Date: 8/3/02 3:10 PM

Now I remember why I stopped using Patterns!  I made the proper adjustments on a dress for one of my clients and it STILL came out lousy!  Good thing it was just a muslin.  I can't believe how UNTRUE to size some of these things are.  You follow the envelope measurements and still it looks like a bag.  BTW, this one was a Butterick pattern.  Does anyone like the fit of this company?

Anyway, what pattern companies do you find to be most accurate to what the picture depicts?  

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"ACK! I'm having withdrawals! Get me to a sewing machine... NOW!"

http://ryuunohikari.etsy.com
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Date: 11/23/02 5:16 AM

I have been having the worst time with patterns.  I don’t even bother with measurements anymore-if I followed them I’d be in a size 20 women’s (I wear a medium-large RTW top).  

I feel like I have to be a scientist or detective to figure out what will not look like a piece of crap.  There was an article in Threads magazine years ago about how to “read” a pattern to tell if it is not a “turkey”.  I use that as a guide, but it really makes no difference.  It’s hit or miss as far as I’m concerned.  I gave up on pants a long time ago.  Coats are the worst.  I haven’t made one yet that I could bear to wear more than one season.  They look like paper sacks.  The shoulders are so oversized and unflattering--and the shoulder pads!!!  You’d think we were back in the 80’s!  And there was never a hood that didn’t make me colder than I already was.  They are designed to create a wind tunnel around your head.

My most recent frustration involves sewing for a 4 year old.  I couldn’t make a pair of elastic waist pull-on pants that didn’t look like a potato sack.  The poor kid looked like a rag-a-muffin.  I was embarrassed to put them on her.  

I have been having better luck with Kwik-Sew patterns.  I have been pleased with the results of the few I have made.  I got a copy of the Kwik-Sew for children book and the pants came out great (finally!).  So I am encouraged but also would really like to hear other comments about this topic, which companies have you had the best luck with.

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Date: 11/23/02 8:01 AM

great topic. We can all learn a great deal here.

I have had very good experiences with Burda and Kwik Sew and some stretch and sews. Although I find Burda patterns to be the most stylish! Recently I started trying Neue Mode patterns and I am in love with them. They fit me even better than burda!

I dont remember having luck with big 3 patterns. Every now and then they do come out with a better drafted pattern but generally its a hit or miss.

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Date: 11/23/02 11:30 AM

My favorites: Burda and Vogue (tops). I like the fit in the shoulders & neck; everything else, I can alter.

I'm currently cutting out my first Kwik Sew top pattern. Comparing it to my sloper, it looks like it's going to be a winner too.

For pants, I've only tried Burda and I like them.

Not so good fit: McCalls and New Look tops. In both cases, the neckline was too big, even when the shoulders fit. McCalls was also particularly shapeless and "homemade" looking. Though I've only tried each of these once so it could have been bad luck.

I have found that I can make almost any pattern "fit," but some patterns are just not as well drafted. So mostly I pick patterns by style and then alter a LOT. I agree with you Dale, it would probably be easier to draft them myself, and I'm starting to learn how to do that.

I think a big breakthrough for me has been figuring out the right size to begin with. A good starting place:

For tops: measure tightly around the high bust (chest.) Use this number to select size; if between sizes, I choose the smaller one. Otherwise I end up with wrinkles around the armholes.
For pants: measure hip. Again, I prefer less ease, so I go with the smaller size if I'm between sizes.

Even using these methods, I sometimes will go down a size to get the fit or ease the way I like it.

Then alter a LOT. Because I'm not narrow everywhere like I am in the chest or hips. By the time I am done, the patterns are nearly unrecognizable. But they do fit reasonably well.

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Date: 11/23/02 11:35 AM

I really can't say much about how the fit compares with measurements, or really anything about fit, I'm embarrassed to say.  I am in a childlike state when I complete a sewing project.  I'm just elated that the whole thing came together and looks nice, that I'm not interested in ruining it by noticing anything that would slow down my scramble from sewing room to computer to write up my review.   Hopefully, I will become more mature in my sewing mentality over the course of this year and get on the ball with measuring and fitting and all that jazz.

