15%. Pre-shrinking is less effective than on cotton |
| Poly-cotton blend | 2–4% | — | 50% or more polyester holds it to 2–3% |
| Polyester and synthetics | under 2% | 2–4% | The 2–4% case is nylon that was not properly heat-set |
| Labelled sanforized / pre-shrunk | under 1% | 3–4% | "Pre-shrunk" is a controlled residual figure, not zero |
Sources: fabriculture.store shrinkage guide; eoveafabric.com cotton shrinkage guide; natuclothes.com AATCC-referenced cotton data; globalfabricwholesale.com shrinkage cheat sheet; Wikipedia, Sanforization. Retrieved 19 August 2026.
Length shrinks more than width
Woven cotton typically loses 3–5% along the length but only 1–3% across the width. That matters here because length is what you buy — you pay by the gaz down the roll, and the width comes as it comes.
It also means shrinkage rarely rescues a width problem. If a panel is already too wide for the cloth, washing will not help; that is a layout problem, not an allowance problem.
How the print repeat allowance is worked out
When a print has a repeat that must line up, each major piece has to start at the same point in the pattern. On average you lose half a repeat per piece, and in the worst case a full repeat.
The calculator uses half a repeat per piece as the expected figure and shows the full-repeat worst case beside it. Four pieces on a 12" repeat is 24" expected, 48" worst case — over half a gaz either way, which is why a big print is never a like-for-like swap for a plain cloth.
A border print behaves differently again: it fixes which selvedge is the hem, so pieces can no longer be rotated. That cost shows up in the layout, not here — the flared calculator computes it directly for kali panels.
Questions people ask
Should I pre-wash the cloth before stitching?
If it is untreated cotton, linen or viscose and the fit matters, yes — wash and dry it the way you will wash the finished garment, then cut. Buy the extra length first, since the cloth will be smaller by the time it reaches the tailor.
Does printed lawn shrink less than plain?
Not because of the print. Shrinkage comes from the weave and the finishing. What does change is that a reactive-dyed print survives pre-washing better than a pigment print, which can lose colour — so test a corner first.
My tailor says he adds allowance himself. Do I still need this?
A tailor's allowance is seam and hem allowance inside the garment. Shrinkage allowance is extra cloth you have to buy at the shop, before it ever reaches him. They are different things and you need both.
How do I measure my own shrinkage?
Cut a 12" square, mark 10" on it in both directions with tacking thread, wash and dry it as you normally would, then measure the marks again. If the 10" length comes back at 9.5", that is 5%.