How to Measure
Stand your child on a flat floor with light shoes off for height. Use a straight wall and a flat book on the head, then mark the wall and measure floor to mark. For chest, ask for airplane arms and run the tape around the fullest part, level front to back. For waist, have them bend sideways and mark the crease that forms, then measure there with a comfortably loose tape. For hips, feet together, measure the fullest part of the seat and hips while keeping the tape level. If you do not have a cloth tape, use a string and a yardstick, the same approach most retailer measuring pages suggest.
- Height: no socks, heels against the wall, eyes forward.
- Chest: tape parallel to the floor, no puffing the chest.
- Waist: do not cinch like a belt; you want everyday breathing room.
- Hips: include diaper bulk for younger toddlers when it still applies.
How Cat & Jack Sizing Usually Fits
Most Cat & Jack everyday knits track close to the height column if your child is average build. If weight sits at the top of a band but height is at the bottom, outerwear and fleeces often feel better one size up so sleeves reach the wrist. If waist measures wide for a height row, bottoms may need the next waist size even when the height label says otherwise. Swim, dance, and uniform pieces sometimes use different blocks, so treat those product-page sizing panels as the final word even when this Cat & Jack size chart matches on paper.
Tops, Bottoms, and Outerwear
Tops lean on chest first once kids leave the baby weight-and-length system. Bottoms still care about waist and hip even when the hangtag only shouts out height. Outerwear needs room for a sweater underneath in fall; if the chest measurement is already tight in the try-on, the winter layer underneath will pull the zipper. For toddlers moving between 24M and 2T, compare both rows to a bodysuit that already fits before you trust the birthday month alone.
When to Size Up or Down
Size up when sleep is restless because cuffs ride up, when the waistband leaves a deep mark, or when growth charts show a jump coming in the next sixty days and you hate mid-season returns. Size down only when fabric is stretching thin and shoulder seams hang past the natural shoulder, not just because a style looks roomy. For siblings close in age, write the measured month inside the collar so the next kid knows why that 5 looks like a 6 in practice.
Fit Notes Inside the Line
Leave one finger of growing room at the toe for shoes, and leave about two fingers of shirt tail if you tuck for school photos, but do not buy two years ahead for playground clothes that will stain on week one. Seasonal buying: buy spring jackets before the first warm snap, but do not force winter coats three sizes up; mobility matters more than blanket coverage. Comfort beats a perfect fit on the chart when sensory issues show up, so prioritize soft waistbands and tagless necks even if the number is not centered in the band.
Travel and School Extras
A Cat & Jack backpack search is separate from clothing sizes, but strap drop still ties to torso length you already measured. Cat & Jack packing cubes help when one child packs both warm and cool layers for the same week; cubes do not change the size chart, they just keep outfits grouped so you are not guessing which shirt matched which short after laundry. Keep a folded copy of your latest measurements in the cube pocket for caregivers who shop without your kid present.
If You Are Between Charts
Babies still on breast or bottle feeding may move weight bands faster than length; trust the tighter of the two if sleepers gap at the neck. Big kids on the edge of kids and adult departments should compare numeric sizes to an in-store try when possible. When two charts disagree, the chart attached to the SKU you are buying wins, because fabric stretch and fit blocks change even inside one brand. Print this page once a season if paper on the fridge helps caregivers who dress your child before you get home.
Quick Checklist
- Measure morning, before heavy meals, shoes off.
- Re-measure after a growth spurt, not once a year by default.
- Save a photo of this page or bookmark the source links above.
More From the Line
Clothing, Baby & Toddler, Shoes, and Accessories in the header show silhouettes that pair with these measurements. None of those pages replace this chart, but they keep you inside Cat & Jack once you pick the right row.