How to Take Body Measurements for Sewing: Step-by-Step Guide

A made-to-measure sewing pattern is only as good as the numbers you give it. Ten careful minutes with a tape measure saves hours of unpicking later. This guide shows you how to take body measurements for sewing the right way: what to wear, where each measurement goes, and how to check your numbers before you cut fabric.

What you need

• A soft tape measure, ideally one marked in both centimetres and inches.
• A mirror, or better, a friend to help. Back and shoulder measurements are hard to take alone.
• A thin piece of elastic or string to tie around your waist.
• The underwear and light clothing you will wear under the finished garment.
• A pen and paper, or the measurement chart at the end of this guide.

The golden rules of measuring

1. Measure over light clothing, never over a thick sweater or a coat.
2. Keep the tape level all the way around the body. Check the back in the mirror; a tape that dips at the back adds centimetres.
3. Snug, not tight. You should be able to slide one finger under the tape. Do not pull it in.
4. Stand naturally with your feet together and breathe normally. Do not hold your stomach in.
5. Write each number down straight away, then measure everything a second time. If the two numbers differ by more than 1 cm, measure a third time.
6. Use one unit. Pick centimetres or inches and stay with it for the whole chart.

How to take body measurements for sewing: the key numbers

Bust or chest

Measure around the fullest part of the chest, under the arms and across the shoulder blades. Keep the tape level across the back. For women's patterns, wear the bra you will wear with the garment, because it changes this number.

Waist

Tie the string around your middle and bend from side to side. It settles at your natural waist, usually the narrowest point and a little above the belly button. Measure along the string.

Hips

Stand with your feet together and measure around the fullest part of the hips and seat. This is often lower than people expect, around 18 to 23 cm below the waist. Look in the mirror from the side to find the fullest point.

Shoulder

Measure from the base of the neck to the edge of the shoulder bone, where the arm starts to turn down. For an across back or full shoulder measurement, go from one shoulder edge to the other across the back.

Length

For a top, shirt or kameez, measure from the highest point of the shoulder, right next to the neck, straight down to where you want the hem. For a dress, use the same start point. Our kameez and tunic measuring guide covers slits, armholes and the other numbers a kameez needs.

Sleeve

Let the arm hang with the elbow slightly bent. Measure from the shoulder edge, over the elbow, down to the wrist bone. For short or three-quarter sleeves, stop where you want the sleeve to end.

Trousers and shalwar

For trousers you also need the outside leg (waist to ankle along the side), the inside leg or inseam (crotch to ankle) and the crotch depth. These are easy to get wrong, so we explain them step by step in how to measure for trousers.

Common measuring mistakes

• Measuring a garment instead of the body. A pattern needs body measurements. If you copy numbers from a shirt you own, the ease is counted twice and the new garment comes out too big.
• Measuring yourself in a hurry. The back of the tape drops, the shoulder point moves, and the numbers drift. Ask someone to help.
• Rounding too much. Write 92.5 cm, not "about 90". A 2.5 cm error at the bust is a whole size.
• Old numbers. Bodies change. Measure again for every new project if the last chart is more than a few months old.

Ease: why the pattern is bigger than you

Your body measurements are not the finished garment size. A pattern adds ease, extra room so you can move, sit and breathe. A fitted shirt might add 6 to 8 cm at the bust; a loose kurta adds much more. Digital Creation adds the right ease for each design, so always enter body measurements. Read what ease is in sewing to see how much each style adds and why.

Record your measurements

Copy this list into a notebook or your phone and fill it in:

• Bust or chest
• Waist
• Hips
• Shoulder
• Across back
• Top or kameez length
• Sleeve length
• Upper arm (around the fullest part)
• Outside leg and inseam (for trousers)
• Date measured

Keep it somewhere safe. You will use the same chart for every made-to-measure pattern.

Check before you cut

Two quick checks save good fabric:

1. Print the test square on the first page of the pattern and measure it. If it is not exactly the right size, fix your print settings first. Our guide on printing PDF sewing patterns at actual size shows how.
2. Make a toile. A quick test garment in cheap fabric shows fit problems while they are still easy to fix. See how to make a toile or muslin.

Turn your measurements into a pattern

Once your chart is ready, enter the numbers in the pattern builder and download a pattern drafted to your size, with tiled A4 and US Letter pages, an A0 sheet and a projector file. Selling clothes in standard sizes instead? Create a sewing pattern from a product photo and size chart and get every size at once.