Research pilot: validating photo-based body measurement for patternmaking

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Hello everyone,

I’m running a small, protocol-driven research pilot to collect ground-truth body measurement data (photos + manual measurements) in support of a future photo-based body measurement system.

I’m posting here because this work is motivated by the same problems many of us run into with pattern drafting and fitting:

  • inconsistent or unreliable body measurements

  • difficulty validating fit assumptions across real bodies

  • lack of high-quality reference data for testing measurement methods

This is research only — not a product announcement and not software promotion.

What this study is (and is not)

  • This is a research data-collection pilot

  • There is no app to download

  • All review is manual and protocol-based

  • Individual submissions will never become a product

  • Data is used only for research and validation, and only in aggregate

Privacy and consent are explicit and non-negotiable.

What participation involves

  • Two full-body photos (front + side) using a known reference object (US Letter paper)

  • Partner-taken measurements (bust, waist, hip, height — not self-measured)

  • Following a strict capture and measurement protocol

  • Transparent QA rules — some submissions may be rejected if requirements aren’t met

I’m intentionally aiming for a very small sample size (~10 high-quality samples). I’m starting with a small initial batch and will open additional slots as time allows.

Who this is for

This may be of interest if you:

  • care about measurement accuracy and fit consistency

  • have experience with pattern drafting or fitting

  • are comfortable following detailed instructions precisely

You do not need to use Seamly2D specifically to participate, but the research is patternmaking-adjacent by design.

How to participate

If you’re interested, please reply here or send me a DM, and I’ll share the full instructions and data-handling details so you can decide whether it’s a good fit for you.

If this post isn’t appropriate for this category, moderators are welcome to move or remove it.

Thank you for your time and for maintaining such a thoughtful community.

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I’m excited to see where this is headed! Unfortunately, the biggest thing about it which excites me is that I don’t have a reliable way to get quality measurements. (nor am I confident that I have the skills to do so for someone else.)

I don’t know how set your guidelines are at this point, but I will also mention that a large portion of Seamly users have more ready access to international paper standards (a4) than American standards (letter.)

Best wishes on your research!

:unicorn:

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And they use metric. :slightly_smiling_face:

That being said… since this would be a photo submission, the paper size is irrelevant. The photos @ letter size should be 8 1/2" x 11", 215.9mm x 279.4mm or 816px x 1056px. Basically an 8x10.

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It’s my understanding that the paper would be held/placed in the photo as a known reference object, but yes, I suppose it could be cut out of a larger piece of paper.

:unicorn:

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Ah… Ok I misread the spec. IMO a piece of paper as a reference makes no sense… unless you specifically write on the paper 81/2 x 11. A square ruler is a more common object of reference. Maybe they should provide an image of a ruled square one could print out?

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