However, in the case of sewing for children, I can offer this experience:  Kwik Sew Sewing for Children will make you and your child happy with what you make.  I have enjoyed positive results with the book and the individual Kwik Sew patterns.  I also had success with New Look patterns for children.  In fact, I think the only negative experience I had was with a McCall's pattern and I am partly to blame.

Alrighty then, this was probably no help to anyone.  Basically, I am excited if it is wearable and never give it another thought.  To Dale and those who sew professionally or sew for people outside your families, my hat is off to you.  What a challenge you undertake to please your patron and to satisfy the standards of quality you've set for yourself.

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Date: 11/23/02 6:13 PM

Ah..  So far, since I've started going back to trying patterns, I've found the Kwik Sew patterns to be pretty reliable.  I've made 3 or 4 things that fit very well, including those flag girl uniforms for 7 girls.   For New Look patterns, I've had 3 good ones out of 4, and two were for kids.  The Burda patterns I've traced from the magazines have been very good, though I haven't kept track.   I think I will keep tabs on the pattern hit or miss ratios and see which company actually is the most reliable.   I'm a bit disappointed that I can't get those Kwik Sew patterns unless I go through the mail order or internet.  

The main thing about patterns, I think, is to measure and tissue fit before beginning.. no matter if the envelope says you're a certain size.  I've found tissue fitting to be pretty reliable.  

I'll have to get that Kwik Sew book you mentioned Sandra,  I think that would be a good one for my kids things.  And a money saver too.

Dale

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"ACK! I'm having withdrawals! Get me to a sewing machine... NOW!"

http://ryuunohikari.etsy.com
http://justsewit.blogspot.com

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Date: 11/24/02 10:13 AM

Loes Hinse and Kwik Sew are the most reliable for me.  I don't even trace off the Kwik Sew.  I measure the pieces, decide on the size and cut.  Usually I use the small but I did cut out an XS on a jacket recently.  A few times I've chosen to commit myself to one view because I'm not in the mood to trace it off.

As far as being true to size, I should think that would vary by body type. I don't think LH or KS are too far off of RTW (and after all LH is designed for RTW) since I wear the XS or S in LH and KS.  I genearlly wear that same size in RTW.

~Alice

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~Alice

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Date: 11/26/02 5:04 AM

Olive, it sounds like you might be buying patterns according to your bust size (and why not, since the patterns imply that's what you should do), when you may need to buy a pattern for your shoulder and neck area, altering to fit the bust.  If you haven't picked up a copy of Fit for Real People, I highly recommend this book.  It takes the mystery out of why patterns don't fit, tells you how to buy a pattern and how to alter it to fit.  It is very well written, with lots of photos and diagrams.

As for pattern companies fit in general, I have found McCalls to have the greatest amount of design ease, which is usually far in excess of what I like.  When I found a fleece top pattern from McCalls I cut out the small and then took out another EIGHT inches of ease.  It now fits me just the way I like, and is nowhere near what I would call tight; I still wear t-necks under them!  

On the other hand I have had good luck with Simplicity and Butterick.  They have less design ease usually.  Also, as a barely B-cup person, I don't need to make alterations for the bust, so maybe that's why they seem to fit me better.  

I love New Look patterns, but they seem to run so wide in the shoulders for me.  The Kwik Sew pattern I have used (just one so far! fit wonderfully well.  I loved it!

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Life is mostly froth and bubble; two things stand in stone: Kindness in another's troubles, courage in your own.

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Date: 12/10/02 6:34 AM

I have completley given up with the Big 4 patterns, (until Christmas when Santas bringing me Fit for real People).

I love Kwik Sew, and don't bother tracing, an xs has been great in all the tops I have made.
I have made one pair of pants by KS, and had to take 2 inches off the crotch and an inch off the leg width, which was no big deal to be honest, and I'm a beginner.

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Date: 12/10/02 8:07 AM

Lou, if it helps, I can tell you that Kwik Sew size XS corresponds to Vogue size 8-10, at least in the shouder/neck area. Above the bust I usually cut a size XS in Kwik Sew and a size 10 in the Big 4.

From the bust downward I have to alter a lot, so I can't say how they will fit in that area. Though I do remember when I was much thinner    and a B cup I used to wear a size 8 in Vogue, adding a bit around the bust, and it fit reasonably well.

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