Taking measurements prior to dressmaking is an art since you need to combine patience, time and accuracy to get the job done. Before making any dress, we need to take measurements. We should include the necessary measurement tools in our dressmaking kit. The basic tool for measuring sizes is a tape measure. We can use a nylon or plastic tape measure for the purpose. Use the English standard measurement (i.e. inches).

Be prepared before proceeding to measure. Wear well-fitted undergarment and no bulky outfit. This is because oversized underwear may drastically affect the accuracy of measurements. For women, bras should fit well, and for men, boxers and other loose underwear should not be worn when in the session. Here we go:

1)      Stand correctly in good body posture – Stand uprightly, with eyes gazing straight ahead and both arms very relaxed at either side. The back should be ideally straight and shoulders in a relaxed state.

2)      The waist line – Put the measuring tape at the navel, let the tool fall naturally. The area where it fell is the waist line, the measurement we should take.

3)      The arm length – Place the tape measure at the top of the arm in the armpit area extending until the wrist. Bend the arm without taking off the tape. Take the measurement as the arm length.

4)      The chest – Put the tape measure under the arms. Wrap the tape measure around the area, specifically to the fullest bust line part.

5)      Measure the fullest part of the hip.

6)      Take back length measurement after determining the length from the base of the neck until the waistline.

7)      Measure the length from hip to heel to get the accurate leg measurement.

In taking measurements before dressmaking, it is a standard practice to measure the areas three times each session. There might be differences resulting from changes in positions and starting points of measurements. There is a need to do so to guarantee measurement accuracy.

Have fun!