Wallpaper by the Yard Calculator
Specialty wallcoverings are cut from a bolt by the linear yard. The drops work out as usual, but the answer is a length rather than a count.
Sheet 5 of 9
The answer is a length, not a count. A linear yard is three feet at whatever width the goods happen to be, so two suppliers quoting per yard may not be quoting the same paper.
A linear yard is a length, not a quantity of paper. Width is yours to supply, and waste still applies.
Order
14yards
5 drops × 8 ft 4 in = 13.89 yd → 14 yd to order
- Exact yardage
- 13.89 yd
- In metres
- 12.8 m
- Drops needed
- 4
- Drops with waste
- 5
- Cut length per drop
- 8 ft 4 in
- Wall area
- 96 sq ft
Your walls, in drops
Why some wallpaper is sold this way
Fixed rolls suit machine-printed paper made in long runs. Specialty wallcoverings, grasscloth, silk, cork, hand-prints, are produced in smaller quantities where cutting to order wastes far less than packing fixed lengths. Selling by the linear yard passes that efficiency on: you buy the length your walls need and no more.
The arithmetic is the same until the final step. Drops are counted per wall, cut lengths are worked out from the height and the repeat, and waste is added. Instead of dividing by drops per roll and rounding to whole rolls, the total length is converted to yards and rounded to whatever the supplier sells in.
Because there is no roll end to waste, the offcut that dominates a roll estimate largely disappears. That is why yardage often looks cheaper per square foot than a roll estimate of the same wall, before the material cost is even considered.
How the yardage sheet works
Get the usable width
Not the bolt width. Grasscloth and other specialty goods often have a selvedge that trims off, so the width you can actually hang is narrower. Ask if the listing is unclear.
Measure the walls as normal
Width and height per wall. The drops are worked out the same way as for rolls, and only the final unit changes.
Allow more waste on natural materials
Grasscloth, silk, and other natural wallcoverings vary between bolts and sometimes within one. 15–20% is normal, and colour variation between panels is a characteristic rather than a defect.
Round to the supplier increment
Whole yards, half yards, and a minimum order are all common. Set both on the ticket so the figure you read is the figure you can actually buy.
What a linear yard holds
| Goods or roll | Width | Area per linear yard | Length in yards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Narrow specialty goods | 27 in | 6.75 sq ft | sold by length |
| Common grasscloth | 36 in | 9 sq ft | sold by length |
| Wide commercial goods | 54 in | 13.5 sq ft | sold by length |
| US double roll | 27 in | 6.75 sq ft | 9 yd (27 ft) |
| US double roll | 20.5 in | 5.1 sq ft | 11 yd (33 ft) |
| European roll | 53 cm (20.9 in) | 5.2 sq ft | 10.9 yd (10 m) |
The first three rows show why comparing per yard misleads: the same unit holds twice the paper at 54 in that it does at 27 in. The roll rows convert fixed rolls into yards so the two kinds of listing can be compared.
Other sheets
- 1Wallpaper CalculatorMulti-wall strip method
- 2Accent Wall CalculatorSingle-wall strip method
- 4Peel and Stick Wallpaper CalculatorStrip method with peel presets
- 7European Wallpaper Roll CalculatorMetric strip method
Nothing on this site is for sale.
Questions people ask
Is wallpaper sold by the yard?
Some of it. Grasscloth, silk, hand-printed and other specialty wallcoverings are frequently sold by the linear yard from a bolt rather than in fixed rolls, which lets the supplier cut exactly what a job needs. Mass-market wallpaper is sold in fixed rolls. Check the listing: if it gives a width and a price per yard rather than a roll size, it is linear goods.
How many yards of wallpaper do I need?
Work out the drops as usual (wall width ÷ material width, rounded up), multiply by the cut length, add waste, then divide by 36 to get yards. The calculator above does it and rounds to whatever ordering increment your supplier uses.
How do I calculate wallpaper by the yard?
Drops × cut length ÷ 36 = yards, with waste added to the drops first. A 12 ft wall at 8 ft high with 36 in goods needs 4 drops of 8 ft 4 in. At 15% waste that is 5 drops, so 500 in, which is 13.89 yd and ordered as 14.
How do I measure for wallpaper by the yard?
Measure each wall width and height exactly as for roll goods. The only extra number is the usable width of the material, which may be narrower than the bolt width once the selvedge is trimmed. Ask the supplier for the usable width if the listing does not state it.
What is a linear yard of wallpaper?
Three feet measured along the length of the goods, at whatever width the material happens to be. A linear yard of 36 in goods is 9 sq ft. A linear yard of 54 in goods is 13.5 sq ft. The width is not part of the unit, which is why two suppliers quoting per yard may not be quoting the same amount of paper.
How big is a yard of wallpaper?
Three feet long, and as wide as the goods are. Compare suppliers by the square foot, not by the yard, or you will be comparing different quantities.
How many yards is a roll of wallpaper?
A US double roll of 27 ft is 9 linear yards. A 33 ft double roll is 11 yards. A European 10 m roll is about 10.9 yards. Those are lengths only; the paper each one holds also depends on its width.
How do I order wallpaper by the yard?
Give the supplier the total yardage and the pattern. Many have a minimum order and sell in whole-yard or half-yard increments, and both are on the ticket above. Order the whole job at once so it is cut from one bolt and one dye lot.
What is the difference between wallpaper by the yard and double rolls?
Packaging. By the yard, you buy a continuous length cut to your requirement. In double rolls, you buy fixed lengths and accept whatever is left over on the last one. Linear goods usually waste less on the roll end, which is part of why specialty wallcoverings are sold that way. The single vs double roll guide covers the roll side.