September 14, 2012

What’s up with that?

An expensive pattern company, with a good reputation for great fitting garments, and the garment does not fit well. At all.

Maybe user error? Did I pick the correct size? Measure my daughter incorrectly? Trace the pattern incorrectly. None of the above.

So how is it that the size for one person fits perfectly, and the size, according the pattern’s measurement chart, for another fits awkwardly? What’s up with that?

I rarely, if ever, use the Big 3 (or is it 4) patterns, because I got very tired of hit or miss sizing and just plain strange fitting clothing. I pay more for the quality of other pattern companies. I love the results of good looking clothes that fit properly. Many of you probably feel the same way and stick to Farbenmix, Ottobre, Burda, Kwik Sew, and Jalie for the same reasons (should we call them the fab 5? or am I forgetting someone?). Well, I recently have made the Jalie 2805 T-shirt pattern for 3 different individuals and am having a hard time with my experience. I completely get why I’m having a hard time determining my own size–this has to do with my fussiness of fit. I do not want a fitted tee, which is the design of this pattern. I get that. I know how to deal with that. My teen–according to her measurements, the size fit perfectly. No issues. So why would the same t-shirt pattern, again I picked the size according to her chest and hip measurements, for my 10 year (pre-pubescent) daughter fit so badly? Unwearable actually. Let’s walk through the process…

1. took measurements, and chose size accordingly. Check.

2. double check width measurement of the pattern pieces against an existing shirt that fits her well. Check.

3. check neckline height for preference of fit. Check.

4. recheck tracing accuracy. Check.

So why did I one morning go into my dd’s room to find the 2 new Jalie t-shirts on the floor? Because she wanted to wear them that morning to school, but couldn’t because they were not comfortable. Could it have been the fabric choice, you ask? I don’t think so. One was a Cotton Lycra (7 or 10% lycra content), the other a nice stretchy cotton jersey knit (same type and brand I used for my teen’s shirt). After inquiring after school, it has been identified: the arm hole, armscye–you know the hole she puts her arm through, where the sleeve is attached. <<the armscye is the armhole>> I asked her to put it on, and it looked painful. Something I had never experienced, and therefore never thought to check before cutting into the fabric. Mind you, my daughter is average build and has not had sizing issues like this before, ever. The sleeve was a bit tight as well, but I knew that adjusting, grading, the arm hole would correct the sleeve issue as well.

So I would like to share how I corrected this problem to make this particular Jalie pattern fit correctly. Grading is something that is done to achieve an optimal fitting garment, and typically easy to do with Jalie and Ottobre patterns, imo.

First, I measured the circumference of her arm where it meets the shoulder and arm pit (why does arm pit sound so nasty?). Measure loosely, not exact, so that there will be enough space there–it should not be completely fitted even though you are using a knit fabric. Also, make sure her arm is down, against the side of her body–this gives you the fullest measurement, which you want.

Compare that measurement to the pattern’s armscye–the “J” part of the bodice, to where the sleeve will be attached. If they do not match, then you’ll want to adjust the pattern, open that up a bit. I was surprised how different the two measurements were. I did this by grading to a different size, one lower down on the pattern sheet–not necessarily a larger size, because the shoulder width was fitting fine.

Since the shirt fit every where else: shoulder was fine, width was fine, I used a tape measure to determine where it needed to go down to, to be enough of an opening to accommodate her arm and be comfortable. After all, t-shirts should be comfortable.

Step 2: mark that point that would make opening match that circumference measurement, plus a seam allowance.

Step 3: I put the tracing back onto the pattern sheet. Her correct size should have been “M” according to the measurement chart, and the shoulders fit fine (they did not hang off the shoulders), so I start out at that mark. As I begin drawing my new line for the armscye, I move over to the other size which then lowers and opens up that arm hole. Doing this gradually, grades the pattern to the proper fit for the person whom you are sewing for. If you click on the image, you will get an enormous pic, which you can zoom in on and see the gradual grading.

Here is essentially what I ended up with: I have the shoulder width and starting point of size M, graded to a wider opening by gradually tracing over to a lower line on the pattern which ended up being K. Then continued the curve to the width of M. Now size K is smaller, but since I started higher up than the “K” upper shoulder point, my J shape of armscye is longer, thus a wider opening.

Step 4: I also adjusted the sleeve, because once you add to the opening, the original sleeve would no longer fit. So I used a tape measure to measure the curve and add enough to the sleeve so that it would fit the opening. Jalie pattern has the sleeve cut individually and each is placed and cut on the fold, so I just placed the pattern piece over from the fold the necessary amount. <<please just ignore all the scribbles on that tracing fabric–I recycle my pattern tracing material>>

These adjustments did the trick and now my daughter has a Jalie t-shirt that fits properly–perfect, according to my daughter. Not sure why all this was necessary, since the other sizes did not have this problem. I’m also not sure it was worth it to do all of this, considering all the Ottobre t-shirt patterns that I already have, which fit her just fine without correcting this problem. Hardly seems worth the $13 per pattern price either–after all, the objective in spending more for a Jalie pattern is to avoid ill-fitting patterns, duh. And Ottobre has a lot of patterns per issue–not just one. Interestingly, their t-shirts fit me better without grading the pattern, as well. mmm.

Just as a fun comparison, I’m including a photo of the 2 identical shirt (still have to put binding on the sleeves for the ringer tee)–the one on the left is the ridiculously small arm hole, and the one on the right is the shirt I made with the graded pattern alterations. It’s funny and sad… the size difference of the opening pretty funny, but the shirt is also pretty worthless, because the length and width would probably look silly on a child with that arm/shoulder joint measurement. The arm hole measurement would surely be related to their chest measurement, wouldn’t you think?