Now that we have become hopefully familiar with the sewing machine and sewing a straight stitch, it is time to venture into the world of garment sewing. Step one is the proper taking of measurements. There are a lot of measurements one can take depending on what you are sewing and the body you are measuring. For now, we will cover the core measurements to create a profile of sorts from head to toe. These we shall apply when we begin our drafting lessons. Any other extra measurements will be mentioned when we need it.
Preparation of the model.
1. Please wear your normal underwear for this process.
2. Tie a ribbon or elastic around your natural waist to help guide you.
3. For dress forms, create a bridge between the breasts by pinning a ribbon or elastic from breast to breast. This can be avoided in a live model. But you can wrap a ribbon around the bust to create the same effect. This is to prevent the tape from dipping in between the breasts when taking the centre front measurement
4. Put dots or cross marks with a marker or sticky paper on the following spots. Helpful, especially if you are measuring yourself, but not absolutely necessary. Wearing a necklace can also be helpful for detecting the base of the neck at points A, B and C below.
A) centre front of neck, (between the clavicle)
B) centre back of neck at the last big neck bone (7th cervical vertebrae)
C) shoulder point at base of the neck
D) shoulder point at top of the arm
E) apex of breast (highest point)
Above the Waist Measurements
NECK – Take around the base of the neck where it is thickest, fitted but not too tight.
ACROSS SHOULDER – Take from one Shoulder bone across the back to the other Shoulder bone (Do not include the arm)
SHOULDER – Take from base of neck to shoulder bone
ACROSS CHEST – Take from armpit to armpit across the chest
ACROSS BACK- Take from armpit to armpit across the back
UPPER BUST – Take around the torso above the bust
FULL BUST – Take around the torso over the fullest part of the bust
APEX WIDTH – Take from nipple to nipple (or the most prominent points)
FULL WAIST – Take around the natural waist (this is at elbow length)
CENTRE FRONT – Take from Collar bone at front to waist (Place tape right in the dimple at the neck)
CENTRE BACK – Take from Neck bone at back to waist (Or from where the necklace lies)
SHOULDER TO BUST (Bust depth) – Take from shoulder point at base of neck to Highest point of bust
FRONT LENGTH – Take from base of neck to the waist, passing over the bust.
BACK LENGTH - Take from base of neck to the waist
Note - It is useful to take the full length from the waist at the front, over the shoulder to the waist at the back. This will serve as a control measurement.
SHOULDER SLOPE - Take from base of the neck at centre front to the tip of the shoulder.
SIDE – Take from armpit (3/4inch or 2cm below armpit) to waist. Keep arm down.
ARMHOLE – Take around armhole (ARMSCYE)
Below the Waist Measurements
FULL HIPS – Take around the fullest part of the hips (Focus on where the bum, is at its fullest)
HIGH HIPS (BELLY) – Take around the abdomen (just about where your hip/pelvic bones are)
HIP DEPTH – Take from waist to fullest part of hips
WAIST TO KNEE – Take from waist at the side to the knee
WAIST TO FLOOR (OUTSEAM) – Take from waist at the side to the floor
INSEAM – Take from highest point of inner thigh to the floor
CROTCH DEPTH (Body rise) – Outseam Minus Inseam. This can also be taken by sitting on a hard flat surface and measuring from the waist to the seat at the side of the body.
CROTCH LENGTH – Take from waist at the front, between the legs, to waist at the Back
UPPER THIGH – Take around the thigh at the highest point
KNEE – Take around the knee (not too tight)
ANKLE – Take around the ankle (not too tight)
FOOT (Base) – Take around the foot (not too tight)
The Arm
FULL ARM LENGTH – Take from shoulder bone to wrist bone, keeping arm slightly bent
UNDER ARM LENGTH – Take from armpit to the wrist bone, keeping arm slightly bent
SHOULDER TO ELBOW – Take from shoulder bone to elbow crease
BICEP – Take around bicep or upper arm, keeping arm flexed
WRIST – Take around wrist (not too tight)
HAND – Take around hand (not too tight)
That’s all for today. Remember to record accurate measurements. You can work in either inches or centimetres. See you in the next chapter!
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