I usually buy 1.2 meters of flannelette. That equals about 48 inches or 1 1/3 yard. I always always always wash and droy the flannelette in a hot dryer. It ususally ends up crooked. I square it off and hem all sides. This results in a receiving blanket of about 42"x42". As my DD says--"You CAN swaddle a 12 pound baby in Mum's blankets!"