HOW TO TAKE YOUR BODY MEASUREMENTS
We’ve been at this handmade clothing game for quite a while now and time and again customers have the same dilemma: they are a different size in every place they shop.
Are you a size 12 in one shop and a size 18 in another? It is super tricky.
This is where the beauty of tailoring comes in.
With our ‘Design your own’ service you get to pick from our garment designs + gallery of vintage + dead-stock fabrics for clothing made to your measurements.
Love the idea but unconfident about having to take and send us your measurements? No problem! Simply grab a friend and follow the steps in our easy ‘How to take your body measurements’ guide:
If that’s you then follow the each video and record all the measurements. Please do not add any extra to any of your measurements – we need your actual body measurements which we will then add ease to!
If you’re just interested in one garment type use this handy chart to see which measurements we need from you:
| Culottes / Trousers / Shorts | Waist, hips, leg length, rise | |
| Dungarees / Dungaree-culottes / Playsuits | Bust, waist, hips, leg length, rise | |
| Two-pieces / Dresses | Bust, waist, hips, top length (to waist), skirt length | Sleeve length, bicep (if required) |
| Tops | Bust, waist, top length | Sleeve length, bicep (if required) |
| Skirts | Waist, hips, skirt length |
STEP 1
Lift your arms and pass the tape measure around your back to meet at the front.
STEP 2
You want to make sure the tape measure is level all the way around the body in line with the nipple line.
STEP 3
Record the number of centimetres where the tape measure meets – this is your bust measurement.
STEP 1
Your waist is the narrowest point in your torso. It’s helpful to pull your top to be tight against the body so you can locate the narrowest point. Pass the tape measure around your back to meet at the front level with this narrowest point.
STEP 2
Record the number of centimetres where the tape measure meets – this is your waist measurement.
STEP 1
Your hip measurement is taken at the widest point of the bottom half of your body. It’s helpful to pull your trousers or skirt to be tight against the body so you can locate this widest point.
Pass the tape measure around your back to meet at the front level with this widest point.
STEP 2
You want to make sure the tape measure is level all the way around the body.
STEP 3
Record the number of centimeters where the tape measure meets – this is your hips measurement.
ABOVE THE KNEE
BELOW THE KNEE
MID-CALF
ANKLE LENGTH
FLOOR LENGTH
STEP 1
We start the leg length measurement from the waist as most of our designs are high-waisted. Locate your waistline which is the narrowest part of your torso: it’s helpful to pull your top to be tight against the body so you can locate the narrowest point.
STEP 2
Place the tape measure at your waistline and measure down the leg until you find the point at which you want your garment to end.
For instance: A mini-skirt may finish above the knee whilst a pencil skirt traditionally finishes just below the knee.
Remember it’s up to you how long you want the length of your garment to be!
We can always take a hem up to make your garment shorter but it’s far trickier to make a garment longer so if you’re unsure it’s always safer to measure a little longer than shorter.
STEP 1
Place the tape measure at your waistline and pass the tape measure between your legs.
STEP 2
Where the tape measure reaches your waistline in the centre of your back is your rise measurement.
We’d recommend getting a friend to help or to stand in front of a mirror to take this measurement to ensure you are reaching your waistline at the back and not reaching too high or too low.
Wrap your tape measure around the widest part of your upper leg. Where the tape measure meets is your leg circumference measurement.
TO WAIST
FOR TEE
Place the tape measure at the centre of your collarbones at the base of your neck and measure down the torso until you find the point at which you want your garment to end.
Our Crop-top is designed to end around the waistline + our Tee is designed to end around the hips.
We offer two types of sleeve length
A. SHORT SLEEVES
STEP 1
Place the end of the tape measure at the edge of your shoulder – just before where it starts to slope down.
STEP 2
Measure to where you would like your short sleeve to finish on your arm. Typically this is about one third of the way down the upper part of the arm.
B. THREE QUARTER LENGTH SLEEVES
STEP 1
Place the end of the tape measure at the edge of your shoulder – just before where it starts to slope down.
STEP 2
Measure to where you would like your three quarter length sleeve to finish on your arm. Typically this is about 5cm lower than your elbow.
Place the tape measure at the centre of your collarbones at the base of your neck and measure down the torso until you find the point at which you want your garment to end.
Our Crop-top is designed to end around the waistline + our Tee is designed to end around the hips.
We offer two types of sleeve length
A. SHORT SLEEVES
Wrap your tape measure around the widest part of your upper leg. Where the tape measure meets is your leg circumference measurement.
We offer two types of sleeve length
TIP 1
If you can then we recommend taking your measurements with the help of a friend.
If you don’t have a friend with you then take your measurements in front of a mirror.
TIP 2
Always take each measurement twice to make sure you are being accurate: write them down + check your second set of measurements against the ones you’ve written down.
TIP 3
Please take your measurements in centimetres rather than in inches (or both is fine!)
TIP 4
Make sure to use a proper soft tape measure (not a metal one) which can sit over the contours of your body.
Ready to get measuring but can’t find your tape measure? We’ve got a handy measurement kit with Emperor’s tape measure & measurement card to record them on as you go. Get your kit today.
When you’ve taken your measurements and you’re ready to get designing head to our Design Your Own page to pick your garment style, fabric and fill out the design form.
