ProReckoner's apparel & fashion trade calculators are built for independent designers, boutique and Etsy sellers, tailors and dressmakers, and small apparel manufacturers. Tools cover costing and pricing (garment costing, wholesale/retail keystone pricing, break-even units, marketplace fees, bespoke commission pricing), materials and production (fabric yardage, GSM weight conversion, shrinkage allowance, trim costing), tailoring and alterations (alteration job pricing, made-to-measure ease, pattern grading) and retail and inventory (sell-through rate, markdown pricing). AU and US business contexts throughout.
Costing & Pricing
5 toolsGarment Costing Calculator
True cost per garment from fabric, trim, labour hours and overhead. Free costing calculator for independent designers, small apparel manufacturers and boutique makers.
Direct cost = Fabric + Trim + (Labour hours × rate)
Total cost = Direct cost × (1 + Overhead%)
Overhead covers rent, equipment, utilities and admin time not captured in direct labour — a common starting estimate is 15-30% of direct costs for a small studio.
Wholesale/Retail Markup (Keystone) Calculator
Wholesale and retail prices from your cost price, using a target wholesale margin and retail markup multiplier (keystone = 2x). Free pricing calculator for apparel and fashion brands.
Wholesale price = Cost ÷ (1 − Wholesale margin%)
Retail price = Wholesale price × Multiplier
"Keystone pricing" means doubling the wholesale cost to set retail price (multiplier = 2) — a long-standing apparel industry convention, though not universal for every category or price point.
Break-Even Units Calculator
How many units you need to sell to cover a production run's fixed costs (patterns, sampling, setup). Free break-even calculator for independent designers and small apparel brands.
Contribution margin = Price − Variable cost
Break-even units = Fixed costs ÷ Contribution margin
Fixed costs (pattern-making, sampling, grading, setup fees) are spread across units until their total is covered — every unit sold after that point contributes toward profit.
Marketplace Fee & Profit Calculator
True profit after marketplace fees, payment processing and shipping costs. Free calculator for independent fashion sellers on Etsy, eBay, Depop and similar platforms.
Fees = Sale price × (Marketplace fee% + Processing fee%)
Profit = Sale price − Item cost − Fees − Shipping
Marketplace listing/transaction fees and payment processing fees are usually charged separately and both reduce your net proceeds — check your specific platform's current fee schedule, as these vary and change over time.
Custom/Bespoke Commission Pricing Calculator
A fair price for custom and bespoke garment commissions from estimated hours, hourly rate and materials cost. Free quoting calculator for independent designers, dressmakers and costumiers.
Base cost = (Hours × rate) + Materials
Commission price = Base cost × (1 + Profit margin%)
Custom/bespoke work should always be quoted on time actually required, not a flat guess — track your hours on a few jobs to calibrate your estimates over time.
Materials & Production
4 toolsFabric Yardage/Consumption Estimator
Fabric metres required for a garment based on type, size and fabric width. Free yardage estimator for pattern cutting, sampling and production planning.
Required length = Base length (at 150cm width) × (150 ÷ actual width)
Narrower fabric requires proportionally more length to fit the same pattern pieces since less width is available per cut — this is a general estimate; add 10-15% extra for pattern matching, directional prints or napped fabrics.
Textile GSM (Fabric Weight) Converter
Convert fabric weight between GSM (grams per square metre) and oz/yd² (ounces per square yard). Free textile weight converter for sourcing and comparing fabrics across suppliers.
oz/yd² = GSM ÷ 33.906
GSM = oz/yd² × 33.906
GSM (grams per square metre) is the metric standard; oz/yd² (ounces per square yard) is common in US sourcing and denim/canvas specs. The conversion factor comes directly from the metric-to-imperial area and weight relationship.
Fabric Shrinkage Allowance Calculator
How much extra to cut to account for fabric shrinkage and still hit your target finished measurement. Free pattern-cutting calculator for makers working with natural-fibre and shrinkage-prone fabrics.
Cut measurement = Finished measurement ÷ (1 − Shrinkage%)
This scales the target measurement up so that after the fabric shrinks by the expected percentage, the finished piece lands at the intended size. Always test-wash an actual swatch rather than relying solely on published shrinkage figures.
Trim & Notions Cost Calculator
Total trim and notions cost per garment — buttons, zips, thread, interfacing and labels. Free calculator to get an accurate trim cost input for garment costing.
Total trim cost = Buttons + Zip + Thread + Interfacing + Label
Individually small, trim costs compound across a production run and are one of the most commonly under-tracked cost categories in garment costing.
Tailoring & Alterations
3 toolsAlterations Job Pricing Calculator
A fair price to charge for alteration and tailoring jobs based on job type, complexity and your hourly rate. Free pricing calculator for tailors, dressmakers and alteration businesses.
Estimated minutes = Base minutes for job type × Complexity multiplier
Price = max((minutes ÷ 60) × hourly rate, minimum fee)
Base time estimates reflect typical experienced-tailor time for each job type; complexity multiplier adjusts for garment-specific difficulty (fabric type, construction, fit issues).
Made-to-Measure Ease Allowance Calculator
Pattern ease allowance to add to a body measurement based on the intended garment fit. Free calculator for made-to-measure pattern drafting and custom tailoring.
Pattern measurement = Body measurement + Ease allowance
Ease is the extra room built into a pattern beyond the exact body measurement, allowing movement and comfort — the amount depends on the intended silhouette and, to some extent, fabric stretch.
Pattern Grading Ratio Calculator
Graded pattern measurements across a size run from a base size measurement and grade rule increment. Free calculator for pattern makers grading a style across multiple sizes.
Graded measurement = Base measurement + (Size steps × Grade rule increment)
Grade rules vary by garment category, brand size chart and measurement point — always confirm your specific grade rule rather than assuming a universal increment.
Retail & Inventory
2 toolsSell-Through Rate & Inventory Turn Calculator
Sell-through rate and weeks of stock remaining from units received and sold. Free inventory planning calculator for boutique owners and independent fashion retailers.
Sell-through % = (Units sold ÷ Units received) × 100
Weeks of stock remaining = (Received − Sold) ÷ (Sold ÷ Weeks)
Sell-through rate is one of the most important retail health metrics — it tells you whether a style is moving as expected relative to how much stock was brought in.
Markdown/Clearance Discount Calculator
A markdown price that still hits a target margin, calculated from cost price and original price. Free clearance pricing calculator for fashion retailers planning end-of-season sales.
Markdown price = Cost price ÷ (1 − Target margin%)
Discount % = (Original price − Markdown price) ÷ Original price × 100
This finds the lowest price that still hits your target margin, then shows what discount percentage that represents from the original price.