Surprise! Or: how to take your partners measurements without them noticing

Here at penumbra, there are two questions that keep popping up in our inboxes:

– I don’t know the size of the recipient(s); can I just guess?
– Can I send you a picture of my partner, and you tell me what size I need?

Unfortunately, it’s not quite that easy to guess the correct size, so we’ve come up with methods to get the measurements of your counterpart without having to spoil a great surprise.
For great fitting restraints or collars, it is necessary that we can work with measurements that are as accurate as possible. In the following five practical tips, we’ll tell you how to do that without having to rush up to your sweetheart with a tailor’s tape measure:

Use a D/s setting

If you have an existing D/s setting with your partner, this is a perfect opportunity to let your partner do all the work. For example, you can instruct the partner to measure him or herself. To not make it immediately apparent that you need the measurements for a special surprise, we suggest that you let your partner collect as many measurements as possible. How about, for example, a complete survey? Weight, height, waist circumference, leg circumference … up to the circumference of the neck, wrists, and ankles. I think you already know what we’re getting at.

Use rope

We have good news for all the rope enthusiasts among us. Most of the time, you already have a perfect measuring device in your hands. Why not use an “extraordinary” technique for the next bondage session where the rope is placed around the points to be measured – quite by chance, of course? Now all you must do is mark the rope section, and you have a basis that you can measure later.

Involve kinky friends

Another – very popular – option would be to involve another person. The pretext that this third person would like to surprise someone with a collar or cuffs and that their partner happens to be built very similarly to yours has proven itself very successful. The third person then measures your partner for you. For the sake of completeness, it should be mentioned that the person involved is usually rewarded with chocolate.

Use a session

For all creative minds, there is also the possibility of building the “measuring” into a session. The resulting options are only limited by your imagination (and physical and medical principles ^^). For example, one of our customers used sensory deprivation to confuse his partner’s senses to the point that he could calmly work “unnoticed” with the tailor’s tape measure. Another customer converted a thin chain into a collar that his partner had to wear and measured the length later. Yet another customer was thoroughly examined during a session, which involved getting their measurements.

Work with what is already there

If your partner already has a well-fitting collar or cuffs, you can take the measurements from them. Extra bonus points if they are made by penumbra 😉
If these are unavailable, you can alternatively measure a watchband, a bracelet, or an ankle strap. You should pay close attention to how tight the accessory is worn in everyday life – the tighter, the better. The item can then be measured by laying it flat and using a ruler or measuring tape.
Working with existing templates is not that easy for us since we don’t know how the product was made, or how thick or thin the material is… (only exception: you take the measurements from a penumbra product 😉 )
Therefore: please tell us how exactly you took the measurements, take a photo of the placements of the measuring tape and send it to us.

We hope this post proofs to be useful and helps you to surprise your beloved one(s)! Let us know if you have more fun and creative ideas to get your partner’s measurements 😊

By the way: if you’re not exactly sure how to take measurements in the first place – we got you covered! Here’s an article explaining all the details about tight a measuring tape must sit and where to place it for the best results.