The number
A yard is 36 inches, so ⅛ yard = 36 ÷ 8 = 4½ inches, or 11.43 cm.
| Inches | Yards |
|---|---|
| 4½ | ⅛ |
| 9 | ¼ |
| 13½ | ⅜ |
| 18 | ½ |
| 22½ | ⅝ |
| 27 | ¾ |
| 31½ | ⅞ |
| 36 | 1 |
Turning inches into what to buy
Divide the inches you need by 4.5 and round up to a whole number of eighths. For 160 inches: 160 ÷ 4.5 ≈ 35.56, so buy 36 eighths, which is 4½ yards. The quilt backing calculator does this for you. See also rounding up to buy.