Every industry has their own way of measuring things.
I was reminded of this as I was at the hardware store trying to figure out what standard cabinet measurements were. Apparently they are sold in 3” width increments and, as far as I can tell, the measurements aren’t just nominal, thankfully. The listed width is the actual width – unlike 2X4s which are smaller than their name indicates.
The fashion industry has its own measuring conventions too. Do you know how the fashion industry measures its materials? Here are some common materials and how they are measured:
- Fabric length – linear yards, linear meters
- Fabric width (can vary from roll to roll of the same product – commonly listed as a range) – width in inches or centimeters (edge to edge), cuttable width (between selvedges)
- Fabric weight – ounces per square yard, ounces per linear yard, grams per square meter
- Leather – square feet, square meters
- Buttons – (diameter) linge, millimeters, inches
- Trims – (width) inches, millimeters
- Cords – (diameter) millimeters, inches
- Zipper teeth width (zipper # size) – millimeters
- Zipper length (of zipper opening) – inches
- Thread – tex (gram weight of 1,000 meters of thread)