How to Take Useful Body Measurements for a First Costume

CostumeLine

Before you cut any fabric, you must first take some accurate measurements. If you’re planning on taking your own measurements, here’s a few tips:

  • Use a flexible measuring tape.
  • The tape should be lying flat against your body but not so tight that you’re compressing the flesh.

First, practice by taking measurements of your chest/bust, waist and hips and writing them down. Then, try doing it again without peeking at the numbers, and see if you get the same results. If you did, you’ve got the hang of taking circumferences!

When measuring circumferences, be mindful that the tape remains level, and doesn’t slant down in front or up in back. If you’re getting different numbers the second time, it could be the result of pulling the tape tighter/looser or letting it twist or shift around the body.

Some helpful measuring landmarks:

  • The waist is the indentation you create when bending to one side.
  • The bust/chest is the largest part of the torso.
  • Hips are measured at the widest part.

When measuring lengths, try to use landmarks rather than the picture of the costume. If you want to make a dress, it’s not as helpful to look at a picture of the dress and try to guess where it would end as it is to measure from the waist down, to your knees, or to the mid-calves, etc.

Body vs. Garment Measurements

It’s important to understand that the measurements of your body won’t be the same as the final measurements of a costume because they need to have enough room for you to move around! We can call this space ease. Woven (non-stretch) fabrics require ease to ensure you can lift your arms, sit down, take a deep breath, bend over and so on. Stretch fabrics may or may not require additional ease, depending on how you want them to fit, and if you’re planning on wearing layers or accessories underneath/over, it can add bulk to the garment and change the measurements.

When taking measurements, it’s important to keep this in mind so you don’t make the garment too tight for comfort. Sometimes in costume making, especially when just starting out, we get so caught up with making the perfect silhouette that we pull the tape too tight, not taking into account how the costume will feel when worn. It’s also important to be aware that you may want to alter measurements to accommodate other clothes underneath, if there are lots of puffy layers or you’ll be wearing shoes with heels…

It’s also important to keep in mind that we’re dealing with proportions, so if you happen to take your own measurements wearing underwear one day and not the next, this may affect the proportions when trying to make a pattern for your costume. It can affect it in a very slight way, but can throw off some measurements just enough to make the alterations easier or harder.

Before Cutting the Good Stuff!

Once you’ve taken all your necessary measurements, and transferred them to your simple pattern, it’s time to make a mock-up of your costume! A mock-up is just a reproduction of the garment using inexpensive materials to determine if you’re going to like the way it fits and looks on you before you cut into your precious costume materials. You may even pin/baste the pieces together loosely to test it. Then you can try it on to see how it fits in real life. Are the seams where they’re supposed to be? Is the neckline/waistline/armholes in the right places? Where do you want to put the zippers/buttons?

Once you put it on, move around to test the fit. Reach forward, raise your arms, turn around, sit down, as if you’re making pants, you want to make sure you can sit comfortably, and see how the garment moves on you. This is a very good time to discover problems that need fixing, which is what the mock-up is all about! Discovering problems now can save you headaches and expensive materials that might have otherwise been ruined!

This is also the time to think about embellishments or other decorations you may want to add to your costume. Will you want embroidery on it? Beaded belts or straps? What kind of closures do you want? Can you add some ruffles for flair? Once you have a good idea of the final product you’re going for, you’ll be ready to start cutting your final materials with confidence!