Measurements - Baring It All

On our way to knitting some really great sweaters to wear, we need to take the dreaded measurements.    My suggestion to you is to bring in your best friend and measure each other.  Sure, you can measure yourself, but some of these measurements are a bit tricky without a helping hand.

Make yourself a spreadsheet and date the top of it.  I periodically (every few years) like to pull mine back out and re-measure just to see if my fitbit/weight watchers/my fitness pal/my whatever the weight control thingy of the month is working.

Over the years, I've taken several classes and in each one I've been measured. There must be something about finding just the right fit class (we'll review those down the road), that has me searching for the body that I want to have, rather than the one I have.  The fit classes I have taken since the year I went to TKGA in Michigan are from Barry Klein, Judy Chan (the one that helped me the most all those years ago), Amy Herzog's Craftsy Class and I have both of her books.

Measurements are super important!   My suggestion is to do as I did last year and wear something close to the body when you are getting measured to make sure that you are really getting accurate measurements.  WARNING!  I VERY MUCH DISLIKE THIS PICTURE, BUT IT TELLS ME WHAT I MUST DO IF I WANT TO CHANGE!

So, now that we have that over with, grab a new tape measure, I say new because if you have been using the same one since forever, those little tapes do stretch and as long as we are starting out on this adventure, we might just as well, have a new tape measure to start with.

Make an excel spreadsheet to keep tabs on your measurements or cut and paste the list below into a nice little worksheet that you can keep nearby when starting on your sweater adventure.  Grab your friend and let the measuring begin.

Bust - years ago I just measured the fullest part of the bust, but I am hearing from other camps that under the arm measurement may be good for getting a good fit on the shoulders
Waist
Hip - Fullest part of your hips.  I, also, take the measurement right around the tank hits above (aka my belly)
Back Length, I take two measurements, the one that goes from that bone in the base of your neck to your waist, but also the bone to wear I want my sweater to be finished at
Neck Width - measuring across the back of the neck
Shoulder Width  - measuring across the back from one shoulder bone to the other (for me since I am so narrow shoulder, this measurement is very important
Waist to Underarm - Stick a straight knitting needle under your arm and measure to the knitting needle
Underarm to the sleeve length you like and to 3/4 sleeve and to elbow sleeve and to short sleeve length
(use the knitting needle again as a measuring point)
Armhole Depth - using the straight knitting needle again to measure from, measure to the top of the shoulder or if easier, measure from the back to the front and then choose 1/2 the measurement as your armhole depth.  Again, this is a useful measurement for me to make sure that my sleeves aren't too tight in the armpit.
Upper Arm Circumference - Next to my hip measurement, this is the one thing I dislike most about my measurements.  What can I say, I inherited these pelican arms.  Thats my story and I am sticking  with it.
Wrist Circumference - Besides my fingers, this is the smallest part of my body, oh why, could I not have the body to go with my wrist and fingers?!  :)

Ready, set, measure!