Thursday Tutorial: How Do You Measure For Custom Clothing

How to measure your doll

You may need one or more of the following tools

Yardstick, ruler, or measuring tape

String, yarn, shoestring, rope i.e. anything that can go around something and then can be measured

Measuring the waist- you want to measure the child’s waist where they usually wear their pants. 

Use the string and wrap around child’s waist, not tightly you want to allow about a thumb width of wiggle room. Then put the string next to a yardstick to get the measurement in inches.

Length- measuring with a yardstick or string measure from the waist (again wear they were their pants) down to where you want the pants to fall, whether that be to the floor, or to the top of the foot.  You will be measuring on the outside of their leg.  I would say that a good rule of thumb would be one inch up from the bottom of the heel.  Make sure you keep it tighter to the doll's leg.  I needed another hand as I was holding the measuring tape to her waist and taking the picture.

Head circumference for hats- using string measure around the child’s head where they would wear a hat, then measure the string with a ruler or yardstick. With this measurement you want exact so don’t allow any wiggle room, but when the hat is custom made the wiggle room will be taken into consideration.