How to Create a Size Chart for Your Clothing Brand's Leather Jackets

A leather jacket that fits well sells itself, and one that fits badly comes back. Before your first production run, you need a size chart for your clothing brand that your manufacturer can grade patterns to and your customers can trust when they order online.

What is the difference between body and garment measurements?

Body measurements describe the person: chest around the fullest point, natural waist, arm length. Garment measurements describe the jacket lying flat or measured on a form: the finished chest, the hem opening, the sleeve from shoulder seam to cuff.

The gap between the two is called ease. A fitted biker jacket has little ease so it sits close to the body. A flight jacket or bomber has more, so it can be layered over a sweater. Your brand decides how much ease each style gets, and that choice is what gives your line its fit identity.

You need both sets of numbers, used in different places:

• Garment measurements go in your tech pack and size spec. This is what the pattern master works from and what your quality check measures against.
• Body measurements go on your website. Shoppers know their own chest size, not the flat width of a jacket they have never seen.

How do you build a size chart for your clothing brand?

Work in this order.

1. Choose a base sample size. This is the one size developed and fitted first, usually the middle of your expected range. Pick the size closest to your typical customer.
2. Get the base size right. Measure a jacket you already like the fit of, or have a fit model try samples. Write down each point of measure for that one size.
3. Set your size range. Decide how far up and down you want to go, and whether you need regular and tall lengths.
4. Have the pattern graded. Grading means scaling the base pattern up and down through every size in a consistent, proportional way.
5. Agree on tolerances. Every point of measure gets an allowed plus-or-minus range.
6. Sample, fit, approve. Check the base sample and ideally one size at each end of the range before production.
7. Publish a customer chart. Convert garment specs into body-size guidance for your product pages.

Which points of measure does a leather jacket need?

Leather does not forgive the way knit fabric does, so a jacket spec needs more points than a T-shirt. These are the core measurements to define for each size:

Point of measure	How it is usually taken	Why it matters
Chest	Across the jacket just below the armholes, zipped	The main sizing number customers compare
Waist	Across the narrowest point of the body	Controls shape, especially on fitted biker and women's styles
Hem	Across the bottom edge, zipped	Affects how the jacket sits over hips and belts
Shoulder	Seam point to seam point across the back	Hard to alter in leather, so it must be right
Sleeve length	Shoulder seam to cuff edge	The most common complaint after chest fit
Back length	Center back from collar seam to hem	Separates cropped, regular and tall fits
Armhole	Along the curve of the armhole seam	Sets range of movement and comfort
Bicep	Across the sleeve just below the armhole	Leather sleeves that are too narrow feel stiff and restrictive

Write the method next to each measurement in your spec, not just the number. "Chest, just below armhole, zipped, measured flat" leaves no room for two people to measure differently. Our guide to writing a leather jacket tech pack shows where this table sits in the full document.

How does grading work, and who sets the increments?

Grading is the step that turns one good pattern into a full size run. Each point of measure grows or shrinks by a set amount between sizes, and the amounts differ by point: chest and waist usually change more than shoulder or sleeve length, because bodies get wider faster than they get longer.

You do not need to invent these increments yourself:

• Give your manufacturer the base size measurements and the size range you want.
• Ask them to propose grade rules based on their experience with similar styles.
• Review the full graded chart before sampling, looking for anything that seems off, such as a sleeve that barely changes across sizes.
• Approve the chart in writing so it becomes the reference for production.

Should you offer tall sizes and extended sizes?

Tall lengths change back length and sleeve length while keeping chest and shoulder in line with the regular size.

Extended sizes raise a development cost question: some manufacturers charge extra to grade or sample larger sizes. At White Buraq, leather jackets run up to 8XL in both regular and tall with no development charge for the larger sizes. See our big and tall leather jackets wholesale page for how that program works.

Deciding how many of each size to order is a separate question. The section below on planning a size run for leather jackets covers the ratios and how to avoid leftover stock at the edges of the range.

These are styles a store can stock or put under its own label, each available graded to a buyer's size chart:

What tolerance should a leather jacket size chart allow?

Tolerance is the allowed difference between the spec and the finished jacket. No two hides behave exactly alike, so tolerance defines in advance which variations are acceptable.

Set tolerances per point of measure rather than one blanket number. Larger measurements such as chest and hem can usually take a little more variation than shoulder or collar. Ask your manufacturer what tolerances they work to on leather, agree on them in writing, and use them when you inspect samples and bulk goods.

How do you test fit before production?

A fit model is a person whose measurements match your base size. Put the sample on them and check:

• Can they reach forward and raise their arms without the back pulling or the hem riding up?
• Does the shoulder seam sit at the edge of the shoulder?
• Do the sleeves reach the wrist bone with arms relaxed?
• Does the jacket close comfortably over a sweater if it is meant to be layered?

Then measure the sample flat and compare every point to the spec. Record the differences, request changes in writing, and only approve once the numbers fall within tolerance. Our leather jacket sample approval checklist gives you a full list to work through.

How does White Buraq grade a pattern to your size chart?

You send a photo, sketch, tech pack or sample garment along with your size chart. Our pattern master drafts a cardboard pattern for the base size, usually in about two to three hours, then grades that pattern through every size on your chart. We keep more than 10,000 patterns on file.

