Kevlar Carbon Fabric: How Many Yards and How Much Epoxy to Buy

Boat Suppliers

16 October 2026

Kevlar carbon fabric is sold in 1 yard, 3 yard and 10 yard cuts and 100 yard rolls, and the wrong cut costs you either a second order mid-layup or eight yards of expensive cloth on the shelf. The arithmetic is simple once you know two numbers: a yard of 50 in (127 cm) wide cloth is 12.5 sq ft (1.16 m²), and a 5.5 oz/yd² (186 g/m²) hybrid wants roughly its own weight in mixed epoxy per ply in a hand layup. Here is how to turn a part into a cut length and an epoxy quantity, with worked numbers for the jobs this cloth usually goes on.

Start with the area, not the yardage

Measure the part's surface as a flat pattern: length times girth for a hull, length times width for a panel, and both faces if you are skinning a blade or a fin. Add 1 in (25 mm) of margin all round for trimming. Multiply by the ply count. That is the cloth area you need to cut, and only then does it become yards.

Twill nests worse than you expect. A 2x2 twill has to go on the part with the carbon warp along the load path, so you cannot rotate patterns to fill gaps the way you can with a plain weave, and the aramid means a stray offcut is hard to trim square later. Add 15 to 20 percent for pattern waste on curved parts; 10 percent is enough on flat panels cut from the 4.8 oz plain weave.

Cloth per linear yard

Fabric	Width	Area per yard	Cloth weight per yard	Epoxy per ply per yard, hand layup
4.8 oz plain weave carbon/Kevlar	see product page	depends on width	4.8 oz per sq yd (163 g/m²)	about 5 oz per sq yd (140 g/m²)
5.5 oz 2x2 twill carbon/Kevlar	50 in (127 cm)	12.5 sq ft (1.39 sq yd)	7.6 oz (216 g)	about 8 oz (225 g)
5.8 oz dual twill carbon/Kevlar	50 in (127 cm)	12.5 sq ft (1.39 sq yd)	8.1 oz (230 g)	about 8 oz (230 g)

The epoxy column is wet-out only, at a 1:1 resin-to-cloth weight, which is what a hand layup with a brush and a squeegee lands at. Vacuum bagging pulls it down toward 0.7:1. Clear build coats on top are extra: plan about 1 oz per square foot (300 g/m²) per coat, and a part that shows the weave wants two or three coats before you can sand the resin flat without touching the aramid. Run the whole thing through the resin calculator before you order, then round up to the next kit size, because a cup that runs dry halfway across a wet ply is how you get a dry patch you cannot fix.

Worked examples: 1 yard, 3 yard or 10 yard cut

Job	Flat pattern	Plies	Cloth to cut	Cut to buy	Mixed epoxy, layup plus 2 build coats
Paddle blade pair, both faces	4 pieces at 8 x 20 in	1	4.4 sq ft	1 yard	about 12 oz (340 g)
Hatch lid or panel face	24 x 24 in	1	4 sq ft	1 yard	about 10 oz (285 g)
Kart floor pan	24 x 40 in	2	13.3 sq ft	3 yards	about 22 oz (620 g)
Motorcycle fairing set	about 20 sq ft total	1	20 sq ft plus 20% waste	3 yards	about 52 oz (1.5 kg)
14 ft kayak hull, 48 in girth	168 x 48 in	2	112 sq ft	10 yards	about 180 oz (5.1 kg), 1.4 gal

The kayak line is where the cut size matters most. One ply of a 14 ft hull is a single 4.7 yard run of 50 in cloth laid bow to stern with the carbon warp along the keel. Two plies is 9.3 yards. The 10 yard cut covers it with a few feet spare for the stems; a second 3 yard cut for the deck is cheaper than stepping up to the roll unless you build boats for a living.

