Convert Centiinch (cin) to Span (Cloth) (span) instantly.
About these units
Centiinch (cin)
A centiinch is 1/100 of an inch, making it a small but straightforward derivative of the imperial system. Although seldom used today, it historically appeared in precision engineering, machining, and scientific instruments that relied on extremely fine calibrations before widespread adoption of decimal-based units like millimeters. Because the inch was long established in many English-speaking industries, dividing it into 100 equal parts provided a convenient decimal alternative to the more cumbersome 1/8 or 1/16 subdivisions found in carpentry and early tooling. The centiinch never gained strong traction, particularly once the metric system became dominant for precision work. However, it remains an interesting footnote in the evolution of measurement, illustrating attempts to reconcile the decimal preference with traditional imperial standards.
Span (Cloth) (span)
The span is a unit traditionally used in textile measurement, equal to the distance between the tip of the thumb and the tip of the little finger when the hand is fully extended, approximately 22.86 cm (9 inches). This anthropometric unit was widely used by weavers and cloth merchants to measure lengths of fabric quickly and intuitively. Its small scale made it convenient for practical applications where tape measures or rulers were unavailable. The span also appears in cultural and historical texts as a natural unit of human proportion. While largely obsolete today, it offers insight into pre-industrial textile practices and the anthropometric basis of early measurement systems.