One of the most important things in sewing for yourself is to get accurate measurements! It is also much harder than it sounds. I had my sister take a few quick pictures of me measuring so I could explain and give a few tips.
I took my pictures in a tight tank. I recommend taking your measurements in a thin/tight shirt or even just in the bra you are going to normally wear. (This is especially important if you are going to be making a more formal garment and plan on wearing a different bra for it- think strapless, push up, etc).
I HIGHLY recommend measuring in front of a mirror! This helps you really see where you are measuring and if you are holding it evenly around your body. It can mean a big difference!
On all measurements breath normally! Most people want to take a big breathe in and then take them— no need! Patterns are drafted with ease to breathe and move normally 🙂 So breathe in and out, then measure. You want to hold the tape snug to your body, but not squeezing.
Here are some common measurements needed for a pattern:
Bust— Full bust is around the fullest/biggest part of your bust. You want the tape as even horizontally as possible.
Over Bust– This is taken around upper back, under arms and over your bust.
Under Bust– This is taken directly under your bust around back. Try to keep your tape as even horizontally as possible.
High Hip– This is taken around your hip bones (this is where I like to wear my pants 😉 and most youth patterns are drafted to hit)
Hip– This is a deceiving name. It is measured around your fullest/biggest part, which is usually your booty. Most definitely my booty is my biggest part 😉 Try to keep your tape as even horizontally as possible (a mirror really helps on this one!)
Waist– This is your natural waistline. Contrary to most belief, it is NOT your belly button or where you wear your pants (even though you might like high waisted pants). It is taken at the smallest part of your mid section. if you don’t have a very defined natural waist there is a very easy way to find it.
Take any kind of stretch trim, fold over elastic, thin elastic, even a strip of knit will work, and tie it snuggly around your mid section. Now MOVE around, bend walk around, sit down, it will naturally settle on your smallest part.
This is your natural waist 🙂
Side Waist Length– Taken from your armpit vertically down to your natural waist. This measurement is vital in any pattern that should hit as your natural waist like the Sweetheart Dress or Boundless Knit Dress. Making sure this measurement is accurate will give you the most flattering fit. If the seam doesn’t hit you at that smallest point then you’re not using it to your advantage 😉
You can see here mine is about 8.75″. For reference the avg is 8″. I’m 5’10” :).
*Updated* I had a few more questions about the side waist length. So I’ve added a couple more pictures— THIS is how much I LOVE my group, I’m willing to put up pictures in my sports bra 4 months after I had a baby!!!! They are cropped very well 😉
Start with your arms DOWN. You want your tape to start where your crease naturally lies— not all the up to your arm. Think where you’d like your shirt to be (if it’s all the way up as tight as possible then it is uncomfortable and you can’t move your arms around).
This was such a hard picture to get! But here are the best we could get to explain… yes, I taped the tape to myself lol!!!
Thigh- Taken around thigh close to crotch, keeping the measuring tape flat horizontally around.
Total Crotch Length- Taken from back center natural waist, under booty, through legs, and up to center front natural waist. You will want the tape pulled taut. The easiest way I think is to tape the center back and then pull through front and read at the front. These are measured with tight, high waisted yoga pants here:
Inseam- Taken from crotch to where you’d like hem of pants. Notice the close up of my ankle here. The difference between ankle height (for skinny leg options like Peg Legs and SOS pants) and a floor length is 3″ on me! That’s a big difference!
Arm length-from armpit to hem of shirt. Most P4P patterns are meant to hit at the base of thumb, so past the wrist. It’s just a personal preference of mine– so if you prefer the traditional wrist length here is where you’d want to measure against the finished measurement in the pattern.
Finished lengths- I will use “inside shoulder to hem” on some shirts and “armpit to hem” on others depending on which is easiest to measure on that particular pattern. Here are both:
Take your time measuring yourself to ensure great fit! It will make a big difference in how happy you are with the outcome!
How to measure finished sleeve length from shoulder? I’m trying to figure out how much I need to shorten sleeves of the pumpkin spice dolman. 🙂 thanks!
You can do just that, measure from your inside shoulder to your wrist (with bent arm). Then compare to the pattern pieces (minus seam and hem allowances).
I’m not exactly sure where inside shoulder is? Is it beside your shoulder at the front on your chest, near the top of the collar bone? Or is it from the top of your shoulder where a shoulder seam normally would be? Thanks 🙂
Think about where your neckline would hit on a blouse 🙂 on the top of your shoulder close to the base of the neck.
Thank you!! And would I run the tape measure behind the elbow, in front, or on the side of my arm? I notice a big difference whether I measure from in front or my back down the back side of the elbow.
I would use your longer estimate/measurement– you can always hem up with a bigger allowance or trim some off it you feel it’s too long 🙂 It’s trickier to add the length back if it comes up too short!
a comment and a question 🙂 you look really great with just a 4 month old in those pics! i wouldn’t worry a bit about that! question: i noticed that when you measured the finished length from the armpit you’re leaning over a bit. was that intentional? thank you!!
No, just trying to look down at it 😉
Hi. I’m confused by the high hip and hip measurements. From the pictures, it looks as though the hip measurement is taken at the actual hip joint (across the fullest part of the thighs and bottom). The written description says the high hip is measured at the hip bones though. Does that really mean the hips? Or is that the pelvic bones that most people refer to as their hips? I’m probably over-thinking it but this will be my first attempt at using knits for adult clothes and after LOTS of reading and reasearch and then finally finding the perfect fabric, I really don’t want a complete failure just because I messed up on taking measurements, Thank you!!
Hips are taken at full hip/biggest part around you in that general area. That is around your fullest part of your booty (this will vary slightly with your body type, fitness, age, ect. exactly where it is vertically on your body).
High hip is taken where you generally would wear “hip hugger” jeans, where most people refer to “their hips”.
I hope that helps clarify!
What about crotch depth? I find it really difficult to get these Peg Legs looking right at the crotch area. There seems to be lots of creasing in the front. I’ve taken them in at the front crotch, but creases are still there.
This is a measurement that I find controversial, and I am going to tell you how I solve my problem. I have almost had wrinkles in front and back forever. The way I solved the problem was to lengthen the inside point of the crotch seam on front and back, Sometimes this measurement is not the same for the front and the back, and it was trial and error for me. After adding to the pattern length at that point, graduate the line down to the pattern until it meets your pattern. What you want with this adjustment is a bit more fabric in the waist front to the waist back length. This is an adjustment that you can easily undo if it is not what works for you. I measure the pattern, then measure my crotch depth to find the amount to lengthen that line. Sometimes the front pattern needs to have more length added than the back measurement. (I have plenty of ‘meat’ in my back area.)
First: You look AMAZIng. I cannot believe you just had a baby in these pics! Secondly, thank you so much for the detailed explanation and pics. I’m in the P4P facebook group and some have mentioned “side waist” measurements and I had no clue what they were talking about!