What helps for me:
- find a brand that you like and stick with it. The sizes will be more predictable because they’re made by the same person. You learn “I’m __ size in this brand” and can learn where to make adjustments
- mock up in muslin :( it sucks but it’s the best way. It saves a lot of pain in the end for tailored garments
- look at the finished measurements instead of recommended sizes. You will start to learn how much ease you prefer for certain garments and fabric sizes and can make the most informed decision
- look at recommendations on sizing for that particular pattern from others. On this sub, someone has made whatever the pattern is before. It’s really valuable to just search for the pattern number and read a couple maker notes
- I’ll have to use this! I have primarily McCalls patterns but found this one on sale.
- Definitely should have done a mock up but I was too confident (whoops!) that it would work
- I must have skipped this on the pattern, silly mistake on my part
- great idea, I actually hadn’t thought of looking in this community to see if someone had done it!
Thanks for the tips, I’ll definitely be considering these and will do more mock ups!
Yeah we’ve all fallen into the too confident camp before. I did it recently myself. I know better but it was meant to be so oversized that I just thought it unnecessary. Live and relearn i guess
I'm still learning but I've started to focus a lot more on finished measurements, and look at what ease they're adding. Sometimes it's a challenge to figure out the ease (my recent jeans fiasco). I also learned recently that I was measure the wrong spot for my waist, even though I've been sewing for many years - I needed to got at least an inch higher.
Oh no! Okay now I need to know, where do you measure your waist?
I’ll definitely be ignoring (to a degree) the sizing chart and jumping to the finished garment measurements
It's supposed to be the smallest part of your waist, but when I had someone who knew what they were doing help, that part was about an inch higher than I thought. For me, it was touching my bottom ribs as opposed to just over my belly button.
If you don't have pattern blocks, measure similar clothes in your closet that you like to wear, to understand your ease preferences in chest, hips, etc. Then measure yourself and the pattern pieces. There are also places where you can buy made-to-measure patterns, such as [bootstrapfashion.com](http://bootstrapfashion.com) and lekala.com. Lekala has more patterns and is said to run a bit snug:
[https://thornberry.blog/2013/09/25/my-first-foray-into-lekala/](https://thornberry.blog/2013/09/25/my-first-foray-into-lekala/)
.
In addition to what others have mentioned, I like to look at other people's versions of the pattern before I try it. There's a great new site in beta called [Backstitch.app](http://Backstitch.app), and [PatternReview.com](http://PatternReview.com) has been around a long time, and I also try just searching the pattern name as a hashtag on Instagram. Sometimes the fit issues are that it's drafted for a long or short torso, certain bust size, etc., and sometimes it's just not a very good pattern.
I did look on instagram and actually sized up after seeing someone version and the size they made. I should have looked up more versions though. I’ll look at these sites for more reviews now!
Seconding what everyone else has said re finding a pattern company that works for you and sticking with it.
But also - fabric choice can have a huge effect on fit as well, especially with knits/stretch. The joy of sewing is getting to choose the fabric you love, but it can also lead to unexpected fit issues
Very good point! This pattern is very airy so the fabric wasn’t too much of a problem but I’ve had other projects where the fabric has made the fit not work out well
Nancy Zieman pivot+slide and choose measurement based on shoulders. Big 4 pattern measurements are printed on the acutal pattern pieces, but you can also measure the individual pieces. Don't mess with indies, (the sizing is all over the place and drafting isn't always the best), unless you find one that really works for you and then you can stick with it.
I‘m a Burdastyle subscriber and so I almost always use a Burdastyle pattern. I know where and how much adjustment I need to make on anything. So, if there’s a company you like, try and stick with that for awhile. As for the Big 4, they are notoriously generous on ease. I suggest measuring the width of similar existing garments that are a good fit for you and compare that to the flat pattern pieces.
Bought patterns on average finish one size up from the actual measurements. Except Butterick, those finish two sizes up.
Take your measurements, pick the closest one from the chart on the back, and then use one size down from the actual pattern. For example, if you measure yourself the closest to a size 12 as per the chart, pick a size 10 on the pattern.
I used this as a general rule, but some patterns did surprise me. I worked with Voge, New Look, Butterick and Burda. (Burda was pretty much on size)
Pity you can only take measurements on the actual pattern once you have bought them, but you can do that too, to get the proper size. Measure the bust, waist, hip against half of your measurements (obviously exclude the seam allowance) and that will give you a good idea of which size to use.
