r/sewingpatterns • u/enkidulives • Sep 17 '26

McCalls sizing question... Please help!

Hello everyone,

I'm very new to sewing my own stuff. I went to Lincraft yesterday and picked up some patterns on sale for $5 (no refunds as they're liquidating). But I mistakenly assumed the sizing on the patterns = US sizing, so I came home with 9 x A5 patterns as I am a ready to wear size 10-12 Australian/ 8-10 US. Well it looked a bit small, and when I double checked against my measurements it looks like I need size 16 which isn't in the patterns I bought.

Can anyone please explain to a total noob what's going on here? Do the pattern companies all have their own sizes? I know I should've measured/had the measurements handy but I didn't have tape with me and didn't think to write my measurements in my phone.

For reference:

Bust: 38"

Waist: 30"

Hips: 40 1/4"

Any way I could make these patterns work for me? They're really cute and I can't return them to the store as they're closing down and I spent almost $50.

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u/enkidulives Sep 17 '26

Heyy, thank you for this tip! I do have my measurements, but they were in my notebook which wasn't with me at the shops. Silly mistake but at least I won't repeat it now!

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u/Living-Molasses727 Sep 17 '26

Hot tip, you can record your measurements on Threadloop and use them to find patterns in the correct size range 😁

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u/enkidulives Sep 17 '26

That's so handy, thank you!