A sample is made before every new style, and any sample fee is shown in your quote. You review it against your measurements, request changes, and production starts only after your written approval.

How do you publish a size chart customers will actually use?

Your customer chart should be simpler than your spec sheet. Include:

• Body chest and waist ranges for each size, plus sleeve length if your fit runs long or short.
• A one-line fit note per style, such as "fitted, size up for layering" or "relaxed fit."
• Clear instructions on how to take each measurement, ideally with a simple diagram.
• Both inches and centimeters if you sell outside the United States.

You can point shoppers to a plain-language guide like how to measure for a leather jacket so they measure the same way your chart assumes.

How do you plan the size run you order?

Your size chart says how each size measures. The size run says which sizes you order and how many of each. A size curve describes how demand spreads across that range, and the size ratio turns the curve into an order by stating how many pieces of each size you buy. A broken size run is what happens when some sizes sell out and leave gaps: a shopper who wears a large will not buy the medium still on the rack, so a broken run costs sales even when the style is popular.

Start from your own sales data

A generic template reflects someone else's customers, and your store may skew larger, smaller or taller than any average. Pull together:

• Sales by size for outerwear and structured tops, over more than one season if you can.
• Returns and exchanges by size, with the fit reason when you have it.
• Missed sales: sizes customers asked for that you did not have.
• Sell-out timing: which sizes ran out first.

If you are new to leather, use the closest category you already sell, such as heavier jackets or tailored coats. Knit tops are a weaker guide, because they forgive sizing mistakes. Genuine leather softens and gives a little with wear, mostly at the elbows and across the back, but it will not lengthen a sleeve or move a shoulder seam. Make sure your staff know how a leather jacket should fit before the first try-on.

Splitting a small first order across sizes

White Buraq's minimum order is 5 pieces per style, with sizes mixed as needed, and that is often enough to test a style across a sensible run:

1. Weight the middle. Put most pieces in the two or three sizes that sell best for you.
2. Cover the ends with one piece each. A single piece at each end tells you whether demand exists there.
3. Skip sizes you never sell. An empty slot costs less than a jacket that sits.
4. Decide tall separately. Swap a regular piece for a tall one where your customers need it.

For example, a men's store selling mostly medium through extra large might order two mediums, three larges and two extra larges, then one each in small, 2XL and 3XL. A big and tall store would move the same shape up the scale, starting at XL and running to 5XL or beyond, while a general store might stop at 3XL and handle larger sizes by special order. Treat this as a way of thinking, not a fixed ratio.

Men's and women's styles need separate runs with their own curves. Silhouette matters too: coats, like the men's leather coats in the range, have more body length to get right, a bomber usually finishes in a band at the waist, and a trucker is cut short, so its sleeve and body length show every error.

Review sell-through by size before every reorder

Sell-through by size compares how many pieces of each size you sold with how many you received. Move pieces toward the sizes that sold through first, trim the ones that sat, and keep a piece at each end you still want to test. Because sizes can be mixed within the 5-piece minimum, each reorder can follow the data instead of repeating the first order. For customers who fall outside the run, made to measure leather jackets can be made from a customer's own measurements within two weeks, without stocking a size that may sell only once.

Size run checklist

Work through these questions before you place a first order or a reorder:

• ☐ Have you pulled sales, returns, missed sales and sell-out timing by size for outerwear?
• ☐ Which two or three sizes sell best for you, and do they get most of the pieces?
• ☐ Is there one piece at each end of the run that you still want to test?
• ☐ Are there sizes you never sell that you can leave out?
• ☐ Do men's and women's styles have their own runs and curves?
• ☐ Does any style need tall lengths, and in which sizes does your data show tall demand?
• ☐ How far into big sizes do your customers actually go?
• ☐ Have you tried the sample on someone in your middle size and checked the shoulders and sleeves?
• ☐ Do your staff know how a leather jacket should fit?
• ☐ Before a reorder: which sizes sold out first, which sat, which did customers ask for, and what were the fit reasons behind returns?
• ☐ Do customers outside the run have a made-to-measure option?

FAQ

Can I use my manufacturer's size chart instead of making my own?

Yes, especially for a first run. Owning your chart, though, keeps fit consistent across future styles.

Do men's and women's jackets need separate size charts?

Yes. Women's patterns have different proportions through the bust, waist and shoulder, so they are drafted and graded separately rather than scaled down from men's sizes.

What if a customer falls outside my size chart?

Made to measure is an option. White Buraq can make a jacket from a customer's own measurements within two weeks. For a single personal jacket, our fully custom leather jackets are quoted from $199.

What is a good size run for a first leather order?

Start with the sizes your store already sells most in outerwear, weight the middle and add one piece at each end. With a 5-piece minimum and mixed sizes, you can test a run without committing deeply to any one size.

Does leather stretch, and should my chart account for it?

Genuine leather tends to relax and mold to the wearer over time, particularly softer hides like lambskin. Factor this into how much ease you give fitted styles, and mention it in your fit notes.

A clear size chart for your clothing brand is what turns a good sample into a line customers reorder. When you are ready to develop yours, start with our private label leather jacket manufacturing page.