How to order fabric: by the metre or by the roll

Fabric shops usually assume you either want a swatch or a shipping container. XM Textiles sells in between: you can order exactly the metreage you need, or full rolls at trade terms. This guide explains how quantities, cutting and reservations work, so you know precisely what arrives when you order.

Ordering by the metre

Every fabric in the shop can be ordered cut to length, starting from one metre, at the listed price. You pick a colour, enter the metreage, and the warehouse cuts it from a full roll for you. There is no surcharge for cutting.

Reflective tapes work the same way but are packed per roll (typically 100 m), and small accessories such as sliders or buckles are sold in packs — the product page always states the unit you are buying.

Ordering by the roll

A full roll is usually 50–70 m of fabric, or 100 m of reflective tape. If you sew production runs, buying by the roll is where the economics change: companies with a trade account get individual roll and volume pricing instead of the listed cut-length prices, and flame-retardant fabrics ship free across the EU from a single roll.

Why your invoice may say 50.4 m instead of 50 m

Fabric is a physical material wound on rolls, so cut orders are fulfilled in whole usable pieces. When the warehouse cuts your order, the actual length may differ slightly from the ordered figure — you might receive 50.4 m against an order of 50 m. You are always invoiced for the quantity actually shipped, never for more than you received. For card payments on such orders, the final amount is confirmed after the order is assembled and you receive a payment link for the exact invoiced sum.

Your stock is reserved for 7 days

The moment you place an order, the quantity is booked for you in the warehouse for seven days. That gives you time to arrange payment and paperwork without the risk of the stock being sold to someone else. Availability shown on product pages is live warehouse stock, not a catalogue promise.

Checklist before you order

• Check the roll width and weight on the product page — metreage is cut from the stated width.
• Ordering for production? A trade account unlocks roll pricing, volume tiers and invoice payment.
• Need to verify the material first? Order a small metreage as a test — there is no minimum beyond one metre.
• Mixed orders (fabric + tapes + accessories) ship together whenever the stock is in the same warehouse; see how delivery from our three warehouses works.