There should be only one way to measure 14 ?” long by 18 ½” wide, right? As it turns out, there is more than one way to measure a rectangle.
My husband and I put up a drop ceiling in our basement bathroom. My job was to cut the ceiling tiles to size as my husband measured and then put up the cut tiles. (I am more handy with tasks requiring scissors and he is more handy with tasks requiring height. Also – don’t worry – I did not use my fabric scissors for this.) The first row of cuts went very smoothly, but then we got to the corner.
To fit the corner, the tile needed to be cut in both directions. I cut the tile according to the dimensions I was told – 14 ?” long by 18 ½” wide – but the tile didn’t fit. The dimensions were flipped. What I took for the “long” direction of the room, was not what my husband meant by the “long” direction. For each cut after that, my husband made a quick sketch of the cuts required with the measurements noted on each edge.
If it was this hard to measure a rectangle in the same way as another person, how much harder is it to measure a garment the same way as someone else?
This is why tech packs have point of measure diagrams. Instead of relying on just words to convey how each measurement is taken, point of measure diagrams show you. No matter who is doing the measuring, they will know how to measure in the same way.