Choosing a size – help!

[the_professors_assistantKeymaster]

My body measurements span 3 sizes. I have recently started sewing because I just don’t like the way most store-bought clothes fit me. Now I’m struggling to learn the best ways to adjust my patterns to accommodate my unique (and beautiful!) shape. I used to cut out the largest size and taper down, but depending on the pattern, this doesn’t always work out. My bust/waist/hip measurements are 44/40/52. What do you suggest?

[the_professors_assistantKeymaster]

Hello! Sorry to hear about your issues and I know that’s so frustrating. I think you can vary depending on what you’re making. For a shirt or a dress, I would pick a pattern according to your bust measurement. That way you can make sure that the shoulder area is going to fit well and I think this is the hardest to make changes too. Then make changes if needed to the waist (and hip if needed). For bottom garments like pants or skirts, pick a pattern according to your hip measurement and then adjust the waist. For tips on making alterations to your pattern pieces before cutting them out, check out our tutorials on bust (we have increase and decrease), waist (increase and decrease), and hip (increase and decrease). Also, check out our tutorial on functional and design ease, because understanding this might mean we don’t have to do as much alteration as we think. As usual, I always recommend making a muslin (or cheap test run) with any alterations you make to your patterns so you can make sure you’re happy with the changes before using more expensive fabric. Hope this helps! 🙂

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