Cherry Blossom Dress Sewalong Stage 1: Taking Measurements

Welcome to Tea and a Sewing Machine’s first ever sewalong! I’m very excited about this and I hope you enjoy making the Cherry Blossom Dress.

Before You Start

You did sign up for the emails didn’t you? If you did, I sent you some printables and you’re going to need the one that looks like this.

If you didn’t, don’t worry! You can still sign up for the emails here.

Printing this out will mean that you have somewhere to record your measurements, which is what we’re going to be doing today 🙂

You’ll also need your tape measure and a pencil. A friend or a mirror is also useful.

Tips For Taking Accurate Measurements

You might find it easier if you have somebody to help you. If you don’t, consider using a full length mirror so that you can check that the tape is straight when you are measuring.

When taking your measurements, don’t wear anything baggy or bulky! Leggings and a vest top or a close fitting tshirt are best.

A good quality plastic tape measure will be most accurate. The fabric ones sometimes stretch a bit, especially over time.

When measuring from your waist or your hips, dangle the tape measure so that the start of the tape measure is at the bottom. This will make it easier to read your measurement.

Keep the tape loose and don’t pull it too tight. You want to be able to breathe! It’s always easier to adjust something that is slightly too big than too small.

Bits You Need to Measure

Across your collar bone
From one shoulder to the other
Chest round under your armpits
Bust
Waist, where the tape measure rests comfortably.

You’ll also need to measure:
From the top of your shoulder to your waist
Top of your shoulder to your armpit. You’ll need to measure under your armpit because this is the measurement that will determine whether the armholes of the dress are big enough!
Top of your shoulder to where you took your bust measurement.
From your waist to just below your knee.

Record everything on your printable and put it in a safe place. You’ll need it on Friday when we draft the pattern pieces for the bodice!