Hey everyone, today we're talking about pattern sizing, and why your own tape measure tells you more than the number you buy in a store.
Here we go.
I wouldn't trust the pattern envelope size chart over my own measurements
Actually, let me say that right.
I use the chart.
I just don't start with my shop size.
And I don't pick one column and hope.
That shortcut is so tempting, y'all.
You wear a certain size ready-to-wear.
So you reach for that same number.
It feels fast.
It feels familiar.
It feels like you already did the work.
Folks, pattern sizing is not store sizing.
Not even close.
Pattern companies draft from body measurements.
Stores use their own sizing, and it shifts.
Your body doesn't match one neat column either.
Your bust might land in one size.
Your waist might land in another.
Your hips might have their own opinion entirely.
That's normal.
That's most of us.
The story — two sizes off
I have watched this lesson get learned the hard way.
A sewist picks her usual shop size.
No tape measure comes out.
She cuts the bodice.
She sews a muslin, thank goodness.
And that muslin is about two sizes off.
It gaps in one place.
It pulls in another.
The waist sits in the wrong spot.
She thought the pattern was wrong.
The pattern wasn't wrong.
The starting number was.
I have made a version of that mistake myself.
I trusted a number instead of measuring.
Then I spent my time fixing a guess.
Measuring takes maybe five minutes.
Remaking takes hours.
That trade never pays, folks.
What I do instead
First, I measure honestly, every new project.
Bodies change.
Old numbers go stale.
Stand tall and relaxed.
Wear the undergarments you'll wear with the garment.
Keep the tape level, all the way around.
Snug, but not tight.
You should be able to breathe easy.
Record to the nearest 1/8 inch.
Here are the three I start with:
- Full bust: around the fullest part, tape level across your back.
- Waist: around your natural waist, where you bend side to side.
- Hips: around the fullest part, feet together, tape level.
Then I add one more.
High bust: around your back, under your arms, above the full bust.
That one matters for fitted bodices.
If your high bust and full bust differ by more than 2 1/2 inches, many patterns direct you to choose the bodice size by high bust.
Then you adjust for the full bust.
That keeps neck and shoulders fitting right.
Second, I match numbers, not labels.
I lay my measurements beside the chart.
I circle where each one lands.
If they land in different sizes, I blend.
I draw a smooth line between size lines.
Bust in one, waist in another?
Blend between them at the side seam.
Completely up to you how close you want it.
But blending is just normal sewing.
We're not reinventing the wheel here.
Third, I check finished garment measurements too.
Those are often printed on the tissue.
Or on the envelope flap.
Finished size minus your body size is ease.
Ease tells you how it will feel.
A fitted style needs just enough to move.
A loose style carries a lot more.
If the ease feels wrong for you, adjust.
Fourth, I still make that muslin for fitted things.
Measurements get you to the right neighborhood.
A muslin shows you the actual house.
Now, a little permission beat, because you need it here.
Do not let a bigger pattern number bother you.
It is not a grade.
It is not a judgment.
It is just a drafting number.
Nobody sees it but you.
Everybody cuts it off or folds it away.
You're your own worst critic on this one.
Take your time.
It's not a race.
It doesn't have to be perfect either.
It just has to fit the real you.
If I can do this, y'all can do it.
Don't take my word for it — Tilly and the Buttons walks through this same process in How to Select Your Sewing Pattern Size, from taking your bust, waist, and hip measurements to matching them to the chart and blending between sizes.
Shop the Retractable Tape Measure 120in at Linda's Electric Quilters.
Alrighty, folks.
Measure first.
Trust those honest numbers.
Then cut with confidence.
Thanks so much for sewing along with me today.
We'll see you next time. Bye.
— Corey, Chief Quilter, Linda's Electric Quilters
