How to get sizing and grading standards
Posted by Kathleen Fasanella on May 3, 2005 at 6:59 pm / Fit and Sizing, Patterns / Trackback
People ask me all the time for sizing or measurement charts relating to their product lines. There are 2 basic ways to get sizing information. One is to buy it (the subject of this post) or to design it yourself, usually via reverse engineering of your competitor’s products (a later post).
Buying sizing information can also be done in two different ways. Many companies use the sizing charts that come in the pattern grading book they’ve chosen as their house reference and accordingly, I’ll list your best options. You can also buy sizing information as a product onto itself. The standard reference house for technical specifications of all industries (in the US) is known as ASTM, the American Society for Testing and Materials.
As far as grading books are concerned, I’d recommend Handford’s Professional Pattern Grading for Women’s Men’s and Children’s Apparel as this is the book that seems to be used most in the US. It’s a good basic standard that I recommend most. The best selling book is Grading Techniques for Fashion Design -because it is published by Fairchild- but it isn’t nearly as user-friendly. I also like all of the English books by Cooklin such as Pattern Grading for Men’s Clothes and Master Patterns and Grading for Women’s Outsizes but I see those books are quite rare now. Oh my, maybe Linda at International Fashion Publications in Los Angeles (213-622-5663) has them.
If you don’t get your standards out of a grading book, you can get them from ASTM International. The ASTM committee charged with the minutia of this industry is D-13 Textiles. The subcommittee Body Measurement for Apparel Sizing is D-13.55. Now, you can buy in several ways. You can buy the huge 2 volume set 70.01 & 70.02 in either hard copy or cdrom, or just one of the volumes (prices range from $185-$320). Lastly, you can order whatever technical specs you need most. For example, D5585-95 Standard Table of Body Measurements for Adult Female Misses Figure Type, Sizes 2-20 costs $28 for the 4 page set. Below I’ve gone to the bother of listing all of the ASTM sizing standards that are available:
D4910-02 Standard Tables of Body Measurements for Infants, Sizes 0 to 24
D5219-02 Standard Terminology Relating to Body Dimensions for Apparel Sizing (reference points aren’t numbered!)
D5585-95(2001) Standard Table of Body Measurements for Adult Female Misses Figure Type, Sizes 2-20
D5586-01 Standard Tables of Body Measurements for Women Aged 55 and Older (All Figure Types)
D5826-00 Standard Tables of Body Measurements for Children, Sizes 2 to 6x/7
D6192-98(2004) Standard Tables of Body Measurements for Girls, Sizes 7 to 16
D6240-98 Standard Tables of Body Measurements for Men Sizes Thirty-Four to Sixty (34 to 60) Regular
D6458-99 Standard Tables of Body Measurements for Boys, Sizes 8 to 14 Slim and 8 to 20 Regular
D6829-02 Standard Tables of Body Measurements for Juniors, Sizes 0 to 19
D6860-03 Proposed Standard Tables of Body Measurements for Boys, Sizes 6 to 24 Husky
D6960-04 Standard Table of Body Measurements Relating to Women’s Plus Size Figure Type, Sizes 14W-32W
D7022-04 Standard Terminology Relating to Apparel
To buy any of these standards, go to ASTM and paste the document you want into the search bar. Also, with some documents you may have the option of selecting either 2004 or 2005. If you want standards to use now, get the 2004 version. The 2005 version won’t be published until the end of this year in November so you’d be paying for information you can’t even get yet. You can also get a free catalog (print version) of all available standards here.
I suppose I should mention that I’m a voting member of several ASTM D-13 subcommittees but believe me, I don’t make any money selling these specs and just because I’m a member doesn’t mean I’m an apologist for them either. For example, D7022-04 Standard Terminology Relating to Apparel is a waste of money. Only 59 terms are defined and of those, 29 are related to feathers and down! I kid you not. Obviously one of the voting subcommittee members represented the down industry. Be that as it may, I wouldn’t be involved if it were not a worthy organization.
