# Rule of Thumb....................did you know?



## MomBeezzzz (Jan 17, 2013)

If you can't get their exact measurements or want to surprise some one with lets say a sweater..measure their thumb !!
Because;
Twice around the thumb is once around the wrist 
Twice around the wrist is once around the neck
Twice around the neck is once around the waist

Check it out
http://www.d.umn.edu/~tbacig/mindmath/mathles1b.html


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## Doriseve (Jul 7, 2014)

That will only work if they are not carrying a few extra pounds. I just checked.


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## laurelarts (Jul 31, 2011)

OMGoodness, it's true on me, I couldn't resist measuring


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## MomBeezzzz (Jan 17, 2013)

Doriseve said:


> That will only work if they are not carrying a few extra pounds. I just checked.


Ahhaha I was wondering about that,,,,thanks


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## nitcronut (Aug 9, 2011)

On my Barbie maybe!!!!!!!!!


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## MomBeezzzz (Jan 17, 2013)

nitcronut said:


> On my Barbie maybe!!!!!!!!!


Umm Barbie is not proportionate at all...


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## MomBeezzzz (Jan 17, 2013)

laurelarts said:


> OMGoodness, it's true on me, I couldn't resist measuring


Something fun to do with the kids...


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## Irene P (Sep 20, 2013)

And if you need to measure and don't have a ruler, use your thumb! I once read that everyone's thumb will measure one inch when flattened, regardless of the size of the hand. I've checked this out with a few people and it has worked!


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## MomBeezzzz (Jan 17, 2013)

Irene P said:


> And if you need to measure and don't have a ruler, use your thumb! I once read that everyone's thumb will measure one inch when flattened, regardless of the size of the hand. I've checked this out with a few people and it has worked!


Holey cow ! that is great ! I am taking this theory to the streets....lol
I have been using my pinky between the knuckles that is my inch..


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## galaxycraft (Feb 15, 2011)

Wrist by these calculations - 5" - Not - Is 6 1/4 " tight.
Neck by these calculations - 12.5" - Not - Is 14.5"
Waist by these calculations - 29" - Not - Is 39".


And read at the bottom, it is a study of sorts: do the testing and send in your results.
Trying to find out if the old myths/sayings are true.


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## galaxycraft (Feb 15, 2011)

Irene P said:


> And if you need to measure and don't have a ruler, use your thumb! I once read that everyone's thumb will measure one inch when flattened, regardless of the size of the hand. I've checked this out with a few people and it has worked!


Well mine is 3/4"


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## chickkie (Oct 26, 2011)

those measurements don't work for me either. My thumb will not flatten to 1" no matter now hard I press it; and there is no way that twice around the neck is once around the waist - or maybe it was when I was a teenager.


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## Hurricane (May 18, 2013)

I tried it, doesn't quite work for me, but it was fun trying it out


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## blessedinMO (Mar 9, 2013)

nitcronut said:


> On my Barbie maybe!!!!!!!!!


 :thumbup: :lol: Not even close!


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## Montana Gramma (Dec 19, 2012)

Irene P said:


> And if you need to measure and don't have a ruler, use your thumb! I once read that everyone's thumb will measure one inch when flattened, regardless of the size of the hand. I've checked this out with a few people and it has worked!


My first thumb knuckle is exactly an inch and my fingers to nose with face sideways is 36". I know this because I practiced buying a lot of fabric!


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## MomBeezzzz (Jan 17, 2013)

I think your height is the same measurement as your arm span.


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## judyh47 (Nov 11, 2012)

I have 1inch thumb and an 8 inch span... Thumb to small finger spread out as far as I can. Very useful for quick measurements.


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## MomBeezzzz (Jan 17, 2013)

judyh47 said:


> I have 1inch thumb and an 8 inch span... Thumb to small finger spread out as far as I can. Very useful for quick measurements.


Me too! When I was pregnant I used to measure my womb with that 8 inch span...lol


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## Casey47 (Feb 5, 2014)

My neck is not near fat enough for that formula. Notice I didn't say my waist was too fat. Just remember girls - nothing is great or small except by comparison.


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## Cyber Granny (Sep 30, 2013)

I must be abnormal, nothing measures right.


