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How to measure awning fabric

Updated: 22.10.2026

The number painted on the arm, or printed in an amazon.co.uk title, is often the awning, not the cloth you are about to order. How to measure awning fabric is the tape routine that stops a short panel, before anyone climbs the wall. The size clashes come from the seven listings in our [awning fabric comparison](/hub/sun-shades/awning-fabric), captured on 19 October 2026, set next to measuring notes from Dickson and from UK awning shops. We did not visit your patio. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. Once the numbers exist, the fitting order is [how to replace awning fabric](/hub/sun-shades/awning-fabric/sub/awning-fabric-how-to-replace).

The number painted on the arm, or printed in an amazon.co.uk title, is often the awning, not the cloth you are about to order.

Our top picks

A-Express A-Express black 600D canvas (half metre)

Best overall

A-Express A-Express black 600D canvas (half metre)
9.0/10about £6.99
View offer
Green Bay Green Bay grey awning fabric (2.5 m x 2 m)

Rank 2

Green Bay Green Bay grey awning fabric (2.5 m x 2 m)
9.0/10about £38.99
View offer
Celtty Celtty custom awning fabric

Alternative

Celtty Celtty custom awning fabric
7.8/10about £23.50
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Ordering width is not cloth width
  2. 2.Measure the old cloth
  3. 3.The 12 cm note and the 70 mm note
  4. 4.Valance and cloth by the metre

Ordering width is not cloth width

Three widths get mixed up. Ordering width is the cassette from outside to outside. Cloth width is hem to hem, always narrower because the arms, gearbox and side covers take space. Projection is bracket to front bar, arms fully out, not the depth of the patio. Awnings Online’s example is about 70 mm each side. On a 5,000 mm ordering width the cloth comes out around 4,860 mm. That shop rule is not the same sentence as “about 12 cm less”. Adding both deductions makes the cloth short twice. Dickson asks for a stiff metal tape. Write ordering width, cloth width and projection before any number.

Measure the old cloth

If the old cloth is still up, measure that cloth, not the brickwork. Fabrics and Co says the wall is the wrong reference once a canopy exists. Use a metal tape along the hem, including seams, in millimetres, then projection with the arms fully out. Dickson adds about 30 cm for cloth wrapped on an open roller, and says not to add that on a cassette, or the cloth rubs in the box. If the cloth is gone, width is the load bar and projection is the arm length plus 30 cm. They will not add the roller allowance for you, and they note a gap of about 3 to 4 cm. Do not stack that gap on Green Bay’s 12 cm. Record a cord, a tube or a raw edge. The plastic bead is not in the new box.
A-Express A-Express black 600D canvas (half metre)

Testsieger

A-Express A-Express black 600D canvas (half metre)
9.0/10about £6.99
View offer

The 12 cm note and the 70 mm note

Keep the shortfalls apart. Green Bay’s bullets, on the grey 2.5 m x 2 m panel at £38.99, say the real cloth is about 12 cm less, spared for the side cover and gearbox. One UK review measured about 1.86 m against a stated 2 m. Awnings Online’s 70 mm each side is different arithmetic: about 140 mm off a 5,000 mm cassette, not 12 cm off a Green Bay title. Celtty is custom at £23.50. Two reviews found the cloth short, including one order 8 cm short. A short custom order is a description problem under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. GOV.UK treats custom-made goods, curtains included, as outside a routine change-of-mind return.

Valance and cloth by the metre

A front strip is not a roof measurement. This set has no valance-only ASIN. Measure the old drop along the front bar and from the seam to the bottom hem. Cutting the length does not fix a depth that is already short. Sewing cuts print conflicting lines. A-Express says half a metre, 150 cm item length, and 150 cm x 100 cm in the dimensions field. Dongawin black says 200 cm x 150 cm in the title and 150 cm x 150 cm in the field. Blue and grey swap 100 cm x 146 cm with 146 cm x 100 cm. None of those is a hemmed awning width. If you cannot see a cassette, a load bar and an arm, you do not have an order yet.

Common questions

Do I measure the wall, the cassette, or the old cloth?
Measure the old cloth if it is still there, with a metal tape, hem to hem including seams. The cassette or mechanism is the ordering width, which is wider than the cloth. The wall is the wrong reference once a canopy exists. Projection is bracket to front bar with the arms fully out.
What is projection?
Projection is the reach from the wall bracket to the front bar, arms fully extended. It is not the depth of the patio and not the length of the valance. Dickson asks you to add about 30 cm for cloth that stays on an open roller, and to add less on a cassette so the cloth does not rub.
Do I add length for the roller?
On an open folding arm, Dickson’s note is about 30 cm extra for the wrap. On a cassette, do not add that 30 cm. Fabrics and Co say they will not add the allowance for you if the old cloth is gone, and they mention a gap of about 3 to 4 cm between cloth and roller. Do not stack that gap on the 12 cm Green Bay note.
How do I measure only a valance?
Measure the old strip along the front bar, and measure the drop from the seam to the bottom hem. This set has no separate valance listing. A sewing rectangle is the wrong shape unless you have those two numbers and you will hem it. A short drop cannot be rescued by cutting the length.
What if the old cloth is already in the bin?
You have lost the pattern and, on a Green Bay-style recover, the bead reviewers say is not supplied. Width then comes from the load bar, and projection from the arm length. Add the roller allowance yourself on an open arm, and do not add it on a cassette. If you cannot see those parts, do not guess a title size.
Which size line do I trust when a listing prints two?
Do not trust either line until you have your own tape measurement of the job. A-Express and the black Dongawin cut each print conflicting centimetres. Green Bay prints one nominal size and a separate “about 12 cm less”. The cloth in your hand, checked against the old hem, beats both the title and the dimensions field.

Related pages

Best awning replacement fabric

Awning fabric buying guide

Awning fabric

Acrylic vs polyester awning fabric on your UK patio

How to replace awning fabric on a sound patio frame

Sources

Public UK sources and the amazon.co.uk listings compared on this page. Listings captured 19 October 2026. Updated 22.10.2026.

  1. amazon.co.uk awning fabric listings in this set (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  2. BS EN 13561:2015, external blinds and awnings (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  3. Retained Regulation (EU) 2019/1188, wind classes (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  4. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 11 (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  5. GOV.UK, accepting returns and giving refunds (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  6. BS 7837:1996, flammability of marquee textiles (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  7. Dickson, choosing folding-arm awning fabric (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  8. Parà Tempotest warranty (retrieved 22.10.2026)