15 Responses to “How to get sizing and grading standards”
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May 4th, 2005
8:18 AM
For children’s measurements a good online resoure is:
http://www.itl.nist.gov/iaui/ovrt/projects/anthrokids/
July 24th, 2005
8:52 PM
I may be demonstrating my ignorance, but is there somewhere I can find a reference that relates the sizes in ASTM to “small, medium, large, XL, XXL, etc”?
colin@bali-karma.com
Thanks,
Colin
July 24th, 2005
9:14 PM
That’s not ignorant at all; never thought of that before in fact. ASTM only does numbered sizes (obviously). SML we usually get out of grading books. The book I like the most -it’s the easiest to use and the most accurate is Handford’s Pattern Grading.
August 11th, 2005
1:10 PM
Alternatives in women’s sizing
In my continuing series discussing fit and apparel sizing see #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6; I’ve failed to explain how sizing determinations are made, how standards are drawn followed by industry application. In this post I’ll explain how survey…
September 21st, 2005
1:19 PM
Lean Manufacturing Certification
At the risk of having my bookmark permanently deleted by the majority of my readership, I’d like to mention that it would appear that a Lean Certification standard is under way as per this month’s issue of Standardization News from…
January 21st, 2006
7:59 PM
I was unable to find sizing standards for men below 34.
April 3rd, 2007
4:33 PM
I’m frustrated that there are no measurements for plus size girls. The D6192-98(2004) Standard Tables of Body Measurements for Girls, Sizes 7 to 16 includes slim and regular but not plus. I notice there is a D6860-03 Proposed Standard Tables of Body Measurements for Boys, Sizes 6 to 24 Husky but not an equivalent for girls. Does anyone have any body measurement references for plus size girls?
Thanks,
Cathy
June 11th, 2007
9:18 AM
Hey Kathleen. Great site!
Very helpful for someone who’s just starting out to get an idea of what’s what.
I wanted to ask about Handford’s book:
would it help me with grading in metric?
Unfortunately the only review/description I could find was yours, on Amazon!
And if it’s not metric friendly, which one would you recommend as an alternative? Thanks for everything!
June 22nd, 2007
7:20 AM
Question for Kathleen or anyone that knows:
RE: ASTM for D5586-01 ‘Standard Tables of Body Measurements for Women Aged 55′ (Now costs $41)
How many more body measurements than Bust-waist-hip does it include? (I am interested in location of bust (shoulder to nipple (sorry – I’m sure there is a discreet word for it) crotch curve etc., etc.
Need to know if I should spend my limited funds. Thanks, from Cheryl K
June 28th, 2007
7:19 AM
RE: ASTM D5586-01 Standard Tables of Body Measurements for Women Aged 55′
OK – I bought the download of the standard; 20 pages. For anyone who may be interested, there are 48 or more measurement points that are organized into 8 tables. It definitely gives me something to compare to.
Cheryl K
October 10th, 2007
9:00 PM
Kathleen,
I am trying to find Italian sizing standards. Is there such a thing? I am looking to grade a pattern for the first time, and I prefer European, specifically Italian, silhouettes. I would really appreciate any help on this.
November 9th, 2008
5:58 PM
Hi Kathleen!
I hope you still check your blog and find this question.
Since you are a voting member at ASTM textile subcommittees, I think I might have just the right question for you. My friend is currently doing a mini-research on the history of standardized body measurements in the United States. She wants to find out exactly when was the first ASTM body measurement standards was published? 1950s, before the World Wars, or even earlier than that? Where could she find informations like so? Thanks a lot in advance!!
May 22nd, 2009
8:48 AM
There is a proposal on the D-13 ASTM committee ballot to withdraw the D-5586 (2001) standard for body measurements for women aged 55+ with no replacement. If passed, this study will not be included in Vol.2 D-13 as of November 2009. Since libraries that have the ASTM standards discard annual copies, you should get the standard now if you think there’s the slightest chance you need it. It is possible D-5586 may then enter public domain but I do not know this for certain (caveat lector).
February 20th, 2010
10:48 PM
ok, so I went to that site where you can download table, and the one you suggested is taken off and will be revisited before being made available again. So far so good.
Then i clicked the link to Handforts book, which brought up http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/1563673193/ref=dp_olp_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1115167326&sr=8-1&condition=all
Did you see the price? $999.98 plus shipping!
Anyways, i googled, and it is cheaper here:
http://www.allbookstores.com/author/Jack_Handford.html
What about his other books, are they good and useful too? I am thinking of the pattern making one.
February 21st, 2010
9:17 AM
Sabine, see this entry. The (scant) mention of this book is at close but will explain how I review pattern books and what I think are the important features of them.