Taking measurements

Shop-bought clothes are cut for an average figure, so on almost everyone they pull in one place and hang loose in another. A pattern drafted to your own measurements fits noticeably better, and five measurements are enough for a first garment.

The generator works out the other measurements from your height and bust. You can take those later, if a garment fits on the whole but pulls or wrinkles somewhere. They are in the second half of the lesson, in collapsed sections.

What you need

• A tape measure that does not stretch. Check an old cloth tape against a ruler.
• A ribbon or narrow elastic for the waist. Tie it on at the start and leave it on until you have finished: several measurements are taken from it.
• A helper. You cannot measure your own back, and girths come out more accurate with your arms down.

Measure over the underwear you will wear with the garment: a different bra changes the bust girth and height. Stand straight the way you usually stand, weight on both feet, arms down, breathing calmly.

The tape lies snugly against the body without digging in. Check horizontal measurements from behind: the tape tends to slip down at the back.

Landmarks

Lengths are measured from these points, so find them first:

• The waistline — along the tied ribbon, at the narrowest part of the torso.
• The shoulder point — the end of the shoulder, where the arm begins.
• The bust point — the most prominent point of the bust.
• The seventh cervical vertebra — the most prominent vertebra at the base of the neck at the back. Bend your head forward and it is easy to feel.
• The side neck point — where the neck meets the shoulder (the shoulder seam lies on it).

The last two are needed only for the back and front measurements.

The five main measurements

These are the measurements for a dress or a blouse; the blouse without a bust dart needs only height, bust and hips. Measurements for skirts and trousers have a section of their own. Write them down in centimetres, to the nearest half centimetre.

Height, Kh

Stand barefoot with your back to a wall, heels together. Lay a book or a ruler on the top of your head at a right angle to the wall and mark its lower edge. Your height is the distance from the floor to the mark.

Bust, Bu

The tape goes around the body horizontally over the fullest part of the bust. At the back it is raised onto the shoulder blades, and under the arms it passes the back armpit creases. Your helper is best placed behind you, where they can see that the tape does not sag at the back.

This is the most important measurement: the generator works out most of the others from it. Take it twice.

Waist, Tu

The tape runs level along the tied ribbon and closes at the front. Do not pull your stomach in.

Hips, Hu

The tape runs horizontally over the fullest part of the seat. Your helper is best placed at your side, where they can see that the tape has not dropped at the front. While you are at it, note anything particular about your figure — a prominent stomach, say, or one hip higher than the other. These are dealt with at the fitting.

Sleeve length, Alg

Needed for garments with sleeves. The tape runs from the shoulder point down the outside of the arm to the wrist, with the arm hanging relaxed.

For menswear the generator asks for the sleeve length from the neck (“Sleeve length from the neck” in the form): the tape then starts at the side neck point and runs along the shoulder, over the shoulder point, to the wrist.

That is enough for a first pattern. Before typing the measurements into the generator, look through Check yourself — it takes a minute.

Back and front measurements

These refine the fit: you need them if a garment fits on the whole but the back rides up or the front is too short. The generator fills these fields in by itself as you enter the main measurements. Write the calculated values down before typing your own, so that you have something to compare with. A value you type replaces the calculated one.

Besides the tape, you will need a strip of stiff paper or card about 50 cm long.

Five measurements: Rl, Rh, Bt, Vl, Rb

Back waist length, Rl

Hold the start of the tape on the seventh cervical vertebra and let it hang down along the spine. Measure to the lower edge of the waist ribbon.

This measurement decides how the garment fits along the length of the back. It is easy to take accurately, so if yours differs from the calculated one, trust your own.

Armhole depth at the back, Rh

Put the paper strip high up under the lowered arm, horizontally, as if it were the lower edge of the armhole. The tape runs from the seventh cervical vertebra down the spine; read the measurement at the upper edge of the strip.

This one, on the other hand, is hard to take accurately: the strip easily sits a little too high or too low. So if your armhole depth clearly differs from the calculated one, use the calculated value.

Bust height, Bt

The tape runs from the seventh cervical vertebra along the base of the neck at the back to the side neck point, then down to the bust point. That is Bt I.

The generator asks for Bt II — the same minus the section along the back of the neck: Bt II = Bt I − Hs. The generator works out the back neck width (Hs) itself and shows it in the form.

Front waist length, Vl

This carries on from the previous measurement: take the tape on from the bust point down to the lower edge of the waist ribbon. The whole length of the tape, from the seventh cervical vertebra to the waist, is Vl I, and the generator asks for Vl II = Vl I − Hs.

If your Vl II differs a lot from the calculated one, the cause is usually posture or a full bust, and that is worth allowing for when drafting. For some garments the generator warns about it itself in its construction check (“Draft check”).

Across back, Rb

The tape runs horizontally across the back between the back armpit creases, over the most prominent points of the shoulder blades. Measure the whole width and write down half of it.

The armhole width (Ad), the across front (Bb) and the back neck width (Hs) are not measured but calculated: their fields in the generator are read-only.

Skirt and trouser measurements

Needed only if you are making a skirt or trousers. For trousers you will need a chair with a hard, flat seat.

Three measurements: Ht, Stl, Lbh

Hip depth, Ht

For a skirt: the distance at the side from the waist ribbon down to the level of the hip measurement, usually 19–22 cm. For a dress or a blouse the generator works out the hip depth itself, from the seventh cervical vertebra.

Side length, Stl

The tape runs from the lower edge of the waist ribbon at the side over the fullest part of the hip and then straight down to the floor.

Seated rise, Lbh

Sit up straight on the chair. Measure at the side, from the lower edge of the waist ribbon down to the chair seat.

Check yourself

• The girths were taken twice and differ by no more than half a centimetre.
• The across back is written as half, every other measurement in full. If your Rb is about twice the calculated value, you wrote down the whole width.
• Your lengths were compared with the calculated ones. A difference of a centimetre or two is a reason to measure again, not to alter the pattern straight away.