Tuesday, May 3, 2011

What's in a size?

Most women will attest to the pain and frustration of clothes shopping where you go from elation thinking you've dropped a size, to total despondency at thinking you have gone up a size, then the harrumph or realising you've not changed at all it's just the clothes in the shops are seemingly sized by a random number generator.  But, as adults are such differnet shapes, heights, sizes, etc, I can sort of mayyyybe forgive the clothing manufacturers a little...

However, as younger children at any given age don't actually differ that much, you would think that kids' sewing pattern sizes would be kind of accurate.  You know, if you're making a size 2, then it will fit a two year old, that kind of thing.  Is that asking too much?  Am I just picky?  Because patterns cost an arm and at least one leg, so I thought maybe I was paying for, well, accuracy... but no.  Of the three main trouser patterns I've been using to make trousers size 9 months, 1 year and 2 years, any given age can differ up to 2cm in length and 2 cm on the waist (and that's taking into account any dodgy sewing on my part).  And they're not even totally consistent when the patterns are made by the same company!  So, I've got a new system...

I've saved good-fitting items from Moo's wardrobe for age 6 months, 9 months, 1 and 2 and - as he is of average height and weight according the the charts - I use those as my new yardstick.  Then I re-label the pattern with what I thnk the *real* sizes are.  That way at least my customers and I stand a fighting chance of getting somethig that fits.

Pattern makers, you suck!

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