Beautiful Belly

A designer is ready to make her prototype. So she takes out her measuring tape. A measuring tape is used to measure length. It is a type of ruler. Most rulers are stiff, but a measuring tape is flexible. It can be useful for measuring things that are not flat.Designers measure a lot. They measure fabric. They measure people. In fact, of all the math skills that designers use, they probably use measurement the most.

How They Measure
Suppose a designer is making a prototype of a skirt. The skirt will be 33 inches long from top to bottom. The designer decides she needs a piece of fabric 36 inches long. This gives her 1 extra inch of fabric to make the hem at the bottom and 2 extra inches to make the waistband.The waistband is a piece of fabric that goes around the waist.

The designer places the end of her tape measure at the edge of her fabric. She runs the tape down the fabric. Then she finds the number 36 on the tape. She draws a line on the fabric at 36 inches. This marks where the fabric will be cut.Designers also measure people. Suppose a designer is making a long-sleeved shirt for a man. She needs to know how long the sleeves should be. So she holds the end of the measuring tape on the top of the man’s shoulder. She runs the tape down his arm. Then she stops at his wrist. She reads the number on the tape. It is 22. The man’s arm, from shoulder to wrist, is 22 inches long. So the sleeve must be 22 inches long, too.