How to measure shoulder width for a kameez

Finding the two shoulder points

The shoulder point is the outer edge of the shoulder bone, where the top of the arm starts. It is easier to feel than to describe.

• Stand relaxed with your arms by your sides, looking straight ahead.
• Run a finger along the top of one shoulder, from the neck outwards. The flat top of the bone ends in a small ridge, just before the shoulder rounds down into the arm.
• If you are unsure, lift the arm slowly out to the side. Many people feel a small hollow open up at the top of the shoulder; the bone edge is just inside it. Lower the arm again before measuring.
• Mark each point with a small piece of masking tape or a sticker.

Laying the tape

Your helper stands behind you and lays the tape from one mark to the other, across the top of the back and just below the bone that stands out at the base of the neck. The tape follows your body; it should not be held straight through the air above the shoulder blades. Read it to the nearest quarter inch or half centimetre, then take it again.

Posture changes this number more than most. Pulling the shoulders back shortens it, and rounding them forward lengthens it. Stand the way you usually stand, not the way you stand for a photograph. Our guide to measuring with a helper has more on what to tell the person holding the tape.

Cross-check with a kameez whose shoulders sit right

Lay the kameez flat, back up, and measure straight across from the point where one sleeve joins the shoulder to the same point on the other side. It should come within about half an inch (1 cm) of your body figure. A bigger gap usually means one of the two needs taking again, or that the kameez sits differently from the way you remember. The template guide lists the other dimensions worth taking from the same garment.

This only works on a kameez with set-in sleeves. Dropped shoulders, raglan sleeves, kaftan cuts and cut-on sleeves have no seam at the shoulder point, so the figure means nothing for a fitted top.

When the number needs a note

Shoulder width is a single line across your back, and some details do not show in it. Mention any of these in your notes:

• Sloping or square shoulders. The width can be the same while the angle differs, and the angle affects how the shoulder seam lies. A photo from the front helps.
• One shoulder higher than the other. This is common and nothing to worry about; say which side.
• A rounded upper back. The curve makes the back wider than the front. An across-front figure, labelled, is a useful extra.
• Broad shoulders with a smaller bust, or the reverse. A standard size fits one and not the other, which is exactly what a separate shoulder number solves. Armhole and shoulder fit problems goes into the causes.
• Wide necklines and no sleeves. A boat neck or a sleeveless kameez relies on an accurate shoulder width to stay in place.

Sending it

Enter it in the shoulder box on the quote form and say whether it came from your body or from a garment. If there is no one to help, send the garment figure, clearly labelled, or choose Help me measure and we talk you through it. Custom stitching explains how the measurements are agreed in writing before cutting.