Canvas Area Calculator
Surface area of a canvas, the fabric to buy with the wrap included, and the standard size it matches.
At a glance
- What you enter
- Canvas length (the long side of the face), Canvas width (the short side of the face), Stretcher profile depth, Fold allowance at each edge, How many canvases, Canvas roll width, Price of canvas per square metre
- What you get
- Painting surface, Painting surface, Painting surface, Fabric length to cut, Fabric width to cut, Fabric area for one canvas, Fabric to buy, Painting surface across all the canvases, Fabric that wraps and folds, Share of the fabric that wraps, Length to order from the roll, Canvases from one metre of roll, Cost of the canvas fabric, Fabric cost per square metre of painting surface, Aspect ratio of the face
- Formula shown
- Yes, every step, right below your results.
- Cost and privacy
- Free, no account needed, and nothing you type is stored.
See worked examples ↓ Read the FAQ ↓ Share this calculator ↓
Results are estimates for general information only, always verify with a professional or official source before acting on them.
How to use the Canvas Area Calculator
- 1 Enter Canvas length (the long side of the face) (cm), The image face, not including the folded edge.
- 2 Enter Canvas width (the short side of the face) (cm)
- 3 Enter Stretcher profile depth, The depth of the bar the canvas is wrapped around. Gallery profile gives a deeper, frameless edge.
- 4 Enter Fold allowance at each edge (cm), The fabric that folds onto the back of the bar and takes the staples.
- 5 Enter How many canvases
- 6 Enter Canvas roll width (cm), Common roll widths are 150 cm and 210 cm. Used for the nesting and offcut figures.
- 7 Enter Price of canvas per square metre, Optional. Used for the fabric cost of the piece and of the offcuts.
- 8 Press Calculate. You get Painting surface, Painting surface, Painting surface, Fabric length to cut, Fabric width to cut, Fabric area for one canvas, Fabric to buy, Painting surface across all the canvases, Fabric that wraps and folds, Share of the fabric that wraps, Length to order from the roll, Canvases from one metre of roll, Cost of the canvas fabric, Fabric cost per square metre of painting surface, Aspect ratio of the face, and every intermediate step stays visible under "How is this calculated?"
- 9 Change one number at a time to see what moves the result, that is usually the most useful thing a calculator can tell you.
Worked examples
Real numbers run through this calculator. Open any example to load it into the form above and change it.
A 40 by 50 cm canvas on a standard bar
A 1.8 cm profile with a 2.5 cm fold.
You enter
- Canvas length (the long side of the face)
- 50 cm
- Canvas width (the short side of the face)
- 40 cm
- Stretcher profile depth
- 1.8
- Fold allowance at each edge
- 2.50 cm
- How many canvases
- 1
- Canvas roll width
- 150 cm
- Price of canvas per square metre
- $12.00
You get
- Painting surface
- 2,000.00 sq cm
- Painting surface
- 310.00 sq in
- Painting surface
- 2.15 sq ft
- Fabric length to cut
- 58.60 cm
- Fabric width to cut
- 48.60 cm
- Fabric area for one canvas
- 2,847.96 sq cm
- Fabric to buy
- 0.28 sq m
- Painting surface across all the canvases
- 0.20 sq m
- Fabric that wraps and folds
- 847.96 sq cm
- Share of the fabric that wraps
- 29.8%
- Length to order from the roll
- 0.19 m
- Canvases from one metre of roll
- 3
- Cost of the canvas fabric
- $3.42
- Fabric cost per square metre of painting surface
- $17.09
- Aspect ratio of the face
- 1.25
A 2000 square centimetre face needs fabric of 48.6 by 58.6 centimetres, which is 2848 square centimetres, so about 30 percent of the fabric wraps and folds.
A deep gallery profile
The same 40 by 50 face on a 3.8 centimetre profile.
You enter
- Canvas length (the long side of the face)
- 50 cm
- Canvas width (the short side of the face)
- 40 cm
- Stretcher profile depth
- 3.8
- Fold allowance at each edge
- 2.50 cm
- How many canvases
- 1
- Canvas roll width
- 150 cm
- Price of canvas per square metre
- $12.00
You get
- Painting surface
- 2,000.00 sq cm
- Painting surface
- 310.00 sq in
- Painting surface
- 2.15 sq ft
- Fabric length to cut
- 62.60 cm
- Fabric width to cut
- 52.60 cm
- Fabric area for one canvas
- 3,292.76 sq cm
- Fabric to buy
- 0.33 sq m
- Painting surface across all the canvases
- 0.20 sq m
- Fabric that wraps and folds
- 1,292.76 sq cm
- Share of the fabric that wraps
- 39.3%
- Length to order from the roll
- 0.22 m
- Canvases from one metre of roll
- 2
- Cost of the canvas fabric
- $3.95
- Fabric cost per square metre of painting surface
- $19.76
- Aspect ratio of the face
- 1.25
Fabric of 52.6 by 62.6 centimetres, which is 3293 square centimetres. The deeper edge is a design choice and it costs about 16 percent more canvas.
Six canvases from a 1.5 m roll
A small run of 24 by 30 centimetre canvases on a standard bar.
You enter
- Canvas length (the long side of the face)
- 30 cm
- Canvas width (the short side of the face)
- 24 cm
- Stretcher profile depth
- 1.8
- Fold allowance at each edge
- 2.50 cm
- How many canvases
- 6
- Canvas roll width
- 150 cm
- Price of canvas per square metre
- $12.00
You get
- Painting surface
- 720.00 sq cm
- Painting surface
- 111.60 sq in
- Painting surface
- 0.78 sq ft
- Fabric length to cut
- 38.60 cm
- Fabric width to cut
- 32.60 cm
- Fabric area for one canvas
- 1,258.36 sq cm
- Fabric to buy
- 0.76 sq m
- Painting surface across all the canvases
- 0.43 sq m
- Fabric that wraps and folds
- 538.36 sq cm
- Share of the fabric that wraps
- 42.8%
- Length to order from the roll
- 0.50 m
- Canvases from one metre of roll
- 8
- Cost of the canvas fabric
- $9.06
- Fabric cost per square metre of painting surface
- $20.97
- Aspect ratio of the face
- 1.25
Each piece is 38.6 by 32.6 centimetres, so four fit across a 1.5 metre roll and two lengths fit in a metre: eight per metre, and six canvases need about 0.75 metres of roll.
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