The fairing set is where waste bites. Twenty square feet of surface sounds like 1.6 yards, but the pieces are curved, oriented, and cut one at a time, so it is 2 yards of cloth on the bench and the 3 yard cut is the right buy. If you cut from the 1 yard piece you will be an order short on the last side panel.

Which Kevlar carbon fabric for the job

Curved parts, hulls, blades and fairings take a 5.5 oz 2x2 twill: the 5.5oz Carbon/Kevlar Hybrid Fabric 2x2 Twill Weave (Black/Yellow) 1st Quality or the same cloth in blue, red or orange aramid, such as the 5.5oz Carbon/Kevlar Hybrid Fabric 2x2 Twill Weave (Black/Red) 1st Quality. Flat panels and small pattern-cut parts nest tighter on the 4.8oz Plain Weave Carbon/Kevlar Fabric, Yellow/Black Hybrid Cloth, which holds its edge when cut and wastes less. For a show face, one ply of the 5.8oz Carbon/Kevlar Hybrid Fabric 2x2 Dual Twill Weave (Black/Yellow) 1st Quality on top of cheaper plies; do not run the dual twill through the whole stack, nobody sees the inside.

Epoxy, not polyester or vinyl ester; aramid bonds poorly to styrene resins and yellows faster under them. West System 105/206 is the reference: 5:1 by volume, 20 to 25 minutes pot life at 72°F (22°C), solid in 10 to 15 hours, sand the resin at 24 hours. Check the TDS on the can if you are running a different hardener. Serrated composite shears for cutting, masking tape on the cut line on the twills, and never sand into the aramid. Nitrile gloves, eye protection and a fitted P100 with organic vapor cartridges for mixing, cutting and sanding.

When the roll makes sense

A 100 yard roll is ten kayak hulls, thirty kart pans, or a season of fairings. If you are a shop laying this cloth every week, the roll is the buy, and it also solves the color-matching problem: every part cut from one roll is the same dye lot of aramid, which matters more on the blue and red colorways than on yellow. If you are building one boat, buy the 10 yard cut and a 3 yard cut for the deck and trim, and keep the leftover for repairs on the same hull.

Frequently asked questions

How much epoxy do I need per yard of Kevlar carbon fabric?

About 8 oz (225 g) of mixed epoxy per linear yard per ply for 50 in wide 5.5 oz twill in a hand layup, which is the cloth's own weight of 7.6 oz plus what the brush and cup hold. Add 1 oz per square foot for each clear build coat, so a yard with two build coats is closer to 33 oz. Size it with the resin calculator and round up.

How many yards of carbon Kevlar cloth for a kayak?

A 14 ft hull with a 48 in girth takes 4.7 yards of 50 in cloth per ply laid bow to stern. Two plies is 9.3 yards, so the 10 yard cut is the buy, with a separate 3 yard cut for the deck if you want the checkerboard on top. Add 20 percent if you are cutting the hull in panels instead of one run.

Is a 1 yard cut of carbon Kevlar enough for anything useful?

Yes. One yard of 50 in cloth is 12.5 sq ft, enough for a pair of paddle blades both faces, a 24 x 24 in hatch or dash face, a set of knife scales or a small skid plate, with a strip left for a test panel. It is the right size to learn how the aramid cuts and wets out before you commit to a hull.

How much waste should I plan for when cutting twill hybrid?

Fifteen to 20 percent on curved parts, 10 percent on flat panels. The 2x2 twill has to go on with the carbon warp along the load, so you cannot rotate patterns to nest tighter, and the aramid fill makes offcuts hard to trim square. Cut every piece dry and lay them out before you mix; a pattern that does not fit on the bench will not fit on the part.

Should I buy the 100 yard roll of carbon Kevlar?

Only if you lay it weekly. A roll is about ten kayak hulls or thirty kart floor pans. The one real advantage beyond price per yard is a single aramid dye lot, so every panel on a multi-part job matches, which matters most on the blue and red colorways. For one boat or one fairing set, the 10 yard and 3 yard cuts cover it.