Need a new wardrobe? A slightly altered shape or silhouette? The place to start is with a measuring tape. To sew or buy anything that fits, you first must take measure of yourself. Are you ready?
Your personal measurements make you unique. Knowing what they are will help you sew or choose clothing that fits better (no more baggy butts). You’ll feel better, too (no more binding waistlines)! Measuring isn’t difficult.
Share the process with a friend! It is easier, fun and more accurate to measure with an extra set of eyes and hands. But wait, before you can get started, you’ll need a tape measure. Let’s make sure you pick the right one for the job!
Did you know…all measuring tapes are not created equal? Cloth tapes can stretch with lots of use, so measuring isn’t as accurate as it could be. Use a fiberglass measuring tape that maintains its shape for best results.
Tired of always grabbing the wrong end of the tape measure? Choose a tape measure that has a starting point of 1-inch at each end. Fun colors too!
Some tapes are really long and might be too much to handle for a quick measurement. The typical 60” long tapes are easiest to use for body measurements.
The Dritz Flip-It Tape Measure goes to 144” on one side, but then continues on to 288” on the opposite side – just “flip it” and keep on measuring.
How to store your tape measures? Coil or drape them – fiberglass holds its shape. Keep a retractable one in your purse for on-the-go measurements. The nifty Dritz Tape Measure Pod has a home of its own!
What kind of tape measure do you use most often and what do you use it for? Do you have a favorite style?
Well, that is all on tapes. We move on to doing the measuring actually. Before anything you should know, measuring yourself is a two-person job, so grab a good friend and start it up!
Technique Materials
You will need a measuring tape, paper/pen and a good friend.
STEP 1
How to measure your bust.
Bring the tape around your back and up to the front. Pull it around the fullest part of your bust. Make sure you don’t suck in a lung full of air, just breath normally and be relaxed. Be sure the tape is in a straight, even line across both your back and across the bust. Take the measurement in the front with your arms at your side to get the best results.
Tip: if you put the tape around the base of your back pull it tight against your back and shimmy it upwards it will be easier to get a straight line.
STEP 2
How to measure your waist
OK, for the waist measurement don’t go to where your jeans end, this is not your waist. You waist is the smallest part of your torso, it is about where your rib cage ends and near where your belly button is. Again make sure the tape is even across the back and front. And also, again don’t suck in, though you might feel great about yourself, your clothes wont exactly fit correctly.
STEP 3
How to measure your hip:
I had trouble with the hip, it is definitely a tricky measurement. It is not where the top of your hipbone is, it is around the fullest part of your hip/butt area. I needed help for this measurement because the tape kept slipping into the wrong position or just off. You want the tape around the widest part of your hips and the fullest part of your butt. Again try and make it as level as possible.
STEP 4
How to measure your back length:
Call your friend over because this one is a two person job. This measurement runs from the nape of the neck down your spine to your waist (the same waist as before, again not where your pants sit.) The nape of the neck is where the neck meets the back, there is sometimes a bit of a bump there.
STEP 5
How to measure your sleeve length:
The sleeve length is another tricky one. Start at the top your shoulder, where your arm meets your torso, basically as if you were to draw a line from your armpit up to the top of your shoulder where the bone ends. The tape starts there and goes down to your wrist. Made sure your arm is a little out from your body, not flush against your side. Get your friend to read it because, trust me you can’t do it on your own.
STEP 6
How to measure your neck width:
This is pretty self-explanatory. Pull the tape around the middle of your neck, again across the back of the neck and around to the front. Make sure it’s comfortable, not too tight, not too high up, not too low.
STEP 7
How to measure you side leg length:
With your feet a little apart, start the tape at the side of your waist, over the fullest part of your hips and down to your ankle.
STEP 8
Note: For the next two measurements you will need to start the tape in the middle of your shoulder, not too far back and not too far forward. To figure out where it should start, look straight ahead and have you friend draw an imaginary line from the back of your ear down to your shoulder where the neck meets the shoulder.
STEP 9
How to measure your front waist length:
Once you have that starting point bring the tape down your front, over the fullest point of the bust and down to the waist. Keep the tape in a straight line if possible.
STEP 10
How to measure your bust point:
Using the same starting point on your shoulder, run the tape down to, what I have been told is called the apex of the bust (that is the fullest point on the bust.)
STEP 11
How to measure your upper arm circumference:
Let your arm hang at your side. Run the tape around the widest part of your bicep. Make a slight muscle, not a He-Man type muscle, just a little flexed. Again don’t pull the tape around too tight, or the sleeve will never be comfortable. A good way to regulate this is to make sure you can fit a finger between the tape and your arm.
So, that is all to do and you will have yourself a set of measurements. Hope you enjoyed the session?
...culled from burdastyle
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