Reading a size chart
We publish the chart from the pattern, not a translated one. Here is how to read it, and what our size letters actually mean on a tape measure.
Every piece on this site carries the chart we cut it to. That chart lists a waist range and a hip range in inches for each size we make. We hold 42 of them, using 9 different size labels between them, and 33 of those charts print a taped length for every size as well.
Measure these three things
- Waist. The narrowest part of your middle, usually an inch above the navel. Our bottoms are cut high, so this is the number that decides the size, not your hip.
- Hip. The widest point across the seat, feet together. On a skirt this decides whether the shell hangs or clings.
- Your own torso. Nobody prints this, but it is why the same 18.1″ skirt lands mid thigh on one person and above the knee on another.
Take all three over bare skin with the tape flat, not pulled tight. A stretch tape that gives under tension will read you two inches small and put you in the wrong row.
Read across the row, not down the column
Find the row your waist falls in and read the rest of that row. If your hip sits in the row below, take the larger of the two: our knits stretch out over the hip far more comfortably than they stretch out over a waistband that is already at its limit.
| Section | Charts | Waist span | Size labels used |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swim skirts | 9 | 24.5″–36.5″ | 6 |
| Skorts & swim shorts | 10 | 24.5″–45″ | 9 |
| Tankini tops | 7 | 26.5″–36.5″ | 6 |
| Tankini sets | 12 | 26.5″–36.5″ | 6 |
| Long tank tops | 4 | 26.5″–36.5″ | 5 |
Our letters are not US dress sizes
Where a chart carries a US column, treat it as a rough translation and nothing more. The maker cut to the inch measurements, not to the letter, and the letter is only there so you have something to type in the size box. If the inches and the letter disagree, the inches win every time.
When you land between two rows
On a high waist, take the wider row. On a tankini top, take the row your bust falls in and ignore the waist column entirely, because the top hangs from the shoulder and the body is cut loose. On a set, the size is decided by whichever of the two measurements is closer to the edge of its row.
Our charts run from 24.5″ to 45″ at the waist. Outside that span we have nothing that will fit, and we would rather tell you that here than let you find out later.