Basic Body Measurements: 6 Rules in Taking Body Measurements
Believe it or not, just about everything has rules. If you want to do any activity, including taking body measurements you need to follow the rules. That is if you want your garments to come out looking just right.
Basic Body Measurements: Taking body measurements is an important step in sewing clothes for yourself and for others. Without the right measurements, the results you get may be less than complimentary. Rules are in place for a reason, they are to guide you to great results.
To learn all the rules of basic body measurement just continue to read our article. It has the rules you need to know about and a lot of other information to help you perfect your sewing technique.
Rule #1: The first rule you need to abide by is to make sure you use a tape measure that does not stretch.
Rule #2: When measuring yourself or another person, make sure you are all wearing well-fitted underwear. Loose items can influence your measurement in the wrong direction.
What is Body Measurement in Sewing
Body measurement is simply getting an accurate read on the dimensions of those body parts you are making some clothes for. This is a vital step because you need to know the different sizes so you can plan your pattern.
For some people, this can be a very eye-opening and humbling experience. You may not be as thin as you thought you were. That is not always good news. But if you follow the tips and rules about measuring your body, you can plan your pattern and sew some good articles of clothing for yourself.
When you are trying to measure yourself, as it will be impossible to find a pattern that has your exact body measurements included, make sure not to press the tape too tightly. You want to be able to move and breathe easily once the new clothes are ready for wearing.
Also, make sure to keep the measuring tape parallel to the floor and straight. We won’t speculate on what the clothes will look like on you if you do not meet this tip exactly.
Rule #3: Don’t take your own measurements. Get a close friend who won’t spill your secrets to do the measuring. Make sure it is a friend you can trust
Body Measurements for Sewing Garments
There are 6 basic body measurements you need to take when you are making clothes for yourself or for someone else. Of course, you may or may not use all 6 for all articles of clothing you will make.
The first measurement is the person’s height. The second one to take is the high bust area. This is where you go around the armpits at their crook, about 2 inches above the bust.
The third measurement that is important is the full bust. You are measuring around yours or their bodies at the widest part of the bust. Next up is the natural waist measurement. This is the narrowest part of the ribbon or elastic.
Then the fifth important measurement involves the hips. Your tape measure goes around the widest part about 7 inches below the natural waist. Finally, there is the back waist length. This measurement starts at the bone in the base of the neck and ends at the natural waist.
If you are making a blouse, you should add 3 more measurements to this list. You want one from your neck to your shoulder. Then you will want one from your shoulder to where your wrist meets your hand.
Finally, you will want to measure the circumference of your upper arm. These measurements are to something you can do for yourself and you will need someone to help you get accurate results.
Rule #4: To find your natural waist, tie a string around your waist area but not too tight that it doe snot move. Move around a bit until the string finds the natural waist. One word to the wise, the natural waist the string finds may not be the same location where you place the waistband of your pants and skirts
Guidelines and Rules in Taking Body Measurements
One of the most important guidelines when making clothes for yourself is not to take your own measurements. It is practically impossible to get an accurate measurement of your body when you do it yourself.
The next important rule or guideline is to make sure you are using a straight forward tape measure. By that we mean the tape measure cannot stretch at any time. When taking measurements, you and your clients should stand in a relaxed position. That will get you the precise figures you want.
Also, there is an order to taking measurements. You want to do the girth ones first. The girth simply refers to the circumference of the body or width. After you take those measurements then you take the length.
When taking measurements having the tape measure parallel to the floor helps get you those accurate measurements you need. You may not want them if they are your measurements but they must be taken if you want the garment to look right on your body.
Then as you place the tape measure around another person’s body keep the tape measure snug but not too tight. A too tight of measurement with throw off the results making the garment come out a little too small for the person to wear.
Plus, you and the people you are measuring need to dress in underwear that is not loose. Or too tight. They should allow you to stand in a relaxed position so you can get an accurate reading of the tape.
Finally, you should be able to place 2 fingers between the tape measure and the person’s body you are measuring.
Rule #5: When you are taking the measurements for your children or friends, make sure to do the girth measurements first, then do the length ones. Also, you want the tape measure to be snug but not too tight. The latter throws off your measurements and throws the construction of the dress, etc., off.
