You can take almost all your sewing measurements alone with a flexible tape measure, a full-length mirror, a piece of narrow elastic tied around your waist and your phone's camera timer. Wear the underwear you will wear under the garment, keep the tape level and snug but not tight, take each measurement twice and write it down in centimeters straight away. For the few you cannot reach, such as back waist length and shoulder width, use a wall, a strip of masking tape or a garment that fits.
Measuring alone takes about 20 minutes the first time. Do it carefully once and you can sew from those numbers for months.
What do I need?
- A flexible tape measure, ideally 150 cm (60 in) long and marked in both cm and inches. Check it against a ruler: old tapes stretch.
- A length of narrow elastic or ribbon, about 1 m (1 yd), to mark your waist.
- A full-length mirror, or a phone propped on a shelf with the camera timer or a video running.
- Masking tape, a pencil, a hardback book and a notebook.
- Fitted underwear only. Over clothes, girths come out 2 to 4 cm (3/4 to 1 1/2 in) too big.
How do I mark my body landmarks first?
Marking first makes every measurement more consistent:
- Waist. Tie the elastic around your middle and move around for a minute, bending side to side. It settles at your natural waist, the narrowest part of the torso, where a crease forms when you bend sideways. Every waist-based length starts from it.
- Neck base. Put on a thin chain necklace: it rests at the base of the neck. At the back, find the bone that sticks out when you bend your head forward, and stick a small piece of masking tape on it if you can reach.
- Shoulder point. Lift your arm sideways: the dip that forms at the top of the shoulder marks the shoulder point. Mark it with tape on both sides.
- Bust point. The fullest point of the bust, in your usual bra. A small sticker helps.
How do I measure the girths alone?
Girths are the easy part. Stand relaxed with your feet together and look straight ahead; watch the mirror to keep the tape level all the way around, especially at the back.
| Measurement | Where | Solo tip | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bust | Fullest part, level | Hold the tape's end under one arm, wrap with the other hand | Tape rises at the back |
| High bust | Under the arms, above the bust | Tape a little higher at the back | Confused with underbust |
| Underbust | Under the bust, snug | Breathe out normally first | Too loose |
| Waist | Over the elastic | Keep one finger under the tape | Holding your breath in |
| High hip | About 10 cm (4 in) below the waist | Over the hip bones | Not level |
| Hip | Fullest part of hips and seat | Check the side view in the mirror | Measured too high |
| Upper arm | Fullest part, arm relaxed | Let the arm hang while you wrap it | Flexing the muscle |
| Neck | Base of the neck | Follow the necklace line | Too high on the neck |
| Head | Across the forehead, above the ears | For hats | Over hair clips |
Read the tape where it meets the zero end, in the mirror or by looking down, and pinch it there with your thumb before letting go.
How do I measure lengths without help?
Lengths are where a helper is useful, and where these tricks replace one.
Height. Stand with your back to a wall, heels against it, no shoes. Lay a hardback book flat on your head, touching the wall, mark under it, step away and measure from the floor.
Back waist length. From the neck bone down the spine to the waist. Tape the end of the measure to the neck bone with masking tape, or hook it under the necklace at the back, let it hang along your spine, and read where it crosses the elastic in the mirror, with your back half-turned. A photo with the camera timer makes reading easy.
Front waist length and bust height. From where the shoulder meets the neck, over the bust point, down to the elastic; read the bust height at the bust point on the way. Both are easy alone, looking down.
Shoulder width. Across the back from one shoulder point to the other. Alone, the reliable way is to measure a woven shirt that fits you well at the shoulders, seam to seam across the back, and check it against the tape marks on your shoulders in the mirror.
Arm length. From the shoulder point, over a slightly bent elbow, to the wrist bone. Tape the end at the shoulder point, rest your hand on your hip, and run the tape down with the other hand.
Waist to hip, knee and floor. Down the side, from the elastic. For waist to floor, stand barefoot on the end of the tape and pull it up to the elastic.
Inseam. Stand against a wall, hold a hardback book between your legs, spine up, pressed gently into the crotch, and mark the wall at the top of the book. Measure from the mark to the floor. Or measure the inside leg of trousers that are the right length.
Crotch depth. Sit upright on a hard, flat chair. With a ruler or the tape held vertically at your side, measure from the waist elastic down to the seat of the chair.
More on each measurement, with drawings, in our guide to taking body measurements and on the body measurements page.
How do I check that my numbers are right?
- Take each one twice, a few minutes apart. Use the average if the two differ by less than 1 cm, and measure again if they differ by more.
- Check the relations. The underbust should be smaller than the bust, the inseam shorter than waist to floor, and the hip usually larger than the waist. A waist much larger than the hip usually means one of the two was not measured all the way around.
- Compare with a garment you like. Lay a top or trousers that fit you flat and measure them: the garment should be your measurement plus some ease.
- Write the date next to the numbers, and measure again every few months, or after a change in weight, training or pregnancy.
Sewly's measuring assistant explains each measurement as you go and flags numbers that do not look like a body: an underbust larger than the bust, an inseam longer than waist to floor, or a value outside the plausible range, which often means a unit mix-up. Height, bust, waist and hip are enough to start a pattern; the others are filled in from the nearest size and you can replace them as you measure. With your lengths in hand, the petite and tall adjustments become straightforward.
Should I measure in centimeters or inches?
Use whichever your tape and patterns use, and never mix the two in one set. Centimeters are easier for sewing arithmetic (no fractions), and many people measure in centimeters and convert at the end: 1 in is 2.54 cm.