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## diamondbelle (Sep 10, 2011)

Irene P said:


> And if you need to measure and don't have a ruler, use your thumb! I once read that everyone's thumb will measure one inch when flattened, regardless of the size of the hand. I've checked this out with a few people and it has worked!


That doesn't work for me. I have very small hands, and the length of my thumb from the bottom knuckle to the tip is 2".

Twice around my thumb is just over 1/2 the measurement of my wrist.


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## run4fittness (May 22, 2011)

Doesn't work for me but fun trying!


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## Jessica-Jean (Mar 14, 2011)

This one: "Once around the fist, once along the foot. Measure the circumference of your closed fist and you'll know the length of your foot." I learned from my grandmother. When shopping for socks, she would ask for my closed fist, wrap the prospective sock around it, and deem it good if toe and heel met. 

One that's missing is that the length of the foot is usually the same as the measure on the inside of the forearm between inside of elbow and inside of wrist. So, next time you want to knit surprise socks for someone, just measure the forearm. They might be expecting a sweater, but the socks will fit!


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## MomBeezzzz (Jan 17, 2013)

Jessica-Jean said:


> This one: "Once around the fist, once along the foot. Measure the circumference of your closed fist and you'll know the length of your foot." I learned from my grandmother. When shopping for socks, she would ask for my closed fist, wrap the prospective sock around it, and deem it good if toe and heel met.
> 
> One that's missing is that the length of the foot is usually the same as the measure on the inside of the forearm between inside of elbow and inside of wrist. So, next time you want to knit surprise socks for someone, just measure the forearm. They might be expecting a sweater, but the socks will fit!


Oh yes I remember my mom wrapping the sock around my wrist and I never knew about the forearm...good to know


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## Doriseve (Jul 7, 2014)

MomBeezzzz said:


> I think your height is the same measurement as your arm span.


Agreed. When I'm making prayer shawls, if I can't find any of the six tapemeasures I own, I will hold it at the top of my head and if it touches the floor it's 60". I am 5' tall. Doris


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## DonnieK (Nov 23, 2011)

Twice around my neck is definitely not once around my waist and I can tell you that without a measuring tape!!! I am shaped like a marshmallow with tooth picks for legs and arms!!
And, my thumb is 2" long not counting the nail that is 1/2" long! Is that why I knit so slow????


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## Jessica-Jean (Mar 14, 2011)

DonnieK said:


> ... my thumb is 2" long not counting the nail that is 1/2" long! Is that why I knit so slow????


I have a feeling you're not measuring the right portion of your thumb.
Found at: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.390486-Good-rules-of-thumb


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## Jessica-Jean (Mar 14, 2011)

Back when any thing man-made was made by a single individual, accuracy - as we know it - wasn't exactly necessary; constancy was. Just as most knitters can't match another's tension on a given project - no passing around of most projects - so Joe probably couldn't match Noah's cubit.

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_measurement
"The common cubit was the length of the forearm from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. It was divided into the span of the hand or the length between the tip of little finger to the tip of the thumb (one-half cubit), the palm or width of the hand (one sixth), and the digit or width of the middle finger (one twenty-fourth)."

As soon as the making became a group effort, there had to be a measuring stick or no building or machine could be a successful group product. As long as it's an individual effort, one's own body is handier than searching out the yard-stick!


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## Lillyhooch (Sep 27, 2012)

and once around clenched fist is length of foot
length of foot equals length of arms from inside elbow to wrist crease

So wrap heel to toe of sock around clenched fist to check if socks will fit

Just read Jessica-Jean's post on this. Oh well, twice told easier to remember!!


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## gcole (May 7, 2011)

Twice around my neck, is once around someone else's waist.


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## MomBeezzzz (Jan 17, 2013)

gcole said:


> Twice around my neck, is once around someone else's waist.


ahahaha cute....


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## pjcoldren (Dec 20, 2011)

close enough for govmint work - the length of a dollar bill is a hair longer than 6 inches.


