Anais bought 4 1/2 yards of ribbon. she had 3 feet 8 inches of ribbon left after trimming some curtains. how many inches of ribbon did anais use to trim the curtains?
anais used inches of ribbon.

First convert all numbers into inches since that is the answer being solved for.

1 yard =36 inches
4.5 x 36 = 1,620 inches

1 foot = 12 inches
3 x 12 = 36 inches
36 + 8 = 44 inches

Now take 1,620 inches (starting ribbon measure) and subtract 44 inches (what was left over) to get the inches used to trim curtains.

1,620 inches - 44inches =
1,576 inches were used to trim the curtains.