How to Measure Fabric to Make a Toddler's Dress
If you want to make clothing that fits your child well, you need to learn the proper way to measure fabric. There are challenges to properly sizing a homemade dress for your toddler, such as the difficulty of measuring a high-energy child. Children grow quickly and measurements need room to accommodate their growth. Properly measuring fabric for your toddler's dress will make the entire dress creation process easier.
Instructions
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Measure the Toddler
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1
Measure your toddler's height. Make sure she is not wearing shoes and have her stand with her back to a wall. Put the ruler on top of her head. Mark the wall with the pencil at the bottom of the ruler. It helps if you make this process fun for the child. You could have her pretend to be a flower growing to be as tall as she can be without moving her feet. After you have made your marking, measure from the floor to the pencil mark to get her height measurement.
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2
Use the measuring tape to measure around the widest part of her chest. This too can be easily accomplished if the toddler is absorbed in another activity. Make sure that she has the intended undergarments on if she will wear them under the dress .
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3
Measure her waist with the measuring tape. The toddler's natural waist is usually around the belly button.
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4
Measure the hips with the measuring tape. Be sure she is wearing a diaper if she is not yet potty-trained. Measure over the widest part of the bottom.
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5
Locate the most prominent bone on the back of the neck, a little above the shoulders. Measure from this bone down to the waistline for the back waist length.
Measure the Fabric
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6
Open the pattern if you are using one. Cut carefully along the pieces of the size that matches your child's measurements. If your child is between measurements, use the larger of the two. Carefully cut out any notches included in the pattern to aid in lining up the pieces.
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Follow the instructions included in the pattern for pinning the pattern pieces to the fabric.
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8
Cut around the pattern pieces according to the instructions.
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1
References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
