Tape Measure

Using a tailor's tape for dressmaking and fitting

A flexible measuring tape is a staple haberdashery item for anyone making clothes, altering garments, or fitting to a dress form. Unlike a rigid rule, a pliable tailor tape bends smoothly around the contours of the body. This allows you to record accurate measurements across the bust, waist, hips, and back length without distorting the shape.

Dressmakers also rely on soft tapes to measure curved lines on paper patterns, such as armholes, necklines, and sleeve heads, where flat rulers cannot sit flat. When working with cloth, the tape can be laid directly along grainlines, hemlines, and pleats to check placement before cutting or stitching.

Working with dual metric and imperial measurements

Sewing patterns frequently switch between imperial and metric units. Many traditional tailoring guides and vintage dress patterns list body sizes and fabric requirements in inches, whereas modern instructions and haberdashery supplies commonly use centimetres. A flexible tape marked to 60 In and 150cm enables you to check sizes and compare pattern pieces directly against personal measurements without stopping to convert figures.