How to Measure Body for a Sewing Pattern
One little secret, and this is for women only, is that you have to decide if you are going to wear a bra with the item you are creating or not. If you are, make sure you are wearing one when you are getting your measurements taken.
If you are not, then wear a form-fitting undershirt or something similar. The bra area is not the place to be uncomfortable when wearing your creations. Next, you will need to check your posture. If you slouch your measurements will be thrown off and the creation may not look as good as you had hoped.
Now, if you decide to measure yourself, you should mark the center spot on both the front and back of the underwear you are wearing for the measurement. These spots help you measure the same spot twice. There will be no question as to the measurement size when you are done.
The natural waist is near the belly button level
Rule #6: make sure to record all your measurements for you or your clients on a handy chart. That way they do not get lost and you can refer to them very easily.
Basic Body Measurements
Basic body measurements are those measurements that cover specific parts of the body. As listed above there are 6 of those. One for the hips, natural waist, full and upper bust. Then there is one for your overall height and the back waist length.
It is important for you to get help if you are trying to measure yourself. You cannot reach the base of your neck or the back of your natural waist to get an accurate measurement.
Nor is it very easy to get accurate measurements o your hips, waist, and bust regions. It is very difficult to see if the tape measure is parallel to the floor and even when you try to keep your measurements a secret.
The basic body measurements get you started in creating your dress, pants, and so on. You may need to take more to cover the circumference of your pant legs, your blouse arms and so on.
How to Measure
Experienced sewers have already learned this lesson but it is included to make sure novice sewers can make accurate measurements and produce fine fitting clothes that look perfect on them and their friends.
- 1. Neck - start at the back of the neck and pull the tape around the middle. The tape should start at the base of the neck above the collarbone.
- 2. Bust - you need the tape to come around your back at a level where it reaches the fullest point. Your hands need to be at your side, relaxed while the tape measure needs to be even, parallel to the floor.
- 3. Natural waist - the location of this part of your body is just under your rib cage and near your belly button. It is the narrowest part of your body. Bring the tape measure around your body at this point keeping it straight and level.
- 4. Hips - you do not measure at the top of your hip bone. Normally this is not the widest part of your body. You need the widest point to make sure your clothes fit right. (read signs you have wide hips)
- 5. Front waist length - here you start at the base of your neck at the shoulder line. Bring the tape down over your breast point till you reach your waist. Remember to keep the tape straight.
- 6. Back waist length - the tape measure starts at the nape of your neck, follows your spine till you get to your waist. That is all there is to it. To get your back width, measure from one armpit to the other.
- 7. Shoulder - measure from the base of your neck unrolling the tape measure along the middle of your shoulder. Then you stop at your shoulder tip. If you need help finding the tip, check some of your other blouses and measure the shoulder on that item.
- 8. Ar circumference - you need to go to the fullest part of your arm that is located above your elbow. Once you found that spot simply wrap the tape measure around it and see the result.
- 9. Arm length - the final measurement starts at your shoulder tip and goes down to your elbow and past it to the end of your wrist. Have your arm slightly bent at the elbow.
How to Choose the Right Pattern
There are several steps you need to take to find the right pattern for you. Here are those steps:
- 1. Take your measurements - or if you have them already move to the next step right away.
- 2. Look at the pattern chart - you want to find the size that is closest to your measurements. The chart will help you do that.
- 3. It's in the shoulders, hips, and neck - in getting the right pattern for you, make sure it fits you at those three body locations.
- 4. Look at the finished garment measurements - this should be on the package and it helps you see if the finished garment is the right fit for you. These measurements may be labeled as Design and Wearing ease.
- 5. Double-check your measurements - this helps you be sure you have the right pattern for you.
- 6 Use the flat pattern measurement to help you double -check sizes.
Some Final Words
When you follow the rules, you should have the expected results. The approx. 6 rules mentioned here are the mains ones you need to follow if you want to produce well-fitting clothes for yourself, your children or friends.
Rules are good guiding tools that govern your sewing behavior and make sure you can spot where a mistake was made with ease. Don’t worry you can always correct mistakes.
