Tips on Children's Measurements for Flower Girl Dresses

Measurements are a must for children's formal wear. Buying designer clothes is not the same as picking up a typical size 8 or 10 at the local Macy's. There are dozens of Flower Girl Dress designers in the US and many of them are small family business that have their own way to cut material. To make it more confusing, sizes will run differently depending on the season. This is standard for Flower Girl Dresses, Prom Dresses, Bridesmaid Dresses, Communion Dresses, and any other garment for ceremonial occasions. Furthermore, many of us stopped taking sizes when we stopped sewing our own clothes.

So how the heck do we take sizes and what is most important to ask when selecting a dress? We'll tackle this one step at a time. First, how do we take size measurements? Flower girl dresses are measured in three places, bust, waist, and length. The bust measurement is taken by placing the tape measure under the armpits and wrapping the measure around the torso. Be sure to place two fingers under the tape measure for a little extra room. This is an accurate measurement. Do the same with the waist measurement. The waist is located one to two finger widths below the bellybutton. Length measurements are taken from the seam of the shoulder to the bottom of the hem, unless otherwise noted in the description since not all dresses have shoulders. For Prom dresses and dresses for grown girls there is often a hip measurement. The exact spot on the hip measurements vary per girl. Make sure the tape measure wraps around the widest part of the hip.

Now, Flower Girl Dresses are often cut in double sizes (4/5, 6/7, 8/9). How do you know which one to chose? An over all rule is to go a size bigger. Remember, you may be buying this dress for an event 2 months away. Kids grow! Most Flower Girl Dresses have a big fat satin sash specifically for this reason. You can take in as much as 5 inches without ever altering the dress and no one knows! Check the length measurement. Is this dress long enough? Are you thinking about taking the dress up a few inches? Check to make sure that there is room at the bottom without hemming up any decoration or embroidery. If you need to lift a dress without turning up the fabric, a petticoat can bring your dress up more than 2 inches. Finally, remember manufacturers measurements may be an inch off. An inch to large is not noticeable, an inch to small is.