Convert yards to inches

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1 yd is exactly 36 in, because a yard splits into three feet of twelve inches each. Type a number of yards or a length written like 2 yd 18 in, and the converter shows the answer in inches as you type.

yd

You can also type a length as 2 yd 18 in.

in
to

What are a yard and an inch?

The yard and the inch have been tied together for more than seven centuries. An English statute from around 1300 says that the 36th part of the king's yard makes one inch, neither more nor less, and in the same sentence splits the yard into three feet of twelve inches[1]. That split is still the one you use today, and the yards to feet converter handles its middle step.

What changed is how long the yard itself is. Since 1 July 1959 it has been exactly 0.9144 meters, and the inch, taken as its 36th part, is exactly 25.4 millimeters[2]. The same yard in metric units is covered by the yards to cm converter.

How do you convert yards to inches?

Multiply the number of yards by 36. For 2.5 yards that gives 2.5 × 36 = 90, so 90 inches.

You can also go in two steps: yards times 3 gives feet, and feet times 12 gives inches. For 2.5 yards that's 7.5 feet and then 90 inches. Both routes land on the same number, because 3 × 12 is 36.

A length written as yards and inches works the same way, with the leftover added at the end. 2 yd 18 in is 2 × 36 + 18, which is 90 inches. You can type it into the field just like that, and the converter joins both parts into one number.

Dividing by 36 instead, to get from inches back to yards, is the job of the inches to yards converter.

How many inches are in a given number of yards?

The inches column answers the question directly, and the feet column shows the step in between. The one-yard row is highlighted, since every other result is a multiple of it.
YardsInchesFeet
0.125 yd4.5 in0.375 ft
0.25 yd9 in0.75 ft
0.5 yd18 in1.5 ft
0.75 yd27 in2.25 ft
1 yd36 in3 ft
1.25 yd45 in3.75 ft
1.5 yd54 in4.5 ft
1.75 yd63 in5.25 ft
2 yd72 in6 ft
2.25 yd81 in6.75 ft
2.5 yd90 in7.5 ft
3 yd108 in9 ft
3.5 yd126 in10.5 ft
4 yd144 in12 ft
4.5 yd162 in13.5 ft
5 yd180 in15 ft
6 yd216 in18 ft
7 yd252 in21 ft
8 yd288 in24 ft
9 yd324 in27 ft
10 yd360 in30 ft
12 yd432 in36 ft
15 yd540 in45 ft
20 yd720 in60 ft
22 yd792 in66 ft
25 yd900 in75 ft
30 yd1,080 in90 ft
40 yd1,440 in120 ft
50 yd1,800 in150 ft
60 yd2,160 in180 ft
75 yd2,700 in225 ft
100 yd3,600 in300 ft
110 yd3,960 in330 ft
200 yd7,200 in600 ft
500 yd18,000 in1,500 ft
1,000 yd36,000 in3,000 ft
1,760 yd63,360 in5,280 ft
22 yards is the length of a cricket pitch[3], which makes it 792 inches between the two bowling creases. The last row is a full statute mile of 1,760 yards, and the miles to yards converter takes it from there.

How many inches are in a fraction of a yard?

For measuring cloth the yard was traditionally split into two, four, eight and sixteen parts[1]. The feet and inches column shows how you would measure each fraction out with an ordinary tape.
Fraction of a yardInchesFeet and inches
1/16 yd2.25 in0 ft 2.25 in
1/8 yd4.5 in0 ft 4.5 in
1/6 yd6 in0 ft 6 in
1/4 yd9 in0 ft 9 in
1/3 yd12 in1 ft 0 in
3/8 yd13.5 in1 ft 1.5 in
1/2 yd18 in1 ft 6 in
5/8 yd22.5 in1 ft 10.5 in
2/3 yd24 in2 ft 0 in
3/4 yd27 in2 ft 3 in
7/8 yd31.5 in2 ft 7.5 in
1 yd36 in3 ft 0 in
Cloth merchants had names for some of these. A sixteenth of a yard, 2.25 inches, was a nail, an eighth, 4.5 inches, was sometimes called a finger, and a quarter, 9 inches, was simply a quarter[1].

What size in inches is a fabric cut?

