Page 166 - CITS - Dress Making - TT - 2024

DRESS MAKING - CITS

MODULE 7 : Forms and Measurements

Lesson 30 (1) : Introduction to Children wear

Objectives

At the end of this lesson you shall be able to
• measure the children dress form/figure
• understand the representative sizes and shapes of children
• observe differences about body shapes from infants’ through children’s size chart.

Creating children’s wear offers some new challenges to the designer and patternmaker. Comfort, which reflects
good fit, proportion, and function, is nowhere more important than in the creation of childrenswear. While adults
are sometimes willing to sacrifice comfort for aesthetics, children never are.
Size Grouping
Sizes for children’s clothing are grouped according to body circumference and proportion. Body shapes from
infants’ through children’s size ranges are indistinguishable between boys’ and girls’. Although many differences
can be observed in styling and color between boys’ and girls’ clothing from infant through sizes 6 and 6X,
differences necessitated by form only become a reality at size 7, when physical shapes begin to diverge.
• Infants or Babies
Physical observations: Newborn to children beginning to crawl.

Sizes: 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, 18 months, and 24 months.
• Toddlers
Physical observations: Child is walking by this time. Head seems to sit on shoulder; neck is not developed.
Shoulders are rounded and have almost no width. Outward thrust of tummy is a prominent feature. Boys’ and girls’
sizes are indistinguishable, and except for color difference and dresses, fashion is unisex.
Sizes: 2T, 3T, and 4T (1T may also be considered in this size range).
• Children

Physical observations: There is rapid growth through this period. Proportions differ greatly as the torso remains
about the same length, but the legs grow longer. The prominence of the stomach is reduced. Boys and girls have
similar shapes at this age, and the waistline, as yet, is not defined. Boys and girls begin to diverge at age seven.

Sizes: Sizing for children within this group is mixed. They are either sized 3 to 6X (X meaning larger than size 6)
for both boys and girls or sized 4 to 6X for girls, and 4 to 7 for boys.
• Boys and Girls (Preteen)

Physical observations: Figures diverge when boys and girls reach age seven. Major changes are taking place.
Baby fat is replaced with muscle tissue. Slimming and lengthening of the torso and limbs occur, but the figure
does not, as yet, have defined curves.
Sizes: 7 to 10. Another method for sizing this group is girls 7 to 14 classified as elementary to junior high school;
boys 8 to 20 classified as elementary to junior high school (with chest measurements used for sizing).

• Young juniors
Physical observations: There is a jump in growth and the figure is more defined. The torso is longer, a natural
waistline appears, and bust and hips start to take shape in girls. Boys have slim hips, blending into the waistline.
For both boys and girls, this is an interim period when the figure matures at varying stages.
Sizes: 10 to 14.

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