Body Measurements and Sizing

February 11, 2025 - February 11, 2025
Body measurements and sizing are a vital part of production.
It is important to make sure that when taking body measurements that they are as accurate as possible. Once body measurements are taken, it is important to match them up to a size chart in order to make an accurate pattern. Using the size chart you can grade a pattern up or down in order to make a pattern which is bespoke for one individual person. Bespoke tailoring relies on good measurements. The industry uses a standardised size chart, although can vary from one company to the next. The tools needed to take measurements accurately are:
- – A tape measure
- – A piece of elastic
- – An extra pair of hands in order to get those accurate measurements in hard to reach places.
If you are measuring someone make sure they are not wearing bulky clothing. They should ideally be dressed in well fitted underwear. It is also really important that you make sure the person you are measuring is holding there posture well. This can really affect the way the measurements come out. The person whose measurements are being taken needs to stand with their eyes straight ahead and with their arms relaxed at the side. Shoulders should be relaxed and the back should be straight
HOW TO TAKE BODY MEASUREMENT
In order to take good measurements you need to have a good ribbon tape measure. In production inches are used therefore it is important to have an inch and centimetre tape measure. Never use a retractable tape measure when taking body measurements as you need a ribbon tape measure in order to go around the curves of a body. Different books and sources will tell you a different answer but there are roughly ten areas of the body where you should take measurements. This may differ between male and female but areas highlighted on the next page are based on the female figure.
If you capture all of these measurements you can guarantee that you are on the right track to produce a precise and well-fitted garment.
HERE ARE THE BASIC PLACES THAT YOU NEED TO MEASURE:
Chest ”“ place the tape under the arms and measure around the body, at the fullest part of the bust line.
- Bust ”“ measure at the fullest part of the bust. Take the tape around the back and make sure that it is straight.
- Waist ”“ place the tape at the belly button and let it fall naturally, this is where the waist sits and where the measurements should be taken.
- Hips ”“ measure around the fullest part of the hip, or, if the thighs are larger than the hips, measure at this widest point.
- Arm Length ”“ measure from the bone at the top of the arm, bend the arm, and continue to take the tape all the way to the wrist bone. This is your exact arm length measurement.
- Back length ”“ measure from the bone that protrudes slightly at the base of your neck, to the waistline.
- Height ”“ stand straight and measure from the base of the foot to the top of the head. Make sure that the head is not tilted upwards ”“ this is often a natural tendency when our height measurements are taken.
- Leg ”“ measure from the hip to the heel to get the most accurate leg measurement. How this translates into the pattern will obviously depend on the style of trousers that you want to create ”“ higher waisted trousers will require a slightly longer leg.
These are the basic measurements that you need to create your own patterns. When you go through the measuring process it is good to take three separate measurements of each area and to note it down. If there are wild differences each time then you are going wrong somewhere.
If they vary slightly, take an average and go with that when drawing up the pattern. Pattern making is a fine art and it starts with the measurements. Get this right and you are already halfway there.
SIZING CHART
This is a general size chart that you can use to size up a person’s measurements.
SIZE | UK DRESS | US DRESS | EUROPEAN DRESS | BUST | WAIST | HIPS |
8 | 4 | 36 | 32” | 25” | 35” | |
10 | 6 | 38 | 33.5” | 27” | 36.5” | |
12 | 8 | 40 | 35” | 28.5” | 37.5” | |
14 | 10 | 42 | 36.5” | 30” | 39.5” | |
16 | 12 | 44 | 38” | 31.5” | 41” | |
18 | 14 | 48 | 40” | 34” | 42.5” |