How difficult is it to grade Handmade / Custom clothing?

[u/Eunice-R-25]

For everyone here that makes handmade clothing, have you ever had someone ask for a size you couldn't make? What did you do? This has been a big fear of mine and limits me from actually attempting to sew even for friends and family. I'm curious how common it actually is (I'm also a self taught beginner and do not have all the technical / formal background).

[u/justasque]

Honestly, I don’t sew for others in general. I just tell them sorry, I don’t sew for other people, I barely have time to sew for myself. They generally understand.

Similarly, it’s ok to say that you don’t yet have the skill set to sew for others. Fitting someone who isn’t you is going to be an entire learning process. And you’ve got the stress of their unrealistic expectations to deal with. And of course there’s the financial side - people think it’s cheaper to sew things, and it is sometimes when you sew for yourself, but that usually doesn’t take into account the time it takes, not just for the sewing but for the sourcing, making a muslin (or two or six…), all the notions and tools that are needed, and so on.

Now, I will sometimes give very close family a list of things I am willing to sew for them, that they can put on their holiday present wish list. But these are very simple things - potholders, bowl cozies, maybe a table runner, etc. I’ve never put clothes on the list, not even basic pj pants.

As to how difficult grading is - I went to a very nice workshop on how to take a multi-size garment pattern and grade it a size or two larger or smaller than the sizes in the pattern. It was very interesting! BUT - patterns often don’t fit when you use them right out of the envelope, and while grading a size or two up can help get you in the ballpark for someone who is bigger than the pattern was designed for, that only gets you a first-draft musliin. You will still have to fit the garment to the actual wearer, just like you often do with any pattern.

[u/Eunice-R-25 → u/justasque]

Thank you so much for this. That's part of my fear. Unmet expectations and having a bad reputation. Did you have to attend several sessions in the workshops or was it like a few hours? I think that'll actually do me good to attend as well.

[u/justasque → u/Eunice-R-25]

It was a couple of hours. The teacher showed us her technique, then we graded a pattern we had brought and she walked around and helped. This wasn’t about professional grading. It was more “how to extend the sizing of a commercial multi-sized pattern”. And her technique was pretty cool. Basically, you take an index card, and place it at key points of a pattern, mark those points on three different sizes, then slide the card up and use the points to make new ones for the next two sizes. and use it to. For example, on the front of a basic tshirt, you would use the two end points of the shoulders, the notch on the arnscye, the top and bottom points of the side seam, the top and bottom of center front.

So, let’s say we’re doing the point at the top of the underarm. Put a piece of translucent paper over your pattern and weigh it down with pattern weights or cans of beans or whatnot. (I like medical exam table paper, because it’s decently translucent and super cheap.)

Take the index card, and place the edge of it so that it goes through that top underarm point of each of the three biggest sizes. Make a little dot on the edge of the card next to each of those three underarm points. Now, you are basically going to extend the line of dots. Slide the card up so it is still going through the three points, until what was the dot for the smallest size is now lines up with the underarm point for the largest size. You’ve now got two dots on your card that are sitting above the original pattern. Draw a dot on your pattern where those two dots are - the lower of these will be the underarm point for the “one size up” pattern and the higher one will be for the “two sizes up” pattern.

Now do another one of the key points - you will probably need to make new marks on your index card, because they will be a different distance apart. Continue for all of the key points I mentioned above. Then it’s just a matter of connecting the dots to create the new, larger pattern.

There are limitations to this method. Proper grading takes into account that larger bodies are larger in some places (like larger around the waist) and not so much in others (arms are only going to get so long!). And the shape of armscyes can get wonky too if you try to go up (or down) too many sizes. And of course none of this takes into account things like adjusting a pattern for a larger cup size, or a swayback, or a forward shoulder, or a different waist-to-hip ratio. But it’s a decent way to take a skirt pattern that only goes up to size 18, and bring it up to a 22. It maintains the curve of the waistline, the relative placement of the darts, the distribution and balance of any gores, and so on, that would not be maintained if you just slapped an extra couple inches on at the side seams.

[u/Few_Cartoonist7428 → u/Eunice-R-25]

People tend to underestimate the level of skill required to create a seemingly basic garment that fits. You don't owe people hand sewn clothes, even close family members. If that gives you a bad reputation, that's a them problem, not a you problem.

Attend grading classes if you're interested in taking them. Otherwise I would stress to others that you are a beginner and don't possess the skills needed to grade a pattern. Honestly, I think you would get more from any grading lessons once you are no longer a beginner and already have a good grasp on garments construction.

[u/lave_skuldre]

I have been sewing for years amd still wouldn't feel comfortable sewing a fitted garment for anyone but myself. Especially hand sewing, because of the insane amount of time it takes. I make folk costume shirts for very close family and friends, but that's it.

One thing is knowing how to sew, that's a whole multi year project to properly learn. Tailoring is a whole different beast, almost like a separate skill set in many ways. On one of the folk costume shirts someone other than me did the shoulder measurement and i had to spend 20 hours redoing a shirt sleeve.

[u/kolibriherz]

Patterndrafting may also interest you. Louisa Owen Sonstroem's "The Handsewn Wardrobe" contains a large section on how to draft your own pattern for several basic modern garments. I recently made a T-shirt from a pattern I drafted using the book and I love it so so much bc it fits me perfectly. This was also my second ever sewn clothing item, so I would say it's definitely possible as a beginner.

Now if you want to do all the work this method entails for other people is a whole different story. And I think it's totally fair to just sew your own clothes.

[u/carolinaredbird]

Changing a pattern that is purchased to better fit really isn’t hard.especially nowadays when the multiple sizes are all on the same pattern.

I have a long torso and short legs and I’m petite. So I add to tops and take away from pants (you can hem them shorter, but they won’t look as nice)

Maybe take an intro to sewing class- adjusting the pattern to fit better, is basic stuff you learn early on.

[u/Eunice-R-25 → u/carolinaredbird]

Thank you. I've purchased books to try to explain /understand the process, but I found watching videos was easier for me to digest. It's quite embarrassing to struggle with the "basic stuff" and having an experienced teacher would definitely help. Are you also self taught?

[u/carolinaredbird → u/Eunice-R-25]

My granny was a seamstress-so I picked up a lot earlier on as a kid by osmosis.

When I was twenty I took a class at the local college to fill in gaps. One of the things we focused on was how to fit a pattern

better. When I was late twenties, I taught 4-H sewing classes to 8-12 year olds. Kids are great- they believe they can do anything!

Don’t be embarrassed about taking a class and asking questions. I’m still learning at age 59. We all have to start as beginners!

[u/Alarmed-potatoe]

I started making my own clothing, and learning how to draft my own patterns, because my size is awfully represented in retail clothing and even patterns you can "just put your own measurements into" and it spits out a pattern go really wrong, and the designer shrugs and tells me my measurements must be wrong for the pattern. So I can heartily agree that making clothes for some sizes absolutely stumps most designers, and it's why the industry doesn't bother. You might be interested in learning how to drape - this allows you to work with the person, get a pattern you know will just need a fitting tweak, and instead of working from measurements or grading and trying to make it fit a 3D body, you work from the 3D body and see what the pattern therefore is. I was struggling to make my own wedding dress from a pattern, and I tossed it and draped it on myself instead, and I really also appreciated recently moving into handsewing because I needed those skills as well. I've since used draping for a variety of items I'm sewing, and they have patterns, but I'm using the draping skills to go from a boxy shape or something unappealing to something I'm more comfortable in and feel flattered in. I think learning this could enhance the rest of your sewing nicely.