Sewing

Children’s sizing – help a sewist out!

Apparently it’s kiddie week on the blog – on Monday it was children’s fashions from the early 1920s, and today I’m hoping to get your help with a children’s sizing question.

One of my sewing students is making children’s fashions, and she’s noticed a gap in the sizing charts which affects how she sizes patterns.

In order to understand the gap a bit more, we’re taking a very informal survey.  Do you have access to a child between the ages of 2 & 11?  Could you take two measurements on them and tell us the following:

1:  The child’s age, gender, and:

2:  The measurement from the top of their head, to the point where the neck joins the shoulder (taken straight, as if you were holding a ruler from the shoulder up past the ear to the top of the head)

3: The child’s torso length, from the hollow in the centre of their neck, to their true waist.

I’m doing this as a leave-a-blog-comment survey, rather than using a survey form, because I think it would be interesting for other people to see the results as they come in.

Obviously it will be neither comprehensive nor scientifically accurate, but will still give us a little more of an idea of the ranges.

Many, MANY  thanks in advance to you, and the children you measure, for your assistance!

I shall leave it up to your discretion whether you would like to reward them with the treat suggested in this 1920s ad, of ‘famous’ Plain Suet Pudding with “that splendid natural laxative – Golden Syrup.”

Yum.

1920s Suet ad thedreamstress

14 Comments

  1. Kelly says

    My daughter is 5 years old. The measurement from top of head to shoulder is 8.5 inches. The measurement from center neck to natural waist is 10.5 inches.

  2. Erin Grover says

    I have 3 daughters;

    age 7 – top of head to shoulder 9.5″- torso length 11.5″
    age nearly 5 – top of head to shoulder 9″- torso length 10″
    age 2.5- top of head to shoulder 7.75″- torso length 9″

  3. I cracked up at your phrasing: do you have access to a child? Luckily I do, so here’s the numbers

    1. Age: 6 yrs Sex: Female

    2. 8.5 inches (21.6 cm)

    3. 11.5 inches (29.2 cm)

  4. vannia says

    11 yr old boy : 11in, 14in. ( he’s a bit small for 11 )
    9 yr old boy : 10in, 14in.
    3.5 yr old boy: 8.5in, 10in.

  5. Katherine says

    1) Female, age 10-1/2
    2) 9.5″
    3) 10.5″
    My daughter is pretty small for her age.

  6. Katherine says

    I can get two more girl measurements (ages 9 & 11) tomorrow.

  7. rachel says

    girl, age 7: head 9.5 inches, torso 11 inches

    girl, age 10: head 10 inches, torso 11 inches

  8. 24 month old boy
    8 inches head to shoulder
    9 inches neck to bellybutton

    Not easy to measure while squirming

Comments are closed.