A tailor in another city asks for your naap and the only tape in the house is the metal one in the toolbox. You do not need it. Here are four ways to take blouse, kurta and salwar measurements at home with what is already around you, ranked by accuracy, plus the numbers most tailors ask for and how close is close enough.
Silai's scanner turns the phone into the tape. Prop the phone upright at about belly button height, against a wall or a stack of books, step back until all of you is in the frame, and turn around slowly twice with your arms a little away from your sides. Type in your height and your bra band size, the two numbers a camera cannot see, and about two minutes later the full sheet is ready: bust, underbust, waist, hips, shoulder width, arm length, and the rest of the 21 measurements a tailor works from.
On average each number lands within about 2 percent of a careful tape measurement, which is closer than most of us manage with a tape held one-handed behind our own back. The scan photos are deleted the moment the measurements are ready. You do not need an account to try it, and the demo shows you your own numbers once, so you can judge them against anything you already know, like a blouse size that fits.
Wear something fitted, a t-shirt and leggings are ideal, stand on a plain floor with the light in front of you rather than behind, and keep hair off the shoulders. Those three things decide most of the accuracy.
Bust, waist and hips are circumferences, and any non-stretch string, ribbon or phone charging cable can take one. Wrap it level around the fullest part of the bust, snug but not tight, pinch the point where it meets the end, then lay it flat against a ruler, a metal tape, or the long edge of an A4 sheet, which is 29.7 cm, or letter paper at 27.9 cm. Repeat for the waist at the narrowest point and the hips at the fullest part of the seat.
Two rules keep this honest. The string must stay level all the way round, so check in a mirror or have someone glance at your back. And do not pull it tight: a tailor adds ease on top of the body measurement, so the number they want is the body itself, breathing normally.
Shoelaces stretch, elastic stretches and wool yarn stretches. Use cotton string, a ribbon, a cable or a strip of cloth.
Blouse length, kurta length, sleeve length and shoulder width are straight lines, and a strip of paper folded lengthwise into a stiff ribbon measures them well. Hold one end at the starting point, the top of the shoulder for a blouse length or the side of the neck for a kurta, let it hang to where the hem should sit, and mark it with a pen. Measure the strip against the ruler or the A4 edge afterwards.
For sleeve length, bend the elbow slightly and run the strip from the shoulder bone over the elbow to the wrist bone; a straight arm shortens the sleeve you get. For shoulder width, measure from shoulder bone to shoulder bone across the back, which is easier with a helper.
If a blouse, kurta or kameez in the wardrobe fits the way you want, lay it flat and buttoned on a table and measure that. Across the chest just under the arms, doubled, is the finished bust; across the waist, doubled, is the finished waist; neck to hem is the length; shoulder seam to cuff is the sleeve.
The catch is that these are garment measurements, not body measurements. They already include the ease the previous tailor chose, so tell the new tailor that they come from a finished piece and which piece it was. Most masterjis are happy to work from a garment that fits, and some prefer it.
Whatever method you use, most orders come down to the same short list: bust, underbust, waist, hips, shoulder width, sleeve length and the garment length. A blouse adds the front and back neck depths and the armhole; a salwar adds the thigh, the length and the mohri, the ankle opening; a lehenga adds the length to the floor in the heels you will wear. The garment guides on Silai walk through each set with a size chart in cm and inches.
Write the unit next to every number. Half the fit disasters between families and tailors abroad come from a 36 that was inches meeting a chart that was centimetres.
A careful tape is good to about 1 cm. String and paper are good to about 1 to 2 cm if you keep them level and unstretched, which is within the ease a tailor adds for anything except a very fitted blouse. The camera scan sits between the two on average, and it wins on consistency because it does not wobble, stretch, or guess where the back of the tape went.
The measurements that punish errors are the fitted ones: bust and underbust on a blouse or a princess-cut anarkali, and the armhole. Take those twice. Lengths and loose girths forgive a centimetre either way.
On Silai your naap travels with each order request, so you scan or type the numbers once and never dictate them over the phone again. Only the tailor stitching that specific order sees them; they are not shown on your profile and not visible to anyone browsing. If a tailor wants to check a number, the scan can be repeated in two minutes with the same setup.
Try the scanner free Saree blouse measurements Kurta size chart Salwar kameez chart
Every order on Silai starts with your naap. Prop your phone, turn around twice, and the scanner reads all 21 measurements in about two minutes, free, no account needed.
The 21 measurements a tailor actually uses · What custom stitching costs in Canada · Fabric care for silk, chiffon and georgette · One lehenga, three ways · Why ready-made sizes fail South Asian outfits · Buying second-hand desi clothes without regret · When the suitcase from India stops fitting