Tutorial On How to Measure Your Waist for Pants

As I’ve lost weight, my pants have dropped sizes along with the pounds. Getting in shape feels like an accomplishment that’s rewarded every step of the way. You’ll notice a greater pep in your step, a heartbeat which seems light yet fast-paced, and an abundance of energy that’ll beat your morning cup of coffee. It’s simply a light feeling that makes you feel mentally sharper, while physically faster just the same. With expensive clothing, we may not want to replace them at their original price. It can seem like such a punishment for doing something so fulfilling and good for you. Don’t despair or feel like your expensive clothing isn’t worth the expense of saving. I have the perfect tutorial to show you how to get ready for Taylor’s office without having to go through the uncomfortable process of getting measured in the store.

How to Measure Your Waist for Pants

Typically, the same people who dry clean clothes also do tailoring; however, an extra buck will get your clothes hand-tailored by someone who’s a master at it Whichever you choose, you’ll certainly find this how-to tailor your pants tutorial helpful. If you’re great at crafts, you can also try to take on this task yourself; however, you should know whether you’re capable of doing it beforehand. It’s a pain to have an article of clothing ruined.

What You’ll Need

With any task in life, you’ll need supplies to do it. Don’t worry, measuring your waist requires very little but the knowledge and direction that will be addressed. This isn’t one of those tasks that require 100 different supplies. With measuring your waist, you get away with only having to find three; although, one is an actual person. Please make sure you have these items available:

• A Fabric Measuring Tape
• A Friend To Help You
• A well-Fitted Suit or Pants (Preferably Not Jeans)

For The Ladies…

If a woman, well-fitted pants, or even a skirt that is not elastic will do the job just fine. Since only the waist is being measured, it is more flexible since every piece of clothing, excluding shoes and underwear, has a waist to it. Do not try this with a fitted dress as it will not be accurate.

Here’s The Way To Measure the waist of Pants You Already Have

Step 1: Lay your Pants Right On The Floor

You’ll find laying them flat (on a clean floor) makes it much easier to measure than finding a table as long of them. Plus, the floor insures that they’re perfectly flat which allows for a perfect measurement. Measuring a pair of pants on yourself is possible to do; however, it really won’t get you the most accurate measurement of them. We all have curves to our waist that make the waist of a pair of pants difficult to measure while on us.

Both of us, whether it be male or female, have inches that equal a specific size. Men’s sizes are interpreted directly from the inches. For instance, a size 34″ waist means a size 34″ pants. With women, the number of inches is reduced to a specific number. For example, a size 12 is 34″.

Step 2: Start The Measuring

Before starting the measuring, make sure you pat down the pants so they are laying down perfectly on the floor. This allows for the most accurate measurement. A great way to tell? The front waistband will be laying down a little below the back of it. If it’s needed, stretch the paints in certain directions so that no lumps are present as well. Make sure the pants are laying as vertically as possible. If they are laid down at a slant the measurement will be slightly inaccurate.

Step 2: Do The Measuring

When pants are laying flat on the floor properly, the front waistband does the dip. This makes it a bad option for getting a good measurement. Lay the measuring tape across the back waistband. Simply double the measurement and you will get the size of the waistband of the pants.

Measuring your pants is the easiest part as it doesn’t require too many fine motor skills. When measuring yourself, if you do not have an accurate aim and steadiness it is wise to get a friend to help you.

Measuring Your Actual Waste

Step 3: Get Naked And Find The Location Of Your Waist

For those of us who do not trust our accuracy, a friend is always an asset. It is perfectly possible to get an accurate measurement of your waste by yourself though.

This is not a measurement of your waist with the pants on you. You’ll need to get in your sizes to get the right measurement of your waist size. Wearing a bathing suit is acceptable, and possibly needed, if you’re having a friend help you. It is also okay to wear short-shorts or leggings. Pants and a shirt add an inch or two.

Be sure to measure at the exact point where your torso curves meet your hips. While the location isn’t as obvious for a man since they do not have significant waist curves, it is still possible to find with instructions listed later on.

Step 4: Resisting That Urge…

We all have this tendency. Sucking in your belly is an excellent way to get a smaller read; however, it isn’t an excellent way to get pants that will fit. Be sure to leave your waist relaxed during this process. This is no time to suck in your tummy, no matter how tempting it may be. Those with properly fitted clothing look thinner than they would versus wearing tight clothing that shows extra curves that look better covered. Expanding your stomach as you have just taken a deep breath will also mess with the reading. Be sure to be as natural as possible!

Step 5: The Right Way To Align The Tape

• Make sure one finger is on the tape when it is placed on your body. It’s a preventative measure. You can get a wrong measurement if you stretch the tape too tightly.
• The tape should be parallel to the floor. Try to get it as straight as possible. Any bend and the measurement will be off. This is partly why it is helpful to place your finger on the tape with your other hand.
• Make sure your hands can feel the top of your waist bones. Put your hand that’s holding the tape at the center and your waist and wrap it around. The top of your waist bone is where it meets the torso. If you rest your hands here, you will be able to feel the divide. If you’re a man, you still have a divide, however, it is less significant than a women’s.

Step 6: Why Compare The Two?

While it may seem silly to measure both your pants and your waist. It actually has a valid purpose which helps you get into the right clothing for your size. When comparing your waist measurement to your jean measurement, it helps you accurately assess any differences both areas might have. If there is a major difference, this may be a sign that it’s time to go down one or two. If the measurement was fairly even, it means yours at the proper size. Overall, a pair of jeans that fits you significantly well should be close to, but not equal to your waist size.

If the measurement you receive does not correlate at all versus your pants and your bare waist, it is possible it was done wrong. In this case, be sure to do the task over again. If you did it alone, it may be time to ask for an assistant. They should be fairly within the same margin if you used fitted pants and not elastic ones. Those who use the wrong clothing will never get the right result. Be sure to read all the instructions carefully!

That’s All Folks

I hope you’ve enjoyed this tutorial. This is the method I use to get the right size as a loose weight so I can have my clothes accurately measured. It isn’t a waste of time to get the clothes fixed so that they align with your current size. It’s a huge money saver when it comes to your expensive clothing. It would be horrible to have to throw them out. You should take any other tailoring questions up with the person who is performing the job. He may advise you to measure other locations too. Sometimes our whole body changes, it’s just one area. Weight loss can be complicated like that. However, measuring the changes is not.

Comments are always welcome and keep our site and content suitable to your needs and questions. Please leave a comment if you have any questions or would simply like to say “Wow, this article changed my life.” Any feedback is greatly appreciated.