Measurements

The measurement tables are the body data every pattern here is drafted from. Find the size that sits closest to your own measurements, then note where you differ — those differences become your pattern adjustments.

Choose your table

Women's tables

Sizes 32–54 at 168 cm and 16–27 for shorter proportions, in the B, C and D shapes.

Men's tables

Chest sizes across four height ranges, from short to extra tall, in the A to F builds.

How sizes work here

The tables follow the Swedish drafting standard, so a size is written as a number plus a letter — C38 or C50, for instance. The number is the bust or chest circumference in centimetres. The letter says how the rest of the body relates to it.

For women, B, C and D vary waist, hip and seat at the same bust measurement. C is the balanced proportion, B is straighter, D carries more curve.
For men, A to F describe the drop between chest and waist. C is the standard build, A and B are slimmer through the waist, D to F fuller.
Height is handled by picking a different table rather than a different letter — the vertical measurements change, the circumferences do not.

To compare these sizes with the labels on ready-to-wear clothes, the clothing sizes page lines them up against EU, UK, US and denim sizing.

Reading a table

Each column is one size; each row is one body measurement in centimetres. The highlighted column is the base size a pattern is drafted in — everything else is graded up or down from it.

Start from bust or chest, since that is what names the size. Then read down the column and compare the rest to your own numbers: waist, seat, back bodice length, sleeve length. Any row that is more than a centimetre or two off is worth writing down.

You will not match a column exactly

Almost nobody does. Pick the closest bust or chest value, take the differences you noted, and adjust the pattern from there — that is what the tables are for.

Before you start

Comparing yourself to a table only works if your own numbers are good. The measuring guide walks through every measurement with a diagram showing where the tape goes.

Once you have them, the ease reference explains how much room to add on top of the body — a garment that measures exactly your body will not let you move.