COLL
SUAL
ECTI
Unit 1 ON
CA
Body
Measurements
Presentation By
Thogai Shri.M
Assistant Professor
Costume Design and fashion
Need for Body Measurements
Perfect body measurement is every designer's aim
to satisfy the collection's theme. Body
measurement plays a vital role in the fitting, style
of the dress, looks, and durability. A perfect body
measurement helps maintain the fabric's quality
with effective use of fabric in a better way.
The fabric material can run out of supply or waste
Ensures proper fitting of the garment.
To draft patterns and bring variations from it
Enhances the personality of the wearer.
Makes one feel comfortable.
Measuring tape:
should be sturdy,
should not stretch, not too
stiff it must be pliable
note:
while taking measurements the person should not wear
heavy or bilk dress
The peraon should stand stright (perpendicular to
ground)
The pockets should be empty and flat
The measurements taken should be not too toght or too
loose
Always take at snug fit
Types of
Measurement
Vertical measurement
Horizontal measurement
circumferential measurement
Bodice Measurement
1. Bust: Measure around the fullest part of the bust raising the measuring tape slightly to a level just below
the shoulder blades at the back.
2. Waist: Measure snugly around the waist (where you tied the cord) keeping the tape parallel to the floor.
3. Neck: Measure around the neck, passing the tape just above the collar bone in front and along the base
of the neck at the back.
4. Shoulder: Measure from the neck joint to the arm joint along the middle of the shoulder.
5. Front waist length: Measure down from neck at highest point of shoulder to waist line through the
fullest part of the bust .
6. Shoulder to bust: Measure down from highest point of shoulder to tip of bust.
7. Distance between bust points: Measure in the horizontal direction, the distance between the two bust
points.
Note: Measurements 6 and 7 are needed for locating the position of darts.
8. Back width or across back measurement: Measure across the back from armhole to armhole about 3
inches below base of neck.
9. Back waist length: Measure from the base of neck at the centre back to waist line
10. Armscye depth: Measure from base of neck at centre back to a point directly below it and in level with
the bottom of the arm where it joins the body.
Sleeve measurements
1. Upper arm circumference : Measure around the fullest part of the arm.
2. Lower arm: Measure around the arm at desired level corresponding to lower edge of sleeve.
3. Elbow circumference: Measure around the arm at elbow.
4. Wrist: Measure around the wrist.
5. Sleeve length: For short sleeve length, measure down from tip of shoulder at top of arm to desired
length of sleeve.
For elbow length sleeve measure from top of arm to elbow point.
For full length, bend the elbow slightly and measure down from top of arm to back of wrist passing the
tape over the elbow point.
Waist: Same as for bodice.
1. Hip: Measure around the fullest part of the hip horizontally. (This level will be about 7 to 9 inches
below the waist for an average figure).
2. Waist to hip: Measure down from waist at centre back to fullest part of the hip .
18. Skirt length: Measure down the centre back from waist to desired length of skirt. Length from waist to
the floor can be taken at the same time and the difference between the two noted. This difference will
give the number of inches the skirt is above the floor level.
After taking your measurements, compare them with the
"Sample Measurements for Ladies'
Garments" given in Table I. Any measurement which appears too small or exaggerated must be
rechecked at once
CHILDREN'S MEASUREMENTS
Table 2 presents sample measurements
Children's garments, Till 5 years, measurements are the same for boys and girls. From 6-12 years the
measurements listed in the table are girls' measurements.
If you compare this table with the Ladies Measurement Table, you will find that some additional
measurements are listed here. These are explained below.
1. Thigh girth: Measure around the widest part of thigh. This measurement is useful while stitching
children's short pants, girls' bloomers etc., especially if you are inserting elastic in the thigh part of
the garment.
2. Cervical height: Take the height vertically from the nape of the neck to the ground.
3. Crotch length: Measure from the centre back waist under the crotch to the centre front waist.
This measurement is useful for pants, pyjamas etc.
4. Frock length: Measure down from neck at highest point of shoulder to desired length along the front.
5. Chest: For children and men, bust measurement explained under Ladies' Measurements is referred
to as 'Chest Measurement.
BOYS' AND MEN'S MEASUREMENTS
Table 3 displays sample measurements for boys, and Table 4 for men's garments (See Appendix at the
end of the book). It can be seen from these tables that fewer measurements are needed for men's and
boys' garments than women's garments and that many measurements are common for both. Some
measurements which have not been mentioned so far are explained below.
Shirt length should be measured from neck at highest point of shoulder to desired length along the
front,
Pant length is measured from waist to ankle along the side of the body.
Cuff measurement is estimated by measuring the wrist loosely and adding 1" overlap extension to it.
