06/10/2025
Body measurements
🔹 What Are Horizontal Measurements?
They’re the measurements that go around your body, from side to side.
Think of them like invisible belts wrapping around your bust, waist, hips, neck… all those crucial curves that make or break a fit.
Horizontal/round/width = circumference.
B – Bust
📏 What it means: Measure around the fullest part of your bust/chest.
🎯 Why it's important: Crucial for shaping tops and dresses. If this is off? Expect popping buttons and pulling seams.
RUB – Round Under Bust
📏 What it means: Wrap your tape just under your bust (where your bra band sits).
🎯 Why it's important: Used in empire waistlines, fitted bodices, corsets, and crop tops. It defines upper body shaping.
ROB – Round Over Bust
📏 What it means: Measure around your chest, above your bust (just under your armpits).
🎯 Why it's important: Helps balance bust shaping, especially in fitted tops, suits, and jackets.
W – Waist
📏 What it means: Measure around your natural waist,the smallest part of your torso (usually just above the belly button).
🎯 Why it's important: This is your control point for almost every outfit: skirts, gowns, pants, and bodices.
H – Hip
📏 What it means: Measure around the widest part of your hips/butt.
🎯 Why it's important: For shaping skirts, trousers, and dresses. Wrong hip measurement = disaster.
HD – Hip Depth (Vertical, but included here for combo use)
📏 What it means: From waistline down to the fullest part of your hip.
🎯 Why it's important: Helps in balancing top-to-hip ratios in skirts, pants, and dresses.
RT – Round Thigh
📏 What it means: Measure around the fullest part of one thigh.
🎯 Why it's important: For shorts, trousers, and jumpsuits. Too tight = can’t walk. Too loose = shapeless.
RL – Round Lap
📏 What it means: Slightly lower than thigh, where your leg folds when seated.
🎯 Why it's important: Important for fitted pants and seated comfort ,especially for tailored trousers.
RK – Round Knee
📏 What it means: Measure around your knee (standing straight).
🎯 Why it's important: For pencil skirts, pants, or dresses that taper to the knee.
R3Q – Round Three-Quarter
📏 What it means: Measure around your calf, between knee and ankle.
🎯 Why it's important: For shaping midi skirts and pants that stop mid-calf.
RA – Round Ankle
📏 What it means: Measure around the narrowest part of your ankle.
🎯 Why it's important: Used when drafting slim trousers, jumpsuits, or palazzo trousers with ankle cuffs.
RN – Round Neck
📏 What it means: Measure around the base of your neck.
🎯 Why it's important: For designing collars, neckline shaping, and comfortable turtlenecks.
N–N – Ni**le to Ni**le
📏 What it means: Horizontal distance between the apex (center) of each breast.
🎯 Why it's important: Vital for bust dart placements and princess seam shaping. No one wants lopsided busts 😩
RA – Round Armhole
📏 What it means: Wrap the tape around your shoulder and underarm to measure full armhole.
🎯 Why it's important: Helps shape armholes that won’t cut or gape. Especially for sleeveless designs.
RE – Round Elbow
📏 What it means: Measure around the elbow (slightly bent).
🎯 Why it's important: Ensures sleeve fit around the joint especially for ¾ or long sleeves.
RWR – Round Wrist
📏 What it means: Measure around your wrist.
🎯 Why it's important: For fitted cuffs, bangles, and long sleeves. No squeezing or sagging!
RB – Round Bicep
📏 What it means: Measure around the fullest part of your upper arm.
🎯 Why it's important: Prevents tight sleeves that won’t lift. Especially for fitted styles.
RS – Round Sleeve
📏 What it means: Total round of the sleeve opening.
🎯 Why it's important: Affects sleeve width and fit too tight? You won’t be able to move comfortably.
SL-L – Long Sleeve Length
📏 What it means: From shoulder tip to wrist.
🎯 Why it's important: For accurate sleeve cutting, especially in jackets and gowns.
SL-S – Short Sleeve Length
📏 What it means: From shoulder tip to desired short sleeve length.
