Anatomy and body measurements

To create patterns, it is essential to have a set of points and measurements of the body and transfer them to a two-dimensional plane: the pattern.
Measurements are the distances that separate two points on the body, or the distance from one point to the same point following the contour of the body. For measurements to be valid, they must always be taken from the same points.

Internal and External Structures of the Human Body

The measurement points of the body can belong either to the internal structure or the external structure. Men and women share the same structure, so the measurements are taken in the same way.

Canons and Proportions

The human body follows a series of proportions that are useful both for the balance of the patterns we design, and also to create other patterns for different bodies, applying the technique known as grading.
The canons represent how many times a body part fits into the total height. They were developed by artists and later confirmed by scientists (doctors, statisticians, anthropometrists, etc.). The most famous are the canon of seven and a half heads and the canon of eight heads.

In pattern making we consider the body as symmetrical: the sagittal axis gives us the plane that theoretically divides the body into two equal halves.

Reference Points of the Human Body

Internal structure reference points:
• The seventh cervical vertebra
• The fourth lumbar vertebra
• The acromion
• The perineum
• The patella
• The external and internal malleolus
• The iliac crest
• The sternal notch
• The trochanter
• The vertex
• The heel
• The instep
• Scapula tip
• The elbow
• The wrist

External structure reference points:
• The nipple
• The navel
• The penis birth
• The tip neckline
• Axillary commissures
• The point of the buttock
• Sub mammary fold

Measurements

Before analyzing some of the most commonly used measurements in pattern making and tailoring, it is important to consider:
• Measuring session preparation
• Fitting waistband placement
• Different measurement types

Main Body Measurements:

1. Height
2. Trunk and Neck Measurements
   • Neck girth
   • Half breast girth
   • Tripartite breast girth
   • Half waist girth
   • Bi-acromial half diameter
   • Half back width
   • Half front width
   • Nipple distance
   • Armhole length
   • Length from the Nape to the Waist
   • Length from the nape to the waist front
   • Back to shoulder blade length
   • Sternal notch height
   • Shoulder length
   • Half front hip
   • Half back hip
   • Length from the nape to nipple
   • Breast rise
   • Drop and waist conformations
   • Half diameter or neck width
   • Armhole rectangle width and length
3. Upper Limb Measurements
   • Biceps contour length
   • Biceps contour
   • Elbow length from the acromion
   • Elbow contour
   • Wrist length
   • Wrist Contour
   • Cuff circumference
   • Wrist length from the spine
   • Elbow length from the spine
   • Front acromion height
   • Back acromion height
4. Lower Limb Measurements
   • Half hip girth
   • Back leg length
   • Lateral leg length
   • Front leg length
   • Hip length
   • Crotch length
   • Rise crotch
   • Seated rise crotch
   • Upper thigh length
   • Upper thigh contour
   • Length to thigh development
   • Thigh development contour
   • Knee-head length
   • The knee head contour
   • Knee length
   • Knee contour
   • Bent knee contour
   • Length at the calf head
   • Calf head contour
   • Calf development length
   • Calf development contour
   • Ankle length
   • Ankle Contour
   • Heel-instep contour