How To Take Measurements Correctly

19Apr

We hope this article will be of practical use to you.

Measurements are an indispensable part of ordering a church vestment. The artisans from the sewing workshop of Saint Elisabeth Convent cannot emphasise enough: it is impossible to make a garment that would sit and look well without individual measurements, and most colleagues elsewhere will agree. Unlike a mass-produced item made to standard measurements - like M or XL. A church garment – including an undercassock – is a bespoke product.

It is not too difficult to take good measurements correctly. You can do it without extensive experience or professional assistance. It is essential to take accurate measurements to avoid bitter disappointment when trying on the final product.

At sewing workshop of St.Elisabeth Convent

Today, we talk about taking good measurements in this posting. How can we do it correctly and avoid mistakes?

As they say in our part of the world, it is better to see it once than to hear about it a hundred times. Several years ago, we filmed a video for our customers showing how to take measurements correctly. Below is a link to this video for our club members. We recommend to add it to your bookmarks so that it is at hand at the right time.

We also contacted sister Tatiana Zhedik. We asked her several further questions about this video and invited her to share her insights on avoiding some of the most common measurement errors.

Sister Tatiana is the point of contact for most customers who have ordered a garment from our sewing workshop. She also possesses extensive experience in taking measurements and verifying them in coordination with the workshop's artisans.

Sister Tatiana, would it be a good idea to take all the measurements ourselves?

I would not recommend anyone taking measurements of themselves. There are some you cannot take correctly on your own. Do not be too shy to ask someone else to help.

The video in this post walks us through seventeen different measurements. Do we have to take all of them for any vestment?

In truth, one only takes all 17 measurements for a cassock and undercassock. For a clergy vest, we only need the distance from the neck to the waist and the chest and waist girth. Still, I recommend taking the time (especially if you have a helper) to take all seventeen measurements. You can use them in future and save time to place further orders. In response to our regular customers' requests, we can keep their measurements on file, and we can adjust them based on their individual preferences and professional recommendations. In that case, we will still need your latest waist and chest girth, as these may change over time.

What if a customer makes a mistake in the measurements, for example, through lack of experience?

The sewing workshop will always verify the measurements sent to us. Experienced artisans can suspect an error from their knowledge of the proportions of the human body. In that case, we will contact the customer to check the correctness of specific measures, and sometimes we will ask them to retake some measurements.

What should customers know when ordering a cassock or undercassock?

By default, we do not affix a hem to a cassock or undercassock. That is because it is best to add the hem when the item is on the client. We also know that going to a tailor to have it done can be expensive, so we can add the hem to the garment as we make it. The standard distance from the floor to the hem is 4.5 cm (1.8 in). If a customer has a different preference, they should let us know.

Have you had any situations when the measurements you received were wrong? What did you do?

We received an order for a mitre for the Metropolitan of Belarus. It turned out that the head girth measure given to us was wrong: it had been taken above the ears (so if you also wear your head cover over your ears, take your measurements accordingly). The sisters worked hard to make the mitre larger by one size. In fairness, these situations are extremely rare. We do our best to verify all measurements with our customers.

Neck girth is another potential for error. If you wear your cassock over your shirt, make sure that you take the measurements with your shirt on.