How much material do I need for a tailor-made suit? There is a very short answer to that question. An obvious one in fact.
If you are looking at getting a suit made with a tailor, you need a ‘suit length’. I know, that’s pretty much telling you nothing. But it actually tells you a lot.
A tailor has material/cloth books for you to browse and if you want something, they will order you a suit length of it. Slight more if you want a three-piece suit rather than a two-piece suit. So if you are getting cloth from your tailor, you don’t need to worry about the technicalities of it.
Granted you do pay a small markup if you are getting cloth from a tailor, but it does make life a lot easier.
However, if you want to source your own material that’s not really much help. Let me talk specifics instead.
Around 3.5 metres of cloth should be good for a standard two-piece suit Or alternatively, 4 metres if you want the waistcoat too.
If you just want a pair of trousers, you should look to get around 1.5 metres, with 2 metres being good for just having a jacket made.
Most rolls of cloth are a standard width (150cm), so you shouldn’t have to worry about that. But you can always check, just in case it is vintage cloth with a smaller width (and thus, would mean you need a little more).
Hopefully, that clears that up. But if in doubt, chat to your tailor of choice. From experience, they will always be happy to help.
