Body vs Finished-Garment Measurements for China MTM
Body vs Finished-Garment Measurements for China MTM
Two shops can send the same chest number and mean different things. One measured the body. The other measured a finished garment laid flat and doubled it. Without a method label, a China MTM partner builds the wrong ease — and the sample clock looks "slow" when the real issue was unit confusion. This page focuses on that labelling problem. It is not yesterday's full measurement-handoff packing list.
Suggested image: tape on a torso form next to a jacket laid flat with chalk marks. Alt: "Body measurements vs finished garment-flat measures for a China MTM suit factory."
Why the unit mix-up burns samples
Body chest is circumference on the person (plus your shop ease later). Finished-garment chest is often a half-measure across the jacket × 2, already including ease. If your PDF says "98" with no method tag, we cannot know which story you told. Remakes then look like factory error when the brief never locked the unit type.
We cut MTM from 1 and bulk from 50. Sample window after a clean lock: 7–14 days. Production after seal: 14–21 days. Production days are not delivery days.
Label every number: body or garment-flat
Label to write on the sheet What you measured Typical use BODY Circumference / length on the client Classic MTM from 1 client order GARMENT-FLAT (½) Half-measure across finished piece Matching a sealed sample or retail SKU GARMENT-FULL Full circumference on finished piece When your shop prefers full units HOUSE BLOCK Numbers from your graded block Private-label programme after seal
Write the label in the header of the sheet — not in a footnote nobody reads. Units (cm or inches) on every line.
When the sample clock starts
The sample clock starts when method + cloth + construction are locked — not when the first photo arrives.
Method lock — every critical measure tagged BODY or GARMENT-FLAT (or house block).
Cloth lock — stock / you ship / mill ETA.
Construction lock — fused / half / full as you sell it.
Then sample 7–14. Soft "please start" without method tags does not start the clock.
Checklist before you hit send
[ ] Header states method: BODY / GARMENT-FLAT / HOUSE BLOCK
[ ] Units stated once and consistent
[ ] Ease preferences written as preferences ("closer chest") — not buried inside a raw number
[ ] Posture notes short and separate from numeric rows
[ ] Track: MTM from 1 now; bulk from 50 after seal if the style repeats
[ ] Country + monthly volume for planning
Ops links
Sample rules: sample policy
How we work end-to-end: process
Entity
Tianjin Shiyuan Tongchuang Technology Co., Ltd. · Chengxingwang Zhigu, Baodi District, Tianjin · acumenwear.com · WhatsApp +65 8013 8838 · Est. 2009. Not Tianjin Shiyuan Clothing Co., Ltd. / Baokang Road / tjshiyuan.com / tjsyzy.com. Overseas custom shops — not C-end retail. Acumenwear is the export site for Shi Yuan Suit Factory.
Lock method on WhatsApp
Send country, monthly volume, MTM or bulk, and whether numbers are body or garment-flat.
FAQ
Q: We use a tablet form — do you need a PDF rewrite?
A: Send the export your shop already trusts. Add one header line naming the method. We ask clarifying questions rather than forcing a theatre field count.
Q: Can body and garment-flat mix on one order?
A: Yes — if each row is tagged. Mixing without tags is what causes wrong ease.
Q: Does bulk from 50 use the same labels?
A: After seal, graded charts should still state whether base measures came from body MTM or a garment-flat block. Production 14–21 after seal; freight remains separate.
Worked example (hypothetical)
A Singapore boutique sent "chest 100" from a favourite jacket laid flat (half × 2) without a tag. We asked for method before cut. They relabelled GARMENT-FLAT, locked half-canvas, and the MTM from 1 sample landed inside 7–14 with the intended ease. Later bulk from 50 used the sealed garment-flat base.
What this page is not
Not a claim that every boutique must switch measuring systems.
Not a universal N-point form.
Not a repeat of the full photo/posture handoff checklist — that lived under a different slug.
Preference notes vs raw numbers
"Closer through the chest" belongs in a preference line. Do not subtract ease silently from a BODY number and call it scientific. Silent edits are how two staff members contradict each other on the same client.
Dual track reminder
Client rush jobs stay on MTM from 1. Sealed seasonal colourways open on bulk from 50. Method labels matter on both tracks.
How shops write the header line
Put one line at the top of every measure sheet:
METHOD: BODY | UNITS: cm | TRACK: MTM from 1
or
METHOD: GARMENT-FLAT (half×2) | UNITS: inches | TRACK: trial before bulk from 50
That single line prevents half the clarification ping-pong. Preference notes stay below the numeric grid so cutters do not treat taste as a circumference.
Clarifying questions we ask when tags are missing
Is chest BODY or finished garment?
Are jacket lengths measured to the finished hem or to a body landmark?
Did you include your usual ease inside the number?
Answer in the same thread. Once method + cloth + construction lock, sample 7–14 can start. Production 14–21 waits for seal; freight stays outside.
Private-label graded charts
When you move a sealed style to bulk from 50, keep the method lineage on the graded chart footer ("base from GARMENT-FLAT sample sealed YYYY-MM-DD"). Graders and future reorders then inherit the same unit story.
Next step
WhatsApp your method lock · houzhenying226@gmail.com
Tag the unit. Lock cloth and construction. Then the sample clock can run clean.