Fabric length is cut in yards, while the width depends on the bolt, for example 45 or 60 inches[4]. A fat quarter is half a yard of length cut in half again across the width, so it holds the same amount of fabric as a quarter yard cut across the full width[1]. A fat eighth is a quarter yard of length from half the width.
Fabric cutLengthSize at 45 in wideSize at 60 in wide
1 yd36 in36 × 45 in36 × 60 in
1/2 yd18 in18 × 45 in18 × 60 in
1/4 yd9 in9 × 45 in9 × 60 in
1/8 yd4.5 in4.5 × 45 in4.5 × 60 in
Fat quarter18 in18 × 22.5 in18 × 30 in
Fat eighth9 in9 × 22.5 in9 × 30 in
The sizes use the full width of the bolt. The selvages, the tightly woven strips along both edges, are usually trimmed off before sewing, so the piece you actually work with is a little narrower.

Which formats does this converter accept?

The field takes each of these formats and converts it, so you don't need to tidy anything up before pasting. The table shows what the converter does with each one, and the converter itself calculated every result.
What you typeWhat the converter showsNote
2.590 inA plain number is read as yards, with the period as the decimal point.
1,50054000 inA comma followed by three digits groups thousands, so the field reads fifteen hundred yards. A note under the field shows the other possible reading, 1.5.
2,590 inA comma with fewer than three digits after it is a decimal comma from a European document, so we read two and a half yards.
3/427 inWe work out a fraction with a slash ourselves, so three quarters of a yard doesn't need to become 0.75 first.
2½90 inThe ½ character copied from a pattern is added to the number in front of it.
1 1/2 yd54 inA mixed number with the yard symbol, the way yardage is written on a pattern envelope, reads as one and a half yards.
1-1/2 yd54 inThe hyphen between the whole number and the fraction, a common American way of writing yardage, reads like a space, so this is one and a half yards.
2 yd 18 in90 inYards and inches are joined into one length: two yards are 72 inches, and 18 inches are added to that.
2 yd 1890 inThe second part always means inches, so you can leave out the in.
2 yards 18 inches90 inSpelled-out unit names are read the same way as the symbols yd and in.
18 in18 inInches with the symbol are read as inches, so the result matches what you typed.
60"60 inThe double quote is the inch mark used for fabric widths, so 60" counts as 60 inches.

Where do yards and inches meet?

One place they meet is the US classroom. The Grade 4 math standard asks students to express a measurement in a larger unit in terms of a smaller one and to record the pairs in a two-column table[5]. A two-column yards and inches table is exactly that, and the converter checks any row a worksheet adds.

At the fabric counter and the quilting table the two units meet every day. Yardage comes in yards and fractions of a yard, while block sizes, seam allowances and bolt widths are all in inches, so comparing them means bringing everything to inches first. A fat quarter of 18 × 22.5 inches, for example, gives four 9-inch squares with a 4.5-inch strip left over, because 22.5 inches is two 9s plus 4.5.

Rolled bolts of floral patterned fabric stacked one above another on a store rack in grey, orange, turquoise, pink and green
Bolts of floral fabric sit one above another on a store rack. Fabric is cut from a bolt like this by the yard, and the width stays the width of the whole bolt. Photo: Bernd Dittrich, Unsplash.

Convert other units to Inches

cm to inchesmm to inchesmeters to inchesfeet to inchespx to inchespt to inches

Convert Yards to other units

yards to metersyards to feetyards to cmyards to milesyards to kmyards to mm

Sources

  1. Yard — Wikipedia
  2. SI Units – Length — National Institute of Standards and Technology
  3. Law 6 – The pitch — Marylebone Cricket Club
  4. Bolt (cloth) — Wikipedia
  5. Grade 4 – Measurement & Data — Common Core State Standards Initiative

Every figure in the tables was computed from the unit definitions and checked arithmetically before publication. Historical values and the names of local units come from the sources listed above.

Content last reviewed: · written and checked by the Arteon team

Frequently asked questions about converting yards to inches

Is 36 inches 3 yards?

No. 36 inches is one yard. Three yards are 108 inches, and the 3 you may be thinking of is the number of feet in a yard.

How many 5-inch squares can you cut from a yard of fabric?

From a yard 45 inches wide you get 63: seven rows along the 36-inch length and nine squares across the width. If trimming the selvages leaves between 40 and 45 inches, one square per row drops out and you get 56. For 10-inch squares the same yard gives 3 rows of 4, so 12.

How many square inches are in a square yard?

A square yard has 1,296 square inches, because a square with 36-inch sides covers 36 × 36. This converter handles length, so for area you multiply by 1,296.

How many more inches does a meter have than a yard?

About 3.37 inches. A meter is 39.3701 inches and a yard is 36. Meters to inches are handled by the meters to inches converter.

Arteon free tool screenshot: Convert yards to inches

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