THE METHOD, MADE CLEAR
From table size
to cloth cut.
Tabledrop models a uniform drop around a rectangular or circular table. It keeps the finished cloth, hem allowance and pre-shrink cut size separate so you can see where every extra centimetre goes.
Start with the finished cloth
Drop means the overhang from the table edge to the finished cloth edge. It is added at both opposing sides. A rectangle therefore needs a finished length of table length plus twice the drop, and a finished width of table width plus twice the drop. A circle needs a finished diameter of table diameter plus twice the drop.
Finished length = table length + 2 × drop
Finished width = table width + 2 × drop
Finished circle diameter = table diameter + 2 × drop
This describes the cloth’s flat outer size. On a rectangular table, the corners hang differently from the middle of an edge. The tool does not model the three-dimensional drape, corner clearance, oval tables or irregular shapes.
Add the hem allowance
Enter the total flat width of fabric that the hem will consume at one edge. If a planned double fold consumes 2 cm in total at each edge, enter 2 cm, not the size of just one fold. That allowance is added twice to every overall dimension. The model treats the hem allowance as a dimension on the settled fabric, after its expected shrinkage.
For a circle, adding the hem allowance at both sides increases the diameter by twice the allowance. The calculator does not work out curved-hem easing, corner shaping, mitres, stitching or seam construction. Those require a suitable sewing method.
Allow for expected linear shrinkage
If fabric is expected to retain 95% of a dimension, divide the required settled dimension by 0.95 to find the corresponding raw cut. Simply multiplying by 1.05 gives a different and slightly smaller result. Use your own measured shrinkage assumption; the illustrative 5% default is not a property claimed for any fabric.
Settled dimension = finished dimension + 2 × hem allowance
Raw cut dimension = settled dimension ÷ (1 − shrinkage percentage ÷ 100)
The same shrinkage percentage is applied independently to length and width. A 5% reduction in both directions reduces area by 9.75%, because 0.95 × 0.95 = 0.9025. Fabrics can shrink differently along their length and width; that situation is outside this single-percentage model. Use 0% if no further shrinkage allowance is intended, including a plan based on fabric that has already been settled to the condition in which you will use it.
Worked example: a rectangular table
A table is 180 × 90 cm. A 25 cm drop gives a finished cloth of 230 × 140 cm. A 2 cm hem allowance at every edge makes the settled, unhemmed size 234 × 144 cm.
With an illustrative 5% linear shrinkage allowance, divide both dimensions by 0.95. The raw cut is approximately 246.316 × 151.579 cm. Those values describe the model before extra squaring, pattern matching or a cutting tolerance.
Worked example: a circular table
A 120 cm diameter table with a 20 cm drop needs a finished cloth diameter of 160 cm. With 2 cm of hem allowance at each edge and no shrinkage allowance, cut a circle 164 cm in diameter. Its raw shape area is π × 82² ≈ 21,124.6 cm², or about 2.11246 m².
The fabric-width check needs a 164 × 164 cm square blank around that circle. The square’s unused corners are not subtracted from the straight fabric run.
Checking usable fabric width
Fabric width is optional. Enter the usable width you can actually cut, excluding any edge area you do not intend to use. For a rectangular cloth, the tool checks both rotations of the raw rectangular blank and chooses the shortest straight run that fits. For a circular cloth, width and run are both its raw diameter.
This rotation is grain-neutral arithmetic. A directional print, nap, stripe, weave or required seam direction can rule out the mathematically shorter orientation. No allowance is added for matching, squaring, defects, cutting errors, retailer increments or extra material.
The optional joined-panel estimate
If the blank does not fit one piece, you may enable a simple straight-panel estimate. Every panel has the same length. Most are cut to the full usable fabric width; the final panel is narrower. Each join consumes two seam allowances, one from each joined edge. For this option, the seam allowance is measured on the raw fabric before its expected shrinkage. The arithmetic assumes joining the raw panels, then settling the fabric and hemming it to the finished size.
Joined raw width = sum of panel cut widths − 2 × seam allowance × (panel count − 1)
The tool checks both rectangular orientations and shows the one with the smallest total straight fabric run among these simple layouts. It is not a general cutting optimiser and does not place seams symmetrically or design a central panel. A circular cloth is cut from the resulting joined rectangular blank. Up to 100 panels are supported.
Worked example: a 240 × 150 cm raw blank
Suppose usable fabric is 140 cm wide and each joined raw edge needs a 1 cm seam allowance. Across the 150 cm side, two panels can be 140 cm and 12 cm wide, because 140 + 12 − 2 = 150 cm. Each is 240 cm long, so the straight run is 480 cm.
Rotating the blank permits two panels 140 cm and 102 cm wide, each 150 cm long. They join to 240 cm across and use a total run of 300 cm. The calculator shows this shorter arithmetic layout, while you must decide whether the seam direction and placement suit the actual cloth.
Keep a checkable plan
The summary shows dimensions in your selected unit. CSV download uses centimetres for unambiguous stored lengths and includes the panel dimensions when a panel plan is available. Changing between centimetres and inches converts the entered measurements; one inch is exactly 2.54 cm. Invalid inputs clear the previous result and disable exports until the plan is complete again.