Girth
The girth is the widest point of a person’s abdominal area and is
best measured with a tape measure to obtain the
circumference of the girth. The word girth now means
circumference – you can measure the circumference of any
part of the body
Learn from assignment
Reference link
Standards
The metric system is the standard system of measurement AROUND
THE WORLD. It was developed and implemented during or after the
French Revolution (1785–1800). The United States uses this system of
measurement in the areas of Science and Engineering
National Bureau of Standards
ISO (international organization for standardisation)
ASTM ( American society for testing and materials)
ANSI ( American national standard institute)
ASIAN STANDARDS
Chinese, Japanese,Korean, Australian, German,
French,
British
AMERICAN STANDARDS- US
Continental European women's sizes
Italian (IT), French (FR) and German (DE) standard dress sizes, s, are
calculated by bust circumference, b, and body height, h, both measured
in centimetres, as follows:
IT: s = b/2
FR: s = b/2− 4 = b − 8/2
DE: s = b/2− 6 = b − 12/2
short, petite, h < 164: s' = s/2= b/4− 3 = b − 12/4
tall, h > 170: s' = 2 × s = b − 12
French sizes are also used by Belgian manufacturers and retailers, while
German sizes are also used by Austrian, Dutch and Scandinavian ones.
It outlines 5 steps before cutting a fabric:
1) soaking the fabric for 2-4 hours,
2) hanging the fabric to dry without squeezing,
3) letting it dry naturally or on a line,
4) checking that the grain is straight, and
5) ironing out any creases if needed.
Is it necessary to cut on grain??
What is a grain line? How to find it?
what are the three grain lines?
What happens if u don’t cut on grain line?
Grain lines are: The direction of the fiber that are woven
together
note: Using the grain lines, patterns are cut
so as the flow of the fabric is neat without any twirls or twist
3 Grain lines to be aware of:
Length wise/ Straight Grain lines
Cross Grain
Bias
Woven fabrics have 2 Selvedges
Straight grain has warp yarns that lie ||l to Selvedges
Symbol to mention Symbol for
straight grain onfold
Coss Wise grain: The weft yarns pass through as cross grain
they run from selvedge to selvedge
Bias : the fall diagonal to length wise grain
they have a very good stretch
they are used at finishing of curves and necklines
few garments can also be cut on bias as they wrap around neatly
One Grain-Off Grain
When a fabric is “on-grain,” the lengthwise and
crosswise threads are at an exact right angle to
each other. Woven fabrics always follow the
grain because they are made with the actual
warp and weft threads. With wovens, when the
grain is off, so is the pattern
Importance of grain line in construction:
1. The grain is very important when constructing garments
since it determines how a garment will hang, fit and
appear on you.
2. The Design ( print/ check) vil fall straight and neat
3. If your pattern pieces are not cut on grain, your fabric
really will stretch and grow as you wear it
4. There vil be no perfect fit of the garment
5. straight grain-The straight grain is the grain used most
often in garments.
Steps done before Fabric cutting:
1. Pre-wash your fabric to stop future shrinkage, and remove
excess dyes and chemicals from the production process. This
is optional when quilting.
2. Dry your fabric. A tumble dryer is ideal as it will further pre-
shrink your fabric, but it’s optional.
3. If you’re using a fabric that requires dry cleaning, not washing,
then steam it using your iron to pre-shrink it.
4. Iron your wrinkled fabric. You need it to be flat in order to cut
your pattern pieces accurately.
5. Check the fabric grain lines have not been distorted
Methods of Straightening fabric Grain
1. Stretching method
2. steam press method
3. immersion method
1. Stretching method
The simplest method of making a fabric grain perfect is by
stretching it. Open up the fabric, keep it near the corner of
a table and pull it on the true bias in the correct direction
as shown in the figure. After pulling for some time, fold the
fabric and check for grain perfectness as you did before.
This process may have to be repeated several times.
2. Steam press method
The fabric can also be, clip the selvedge at intervals,
sprinkle water on the fabric and press with a hot iron
in the appropriate direction (instead you may press
with a steam iron) till the fabric becomes grain
perfect.
If the nature of fabric is only dry cleaning
follow this step
3. Immersion method:
This is the mos effective method for straightening washable fabrica.
Fold the fabric lengthwise, tack the selvedges together, immerse it in
water until it is completel wet, and then squeeze out excess water.
Hang up the fabric till it is half dry. Now place it near the corner of a
table and carry out the stretching process to make it grain perfect.
(Keep paper or cloth underneath to prevent the fabric from getting
soiled or stained from the wooden table-top). After straightening,
keep it on a flat surface and dry.
When dry, press with an iron and remove the tacking stitches along
the edges.
Note: Fabric grain can be straightened by pulling the fabric in
the bias direction only if the fabric has been sized with a
removable substance like starch.
Resin treated fabrics which are finished off-grain will not
straighien by pulling and hence you have to disregard grain in
these fabrics.
