The amount of material you need to make a man's suit depends on the size of the man and how many pieces the suit has. Suits for larger men require more fabric than suits for petite men. If you plan to make a three piece suit, you will need more material than if you were only making a jacket and pants.

The average amount of fabric needed for a pair of men's pants is 2.5 yards. Three yards of 45 inch wide fabric is needed to make a pair of suit pants for a man with a waist wider than 36 inches. The tailor may need to use extra fabric to match patterned fabrics or to add cuffed hems.

A jacket for a small to average size man usually requires about 2 yards of 45 inch wide fabric. Larger men may need up to 3 yards of fabric. If the fabric is 60 inches wide, less yardage is needed.

In addition to the suit fabric, a person may need to buy lining fabric as well as interfacing for the collar and waistband. Sometimes, felt is used under the collar. Usually, the same yardage is needed for the lining as for the outside fabric.