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## lindseymary (Oct 29, 2011)

Used to use the distance fingertip to fingertip=height with first year Junior kids as an introduction to measurement.Then they measured desks with arms/hands,then, when MY measurements didn't match, they came to conclusion that we needed something constant(all by themselves!!),they never needed telling again :lol: :twisted: Lindseymary


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## Alta Grama (Apr 16, 2012)

Jessica-Jean said:


> This one: "Once around the fist, once along the foot. Measure the circumference of your closed fist and you'll know the length of your foot." I learned from my grandmother. When shopping for socks, she would ask for my closed fist, wrap the prospective sock around it, and deem it good if toe and heel met.
> 
> One that's missing is that the length of the foot is usually the same as the measure on the inside of the forearm between inside of elbow and inside of wrist. So, next time you want to knit surprise socks for someone, just measure the forearm. They might be expecting a sweater, but the socks will fit!


Ooooh. Is my body ever freaky. I knew the wrist/neck/waist measurement wouldn't work for me because I appear to be built something like what DonnieK describes. However, my following measurements don't add up either:

Closed fist. 10"
Forearm. 9 1/2"
Foot. 8 1/2"
Height. 60"
Armspan. 63"

Looks like fat hands, short feet and I never attained full growth. LOL


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## MrsB (Jun 3, 2011)

Perfect measurements (for a woman):

Take your wrist measurement (say 6")
Your waistline should be 4x6 or 24" (yeah, right)
Your hip measurement should be 6x6 or 36"
Bust also 6x6 or 36"

I wonder what year that study was done (1940's?)


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## mac4kids (Mar 26, 2012)

My Dtr has always taken a pair of pants and wraps the doubled waistband around her neck to see if it fits - she hates having to try on clothes. It always works for her.


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## Jessica-Jean (Mar 14, 2011)

lindseymary said:


> Used to use the distance fingertip to fingertip=height with first year Junior kids as an introduction to measurement.Then they measured desks with arms/hands,then, when MY measurements didn't match, they came to conclusion that we needed something constant(all by themselves!!),they never needed telling again :lol: :twisted: Lindseymary


Please, what age kids are found in "first year Junior"? 
Whatever their age, it's wonderful to know that there are some schoolkids who actually know how to think! _So_ refreshing after overhearing some of their conversations on public transit.


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## Jessica-Jean (Mar 14, 2011)

As we all know, there's a world of difference between the 'ideal' and reality. 
Children who're unlucky enough to have a serious illness (mumps, measles, chicken pox, as well as cancers) befall them just at the same time their body has a growth spurt, do not attain their maximum potential height. The illness stops that growth spurt dead in its tracks, and it does *not* re-start later on. _It_ is gone.

So, parents, vaccinate your kids!! I did mine and, despite their 5'4" father's contribution, they're 6'3" (boy) and 5'10" (girl); I'm 6'. :thumbup: We'll forever wonder how much taller they might have been had there been a vaccine against chicken-pox before they got it.


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## Lillyhooch (Sep 27, 2012)

No doubt whose genes for height were dominant there. But was their dad's height curtailed by a childhood illness at the critical time?



Jessica-Jean said:


> As we all know, there's a world of difference between the 'ideal' and reality.
> Children who're unlucky enough to have a serious illness (mumps, measles, chicken pox, as well as cancers) befall them just at the same time their body has a growth spurt, do not attain their maximum potential height. The illness stops that growth spurt dead in its tracks, and it does *not* re-start later on. _It_ is gone.
> 
> So, parents, vaccinate your kids!! I did mine and, despite their 5'4" father's contribution, they're 6'3" (boy) and 5'10" (girl); I'm 6'. :thumbup: We'll forever wonder how much taller they might have been had there been a vaccine against chicken-pox before they got it.


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## Jessica-Jean (Mar 14, 2011)

Lillyhooch said:


> No doubt whose genes for height were dominant there. But was their dad's height curtailed by a childhood illness at the critical time?


Probably. He nearly died at age 4 when a car's parking break failed on a slope and the car rolled down and hit him in the head. The doctors told his father to just let him die; his father took him to a bigger hospital and stayed with him insisting they save his life, even if he were to be reduced to a vegetative state (not that they used that term in 1950 in Syria!). Any of his body's scheduled growth spurts during that time of injury and recovery were skipped. He's the shortest of his siblings; even his sisters are a tad taller.


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## missylam (Aug 27, 2011)

Montana Gramma said:


> My first thumb knuckle is exactly an inch and my fingers to nose with face sideways is 36". I know this because I practiced buying a lot of fabric!