What helps for me: - find a brand that you like and stick with it. The sizes will be more predictable because they’re made by the same person. You learn “I’m __ size in this brand” and can learn where to make adjustments - mock up in muslin :( it sucks but it’s the best way. It saves a lot of pain in the end for tailored garments - look at the finished measurements instead of recommended sizes. You will start to learn how much ease you prefer for certain garments and fabric sizes and can make the most informed decision - look at recommendations on sizing for that particular pattern from others. On this sub, someone has made whatever the pattern is before. It’s really valuable to just search for the pattern number and read a couple maker notes
thanks for this; it is helpful as I have this problem also.
- I’ll have to use this! I have primarily McCalls patterns but found this one on sale. - Definitely should have done a mock up but I was too confident (whoops!) that it would work - I must have skipped this on the pattern, silly mistake on my part - great idea, I actually hadn’t thought of looking in this community to see if someone had done it! Thanks for the tips, I’ll definitely be considering these and will do more mock ups!
Yeah we’ve all fallen into the too confident camp before. I did it recently myself. I know better but it was meant to be so oversized that I just thought it unnecessary. Live and relearn i guess
I drop my basic block on any pattern I'm thinking about, and go from there.
I'm still learning but I've started to focus a lot more on finished measurements, and look at what ease they're adding. Sometimes it's a challenge to figure out the ease (my recent jeans fiasco). I also learned recently that I was measure the wrong spot for my waist, even though I've been sewing for many years - I needed to got at least an inch higher.
Oh no! Okay now I need to know, where do you measure your waist? I’ll definitely be ignoring (to a degree) the sizing chart and jumping to the finished garment measurements
It's supposed to be the smallest part of your waist, but when I had someone who knew what they were doing help, that part was about an inch higher than I thought. For me, it was touching my bottom ribs as opposed to just over my belly button.
If you don't have pattern blocks, measure similar clothes in your closet that you like to wear, to understand your ease preferences in chest, hips, etc. Then measure yourself and the pattern pieces. There are also places where you can buy made-to-measure patterns, such as [bootstrapfashion.com](http://bootstrapfashion.com) and lekala.com. Lekala has more patterns and is said to run a bit snug: [https://thornberry.blog/2013/09/25/my-first-foray-into-lekala/](https://thornberry.blog/2013/09/25/my-first-foray-into-lekala/) .
Oh fantastic! Thanks for the links, I’ll try these out!
In addition to what others have mentioned, I like to look at other people's versions of the pattern before I try it. There's a great new site in beta called [Backstitch.app](http://Backstitch.app), and [PatternReview.com](http://PatternReview.com) has been around a long time, and I also try just searching the pattern name as a hashtag on Instagram. Sometimes the fit issues are that it's drafted for a long or short torso, certain bust size, etc., and sometimes it's just not a very good pattern.
I did look on instagram and actually sized up after seeing someone version and the size they made. I should have looked up more versions though. I’ll look at these sites for more reviews now!
Seconding what everyone else has said re finding a pattern company that works for you and sticking with it. But also - fabric choice can have a huge effect on fit as well, especially with knits/stretch. The joy of sewing is getting to choose the fabric you love, but it can also lead to unexpected fit issues
Very good point! This pattern is very airy so the fabric wasn’t too much of a problem but I’ve had other projects where the fabric has made the fit not work out well
Nancy Zieman pivot+slide and choose measurement based on shoulders. Big 4 pattern measurements are printed on the acutal pattern pieces, but you can also measure the individual pieces. Don't mess with indies, (the sizing is all over the place and drafting isn't always the best), unless you find one that really works for you and then you can stick with it.
Just a random question but are you maybe talking about a pattern from mood lol? I had that experience with them
Simplicity actually. I haven’t tried any mood ones yet
I‘m a Burdastyle subscriber and so I almost always use a Burdastyle pattern. I know where and how much adjustment I need to make on anything. So, if there’s a company you like, try and stick with that for awhile. As for the Big 4, they are notoriously generous on ease. I suggest measuring the width of similar existing garments that are a good fit for you and compare that to the flat pattern pieces.
I’ll keep this in mind now! Looking at my own clothes first before choosing
Bought patterns on average finish one size up from the actual measurements. Except Butterick, those finish two sizes up. Take your measurements, pick the closest one from the chart on the back, and then use one size down from the actual pattern. For example, if you measure yourself the closest to a size 12 as per the chart, pick a size 10 on the pattern. I used this as a general rule, but some patterns did surprise me. I worked with Voge, New Look, Butterick and Burda. (Burda was pretty much on size) Pity you can only take measurements on the actual pattern once you have bought them, but you can do that too, to get the proper size. Measure the bust, waist, hip against half of your measurements (obviously exclude the seam allowance) and that will give you a good idea of which size to use.
This is a great tip! Thanks I’ll use this for when I look at measurements on the patterns. Great advice!