A Complete Guide to Bespoke Tailors' Measurements

For a bespoke garment to be a piece of art do spare some time from your schedule to take correct measurements of your body. Take the help of a measuring tape. For correct measurements do take someone else to help. This will minimize the chance of error in measurements. Do not rely on the previous measurements as our body often changes with time and age. It is a saying that you should measure twice and write once for doubt free readings.

Readings should be taken to the nearest one-eighth of an inch. Do not add wiggle room to your measurements. Fitting will be adjusted against customers' preferences and body structure. While taking body measurements measuring tape should not be stretched too much and it should not have any twists, nor it should not be very loose.

Any tailor has a specific set of questions which help him make a perfect fit garment. Among these major question are about the Height of the person, His/Her Skin complexion, Weight, Color of Hair, Feet Size, Eyes Color and articles of clothing at the time of taking measurements. Some master craftsmen can also ask for the problem faced with previous garments and fittings.

Neck: Take measurements of the neck by measuring around it in the circular path of a collar. Special care to be taken is the reading should be taken from the lower part of the neck. The tape should be barely touching the skin, with some room for comfortable breathing.

Full Chest

Measure around the chest and body at its fullest part with breath in and hold the tape against the body tight enough so that it does not slip down, but not so tight that it is hampering breathing. Make sure the tape is parallel to the ground and the arms are by their side. After that take measurement with a normal breath. Double check this measurement and make sure not inflate out chest.

Full Shoulder Width

Take this measurement from one extreme of the shoulder to another. Double check measurement.

Right Sleeve

Right Sleeve is measured from the end of the right shoulder to the Pinch of the right hand. The Pinch of the hand is that point where the root of the thumb and the root of the index finger meet. Double check this measurement.

Left Sleeve

Take the measurements from the end of the left shoulder to the Pinch of the left hand to complete the arm or sleeve measurements.

Bicep

Carefully measure the fullest part of ones' bicep with the arms resting by side of the body. It is not required to take measurement s of the other side bicep.

Wrist

Take the measurements of the wrist of the customer from the point where it has the maximum reading. This time too you don't need to measure the other wrist.

Waist / Stomach

Now comes the most crucial part of the body and here too measure around the fullest part of the waist/Stomach.

Hips/Seat

Take the hip measurements around the section where it gives the maximum reading of buttocks.

Front Jacket Length

Measure straight down with the help of measuring tap the front from the base of the neck or uppermost part of the chest to the point level of thumb knuckle.

Front Chest Width

With the arms by their side, measure across the front of the chest from right to left. Start at the front side of the right armpit, go on measuring across the front of chest, and then stop at the front side of the left armpit. This is only the front part of the full chest measurement.

Back Width

Like the subsequent step with the person's arms by their side, measure across the back. Begin measuring at the back side of the right armpit, go on to measure across the shoulder blades, and then stop at the back side of the left armpit. Don't extend measurements up-to under the arms. This is only the back part of the full chest measurement taken earlier.

Right Half Shoulder Width

Using flexible measuring tape measure from the extreme of the right shoulder to the root of the right side of the neck. We call the Side of the Neck as the point at which the vertical part of the neck meets the horizontal part of the shoulder.

Left Half Shoulder Width

Measure from the extreme of the left shoulder to the root of the left side of the neck.

Full Back Length

Carefully measure from the root of the back of the neck to the floor. Here bottom of the back of the neck means the point at which the seventh cervical bone is. One can easily locate this point by bending forward so that the bone at the base of the neck becomes evident. Twice check these reading before noting it down.

Half Back Length

This is the measurement which starts from the root of the back of the neck to the top of the pants waistband area.

Trouser Waist

Measure around the waist at the level where one would normally wear pant’s belt. With the measuring tape measure tight around your waist, relax, and take the measurement. Don't get panic if these readings are greater than expected. Ready-made pants are generally labeled as being smaller than what they actually are.

Trouser's Outseam

Measure from the top of pant’s waistband to the floor along the outside of the leg. Make sure the tape is tight, that person is standing erect. Make sure to remove shoes before measuring.

Trouser's Inseam

Make sure to remove shoes and measure from the lowest part of your crotch area to the ground. Always make sure that the tape is tight along the inside of the leg, and then measure.

Crotch

Make sure not to take this reading too tight. Start from the front top of the pant's belt to the back top of the pant's belt.

Thigh

Measure around your thigh at the point where the reading is maximum or its widest point and you don't need to measure the other thigh.

Knee

With the help of measuring tape measure around the knee where the reading shows its maximum and don take the measurement of other knees.

Right Full Sleeve

Measure from the root of the right side of the neck to the pinch of the right hand. This is a crosscheck measurement just is to double check the measurement taken in previous steps.

Left Full Sleeve

Measure from the root of the left side of the neck to the pinch of the right hand. This is a fail-safe measurement to double check the measurement taken in previous steps.