🎯 Why it's important: For shaping cute tees, puff sleeves, or classic short sleeves.
Strap to Strap
📏 What it means: Horizontal distance from one shoulder strap to the other across your chest.
🎯 Why it's important: For strap tops, tank tops, off-shoulder designs, and neckline balance.
👗 WHAT ARE VERTICAL MEASUREMENTS?
These are measurements that run up and down the body – they tell you length.
They’re ESSENTIAL when you want your clothes to match your body proportion.
SH–B (Shoulder to Bust)
📏 What it means: Measure from the top of your shoulder straight down to the fullest part of your bust.
🎯 Why it's important: This helps you place your bust darts or princess seams in the perfect spot so your top fits your b***s nicely and doesn’t look weird or saggy.
SH–UB (Shoulder to Under Bust)
📏 What it means: From the top of the shoulder down to the point just under your bust (where your bra band sits).
🎯 Why it's important: Essential for creating empire waistlines (those tops or dresses that cut right under the bust). Also helps shape the garment so it hugs your upper body well.
SH–W (Shoulder to Waist)
📏 What it means: From shoulder tip to your natural waist (the smallest part of your torso).
🎯 Why it's important: Used to make sure your blouse, dress, or bodice ends exactly at your waist—no awkward cuts or rides up.
SH–H (Shoulder to Hip)
📏 What it means: From the shoulder straight down to the fullest part of your hip.
🎯 Why it's important: Controls the drop or flare of fitted tops, peplum blouses, and dresses—so your curves are respected not disrespected.
SH–K (Shoulder to Knee)
📏 What it means: From shoulder down to the knee cap.
🎯 Why it's important: Perfect when drafting gowns, pencil skirts, or fitted dresses that stop at the knee—this way, they’re not too short or too long.
SH–3Q (Shoulder to Three-Quarter)
📏 What it means: From shoulder to mid-calf (just between knee and ankle).
🎯 Why it's important: For drafting midi dresses or skirts—the classy, in-between length that gives rich aunty vibes.
SH–A/T (Shoulder to Ankle/Toe)
📏 What it means: From shoulder to your ankle or toe (for floor-length measurements).
🎯 Why it's important: Used for drafting full-length gowns, maxis, abayas, jumpsuits, or palazzo trousers.
SH–CL (Shoulder to Chest Line)
📏 What it means: From shoulder down to the upper part of your chest, above the bust.
🎯 Why it's important: Helps with placing chest darts and drawing princess lines that shape your top beautifully.
SH–EL (Shoulder to Elbow)
📏 What it means: From shoulder to your elbow (arm bent slightly).
🎯 Why it's important: Helps you get your sleeve length correct—especially for ¾ sleeve styles.
SH–WR (Shoulder to Wrist)
📏 What it means: From shoulder down to your wrist.
🎯 Why it's important: For long-sleeved clothes. You don’t want sleeves that stop awkwardly before your wrist.
HL (Half Length)
📏 What it means: Another name for Shoulder to Waist. Used for both front and back bodice drafting.
🎯 Why it's important: It’s a foundation measurement—you can’t create a correct blouse or dress without it.
TL (Top Length)
📏 What it means: From shoulder to where you want your top to stop.
🎯 Why it's important: For designing tops, blouses, or tunics—lets you choose if it's a crop, regular top, or longer blouse.
FL (Full Length)
📏 What it means: From shoulder down to wherever your outfit will end—ankle, knee, or floor.
🎯 Why it's important: Needed for drafting full garments like dresses, gowns, kaftans, or jumpsuits.
Crotch Depth
📏 What it means: Sit on a flat surface and measure from your waist down to the surface—this gives your body’s crotch depth.
🎯 Why it's important: Very important for trousers, shorts, and jumpsuits. If it’s wrong, your pants will either ride up (camel toe, oops!) or sag weirdly.
HU (Hip to Under Butt)
📏 What it means: From the fullest part of your hip to the fold under your butt cheek.
🎯 Why it's important: Helps with short outfits like bum shorts, rompers, and tight skirts so they don’t ride up and get uncomfortable.