Oh!! I do the same think for the same reason, been doing it for years. :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:


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## darowil (Apr 17, 2011)

Jessica-Jean said:


> This one: "Once around the fist, once along the foot. Measure the circumference of your closed fist and you'll know the length of your foot." I learned from my grandmother. When shopping for socks, she would ask for my closed fist, wrap the prospective sock around it, and deem it good if toe and heel met.
> 
> One that's missing is that the length of the foot is usually the same as the measure on the inside of the forearm between inside of elbow and inside of wrist. So, next time you want to knit surprise socks for someone, just measure the forearm. They might be expecting a sweater, but the socks will fit!


The hand works well as well. Work the foot until it is the length of the persons hand and then start the heel or the toe. If doing a toe up flap and gussett style heel you will need to start the heel about 1 inch earlier as it takes up more space than a short row heel (while the heel takes up more space going top down as well this doesn't impact the measuring as the bottome half of hte heel is inculded in the hand length. The toe or the heel provide the extra length needed to fit the foot.
And this is also a good guide for the length of the sock assuming you are not making knee-highs. A leg length of a hand (including cuff) before beginning heel, or from the beginning of the top half of the heel before starting the cuff (clearly if you doing a very short cuff you just knit a few extra rows). 
So if I am knitting a sock for a specfic person I simply compare their hand length to mine and go from there. And you can also judge the width needed this way as well.


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## Lillyhooch (Sep 27, 2012)

Didn't know about the width. Could you expand on this please.



darowil said:


> The hand works well as well. Work the foot until it is the length of the persons hand and then start the heel or the toe. If doing a toe up flap and gussett style heel you will need to start the heel about 1 inch earlier as it takes up more space than a short row heel (while the heel takes up more space going top down as well this doesn't impact the measuring as the bottome half of hte heel is inculded in the hand length. The toe or the heel provide the extra length needed to fit the foot.
> And this is also a good guide for the length of the sock assuming you are not making knee-highs. A leg length of a hand (including cuff) before beginning heel, or from the beginning of the top half of the heel before starting the cuff (clearly if you doing a very short cuff you just knit a few extra rows).
> So if I am knitting a sock for a specfic person I simply compare their hand length to mine and go from there. And you can also judge the width needed this way as well.


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## darowil (Apr 17, 2011)

Lillyhooch said:


> Didn't know about the width. Could you expand on this please.


Simply thatthe width of the hand is good guide to the width of the foot. SO someone with short chubby hands has short wide feet. So if the width of the other persons hand is different to yours you can use it as a guide as to how much bigger or smaller you will need the sock to be.


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## Lillyhooch (Sep 27, 2012)

Ok i get it. I do have wide hands and wide feet. Will check it out. Thank you.



darowil said:


> Simply thatthe width of the hand is good guide to the width of the foot. SO someone with short chubby hands has short wide feet. So if the width of the other persons hand is different to yours you can use it as a guide as to how much bigger or smaller you will need the sock to be.


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## darowil (Apr 17, 2011)

Lillyhooch said:


> Ok i get it. I do have wide hands and wide feet. Will check it out. Thank you.


While proprtions very between people it seems that you can use hand size as an accurate guide to foot size. The problem with using width of the fist to determine length of the sock is that it doesn't allow for wide feet (and thus hands) which are also short. Would be a reasonable enough guide for me (just checked it on a sock sitting on my desk which fits me), but my daughter would have plenty of excess toe length as she has feet considerably shorther than mine but wider so using this method she would end up with longer socks than me (just checked her- she would need a another 1cm-almost 1/2 inch- to go round her fist. So I would be knitting them about 1 cm longer than mine for a shorter foot). I knit her socks about 3/4 inch shorter than mine and the same width which seems to work.
So while proportions vary between people the individuals relationship to foot and hand size always remains the same (well I'm sure there will be exceptions as they are in almost all thing but uncommon enough to assume it applies to everyone as far as I can tell. Certainly anyone i have checked it out on fits the guide. It won't be exact but socks are elastic so they don't have to be exact
I think that the fist would work well as a guide for shop bought socks as if you feet are wide and short then the stretching sideways would take up the length. ANd they cover a large number of diffent shoe sizes.


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