sizing sewing patterns

It has been a loooooong time since I bought a sewing pattern. But I have a little affiliate money from Amazon and was looking at patterns the other day, thinking I'd love to get back to sewing this winter. However, I seem to recall that the sizes don't match the measurements. Or at least they didn't used to because they allowed for generous easement. I always had to buy a different size sewing pattern than the ready-made item. I looked for easement on the pattern information, but couldn't find it. Can anyone give me a general idea about how patterns are sized nowadays? I'm talking about the old stand-bys - Simplicity and McCalls.

Oddly enough, I had just watched this video suggested by Youtube and to sum it up, since 1968 the sizes "don't mean dick!" She says to just know your measurements.

https://youtu.be/xHDor9Jdh7Y

25 years back I gave up on the other pattern companies and stick with McCall's patterns. They are true to what they say they are. Simplicity ran smaller than it claimed too. I don’t remember why I left Butterick.

McCall's patterns do not match retail sizes. Go by your measurements.

Jordan, great video! Thanks!

Joylynn Hardesty wrote:25 years back I gave up on the other pattern companies and stick with McCall's patterns. They are true to what they say they are. Simplicity ran smaller than it claimed too. I don’t remember why I left Butterick.

Joylynn, one thing I remember, from when I did a lot of sewing, was that the pattern companies used to have their own styles. McCall's, Simplicity, and Butterick used to carry different style ideas, so that it was a lot of fun to choose (I seem to recall liking Butterick back in the day.) Then, at some point, they all started churning out basically the same patterns. I miss that uniqueness.

So, go by my measurements, ha! Besides having changed a lot over the years, mine don't match what's listed under the size numbers anyway.

Even between brands, sizes of off-the-rack clothing don't seem to match up.  Right now, I'm somewhere between a medium and XXL depending on the brand.  And even then nothing fits everywhere.

For sewing, I've been ignoring the sizing and going with the measurement chart.

I just need to learn how to tell the difference between the chart for the body size and the finished garment chart.  kind of messed that up a few times.

r ranson wrote:I just need to learn how to tell the difference between the chart for the body size and the finished garment chart.  kind of messed that up a few times.

That's something I'm confused about. I recall following my measurements but still having the garment fit wrong. Of course, now that I'm older, my measurements don't match any of the sizes! It's probably a good thing that patterns now come in multiple sizes.

Yup. None of them seem to work for me. There's a 10inch difference between my hips and natural waist, which are only 4inches apart. My bust is fairly proportionate to my waist, but, my arms (from all the heavy lifting work I *used to*do) need a men's xl, or even a xxl, and I'm only 5'4" tall, so they're way out of proportion to the rest of me. Trying to figure out how to adjust a women's pattern for (proportionately) ginormous arms is a huge pita, because it not only screws with the armholes and the sleeves, but completely throws off the entire bodice. Needless to say, I wear a lot of men's tshirts.

McCall’s, Vogue, and Butterick are all owned by the same company; they’re just slightly different product lines. This chart might help when dealing with their modern patterns.

First of all, sewing pattern sizes are different than RTW sizes.

If you are going to make a top, choose the size based on your bust measurement. Misses patterns are designed for height 5'5" to 5'6" with B cup (high bust - full bust=2") usually run to size 16 with a full bust measurement of 38" aka high bust of 36". For women sizes, they usually start from 18W with D cup (high bust - full bust= 4").

Say if your high bust is 34" and your full bust is 38", the difference is 4". Rather than size 16 (bust 38"), size 14 (bust 36") is the one to pick then do a 2" full bust adjustment to add width and length to the front pattern piece. In this case, the rest of pattern pieces remain the same and be proportional to your figure. A garment too big in size is unflattering and sometimes uncomfortable.

Most patterns won't show the finished garment measurements of bust/waist/hip but something style related like back length, cuff/hem width or inseam length. There are ease charts for different silhouettes of different types of garments.  For example, one company's semi fitted shirt has 5 inches of bust ease and another considers that a loose fitting, but it's fairly consistent within the same company.