Subject: Are we happy about the styles availabe in plus szes Date: 2/3/10 8:35 PM

i've just had a rant at Mccalls, whose token jesture, to plus size women the world over, was to offer one pattern, a wrapover dress, in a size up to 24,.

Now as a size 26 bust 30 waist and 30 hip quite frankly this just isnt good enough. So I have emailed them to say so, thinking that if they dont know they arent delivering to me then i cant complain if they don't design for me.

Are you sick and tired of styles which dont flatter us? Of having very little to choose from, unless we lose weight, like we haven't tried already, well vent your spleen here, we can let everyone know how we feel.

unless of course its just me and youre all happy with what they are offering
-- Edited on 2/3/10 8:37 PM --

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Subject: Are we happy about the styles availabe in plus szes Date: 2/3/10 9:52 PM

I probably shouldn't be butting in here since I am not plus sized, but I often look at the Burda Magazine plus patterns and wish they were in my size. Many of them are very chic and attractive. HTH

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Subject: Are we happy about the styles availabe in plus szes Date: 2/3/10 10:32 PM

You are definitely not alone, as evidenced by the blog post in this link, an interview with cmarie12. It's so great that you took the time to let the company know--you're right, otherwise how would they figure it out.

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http://theslapdashsewist.blogspot.com
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2007: purchased 115+, sewed 105+
So close to parity, yet so far

Trying again in 2008
Yards purchased: 133
Yards sewn: Somewhere around 95

2009? I give up

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Reply to nicolaluk
Subject: Are we happy about the styles availabe in plus szes Date: 2/3/10 10:42 PM

Butterick has (relatively) more patterns that go up to 28 or even a 32, and they're not all frumpy Connie Crawford patterns, either - for instance, there's this nice wrap dress:

Butterick 5001

But both McCall's and Vogue are just lame. Love some of the styles, and while I'm perfectly capable (well, I am when properly caffeinated) of doing the necessary adjustments to grade up a 22 or 24 to my size (I am a 22-24 in RTW, which as we all know is a 26 or 28 in the Big Four), I'm with you - sometimes I JUST DON'T WANNA DO IT!!!!!

So once again today I say, God bless Trudy at Hot Patterns - her sizing is more like RTW and her designs are curve-friendly.

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Marie
www.etsy.com/shop/Riesie

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Reply to nicolaluk
Subject: Are we happy about the styles availabe in plus szes Date: 2/4/10 0:22 AM

Sing it, sister!!!

I started looking at Simplicity in a more flattering light when they started doing the Khaliah Ali patterns. I always thought of them as the poor cousin of Vogue & McCall's, but it really seems to me that they are the Big 4 company with the most to offer in plus sizes.

In the last couple of years, pattern companies have tacked on a few sizes at the top end of the scale for a larger portion of their patterns, and I have to grade a lot less (I'm wearing about a 22-ish in patterns), but I agree, not good enough.

I find it especially insulting that the company decides which patterns to make in larger sizes by how flattering THEY think that pattern might be on larger women (which translates to things more conservative or with less shaping). So many times I check out the "cute" pattern, only to find that it ends at size 18. Isn't it up to ME to decide what I like and want? We're sewers, for crying out loud! We can fit and alter to our taste and figure! That is why many of us are sewing in the first place. Just give us a few more size lines!

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Subject: Are we happy about the styles availabe in plus szes Date: 2/4/10 2:43 AM

I'm not plus size either, becca a , but I have scaled down from both BWOF and Patrones before now, because both of these have offered really nice styles in those ranges, I'm particularly thinking of dresses. In fact, a couple of times the only things I really fancied in the mags were in those sizes.

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Reply to petro
Subject: Are we happy about the styles availabe in plus szes Date: 2/4/10 11:42 AM

I am just on the cusp of Burda Plus (42) and I subscribe to Burda Plus and scale. The other Burda is often too revealing for my tastes.

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Too much fabric to count...

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Subject: Are we happy about the styles availabe in plus szes Date: 2/4/10 12:18 PM

I think Burda has the most stylish clothes - and the best, most consistent fit - for plus sizes, especially their magazines. By my calculations, a size 26/30/30 translates to size 50/54/54 in Burda's European sizes.

The regular Burda Style magazine (formerly known as Burda World of Fashion) is the most stylish IMHO. It has 4-6 plus size patterns every issue, up to size 52. That means you'd be fine for the tops but would have to grade up a size for the pants and skirts. You can browse the current issue and the archives here. I have a tip for grading patterns up one size here, although it's much nicer when you don't have to do this!

Burda's Plus Fashion magazine comes out twice a year and only has plus size patterns, most up to size 54 but some only up to 52.

You can order a magazine subscription from GLP News. Both work out to around $7 an issue. There are places where you can buy single issues - see this topic for more info. The biggest drawbacks to the magazines is that you must trace the patterns, and the instructions are usually pretty bad and sometimes indecipherable. So you either need a good reference book or enough experience to get by without instructions.

The regular Burda patterns are also very good as far as style and fit (and the instructions are better than the magazines). You can browse them here on their website. Don't forget to also check out the plus size patterns under young fashion - or just use the search for your size. If you can't find them locally, you can order them here on PatternReview.

Oh, and yes, yes, yes, the selection of plus size patterns in general is very sad. The only thing worse is the selection for men.

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Reply to nicolaluk
Subject: Are we happy about the styles availabe in plus szes Date: 2/4/10 12:37 PM

Burda envelope patterns in plus sizes have a lot of styles that go from U.S. size 18 to 30 -- a few go to size 34. Some of their non-plus patterns also include a good range of plus sizes, if that makes sense (e.g. starting at size 10 and going up to size 24 or sometimes larger). I say this so often I know it probably sounds like I work for Burda (I definitely don't), but I'm always impressed with the range their envelope patterns have -- a much wider size range than the magazine patterns. Even Burda Plus magazine, which someone suggested, only goes from European size 44 to 52 or sometimes 54 (U.S. 18 to 26 or 28), which is only minimally helpful to someone who wears U.S. pattern size 30 (Eur. 56).


-- Edited on 2/4/10 1:13 PM --

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Formerly Joan1954
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ You can't do things if you're scared. ~Alex Stobbs (google Alex's name)
~ If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid. ~Albert Einstein
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mon bouclier et ma très grande récompense
Gen. 15:1

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Subject: Are we happy about the styles availabe in plus szes Date: 2/4/10 1:10 PM

Another vote here for HotPatterns. Their size ranges go from 6-26 (close to a RTW 26) for all patterns and are definitely drafted with a curvy figure in mind. In fact, they use a size 16 as their base size and grade up and down from there.

I actually dropped my Burda subscription because I found myself sewing HP patterns nearly exclusively.

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--Michelle

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Blog: http://happilycaffeinated.blogspot.com/

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