MEASURING JACKETS

Chest Width

1) The jacket is zipped or buttoned closed and placed on a flat surface with the back facing down.
2) Smooth out wrinkles, bulges and creases, and SLIGHTLY stretch the garment in length to make sure you are getting as close to a smooth, linear measure as possible that incorporates the true length of material to be measured.
3) Measure across the width of the jacket front from one armpit to the opposite armpit at the widest part of the jacket, stopping at the end of the jacket’s sides; the object is to measure exactly half of the jacket’s chest circumference. A jacket’s chest width does not necessarily equal a measure from one side seam to the opposite side seam, as some jackets do not have front panels and back panels that are equal in size, thus measuring the fabric or leather that may extend beyond the side seams is required to truly reflect the chest width.
4) Jackets made of bulky leathers and fabrics with side seams need extra attention to be certain that none of the sides are curled too far back or forward.
5) The measure you derive from this exercise is now doubled, thus yielding the total EXTERNAL circumference of the jacket’s chest.

1) The jacket is zipped or buttoned closed and placed on a flat surface with the front facing down.
2) Smooth out wrinkles, bulges and creases, and SLIGHTLY stretch the garment in length to make sure you are getting as close to a smooth, linear measure as possible that incorporates the true length of material to be measured.
3) Place the measuring tape at the junction seam where the collar is sewn into the jacket back body, then continue measuring in a straight line down the center spine of the jacket, stopping at the end of the jacket bottom. If the jacket has a knit waistband, include the waistband in your measure, attempting to maintain a smooth, linear measure. The total measure you obtain is the jacket’s back length.

1) The jacket is zipped or buttoned closed and placed on a flat surface with the front facing down.
2) Smooth out wrinkles, bulges and creases, and SLIGHTLY stretch the garment in length to make sure you are getting as close to a smooth, linear measure as possible that incorporates the true length of material to be measured.
3) Place the measuring tape on the outside edge of the shoulder seam of either side of the jacket. Measure a straight line across the jacket’s back to the opposite side outside edge of the shoulder seam. Do NOT follow the curvature of the shoulder! The total measure you obtain is the jacket’s shoulder width.

1) The jacket is zipped or buttoned closed and placed on a flat surface with the front facing down.
2) Smooth out wrinkles, bulges and creases, and SLIGHTLY stretch the garment in length to make sure you are getting as close to a smooth, linear measure as possible that incorporates the true length of material to be measured.
3) Place the measuring tape on the outside UPPERMOST edge of the shoulder seam of either side of the jacket. Measure a straight line down the jacket’s sleeve, including the knit cuff if it has this feature, and note the termination point of your measure. If the jacket has a marked curvature to the outside sleeve as the L-2 jacket in this image does, do NOT follow this curvature and remain on straight line to the cuff termination while endeavoring to stay as close as you can to the longer, outer edge of the sleeve. Depending on the material the jacket is made from (leather, nylon, cotton, wool, etc.), you will notice more or less curvature to the outside sleeve edge; stiffer materials make it easier to follow the flow of this edge.
4) The total measure you obtain is the jacket’s sleeve length. If it is difficult to determine this measure due to the distance between the termination point of the tape measure and the end of the sleeve, you can place any straight object along the bottom edge of the sleeve to bisect the tape measure at the point of termination of measure (we have used a ruler in the image for this purpose).