Content warning: within this post, I discuss both dismissive messages written in the sewing community around size inclusion and common, harmful diet-culture narratives regarding fat bodies, as well as include links to examples.
In this post, I also excerpt comments made within public Instagram conversations on the topic. I have made these deliberately anonymous in order to use them as teaching moments rather than opportunities to single out particular individuals.
Over the past week and a half, members of the sewing community have been engaged in a discussion around size inclusivity in pattern design. Out of this discussion have emerged new directions for a number of pattern companies now seeking to expand their size ranges, re-affirmed appreciation for companies that have been including plus sizes all along, and a chorus of voices from plus sized sewists sharing our measurements, our concerns, and our anger.
One major focus of this discussion is the relative exclusion of plus sizes within the sewing industry as a whole: by pattern companies, within educational spaces (both fashion industry and classes aimed at non-professionals, such as those at fabric shops), and within sewing media, such as magazines and podcasts. Alongside that, though, we’re also having a discussion around the way we talk about plus size people, bodies, and pattern drafting.
Pattern Drafting
In this iteration of the discussion, as with the many times it’s come up in the sewing community in the past, plus size drafting is frequently described as more difficult than drafting straight-sized counterparts. As Jenny of Cashmerette and other industry experts point out, though, it’s not that plus size drafting is inherently more difficult, it’s that it requires a different set of skills that are less frequently taught than those used for drafting smaller sizes. Thus, we should reframe such statements from “plus size drafting is more difficult” to:
- “I have more difficulty with plus size drafting, because I have not been doing it as long,” or
- “I was not taught plus size drafting at school and thus need to seek out those resources now,” or
- “Working in plus sizes requires different decisions than those I’ve already made, so I need to carefully consider my options.”
Each of these places the lack of knowledge and need for action back on the person speaking, and moves away from the idea that plus size bodies are inherently more difficult.
Body Composition
Perhaps more insidious, though, is language that dehumanizes fat or plus sized bodies by describing them as fundamentally unpredictable or unknowable. In the first day or two of this conversation, the comments below were posted to explain why plus size drafting is “more difficult.” I’ve chosen these examples, but others exist.
- “fat will go wherever the hell it wants to and does not conform to evenly spreading itself out”
- “volume moves in mysterious ways”
In these, fat (or euphemistically “volume”) is described as though it is a separate entity, moving independently of the bodies in which it dwells, and in ways difficult or impossible to comprehend. Describing fat as independent from the individuals who bear it (which is all humans) is common in diet culture. For instance, weight loss might be represented by objects of equivalent weight, existing outside of the person and, in visual representation, shown as cumbersome and unnecessary. This representation of body size ignores the fact that fat, as a necessary component to the human body, is integrated within the body’s composition, so that moving a cohesive body is not at all the same thing as carrying around a heavy object. We also see harmful representations of weight loss desires showing people cutting or slicing flesh off their bodies (honestly, that Google search is sickening; take that into account before looking). Similarly, the “thin person in a fat body” narrative also buys into this concept: that the essential being of a person is thin, and fat is just (removable) excess.
Bodily Variation
We also saw a number of comments regarding how much more variation fat bodies as a whole offer than thin bodies. While this may be true (though I don’t know that we have data besides anecdotes to back it up), as many commented, the vast variation in straight-sized bodies has not stopped companies from choosing a single block and grading system when offering patterns to them. Comments regarding the number of decisions that have to be made when expanding a pattern range harmfully emphasized the difficulty, such as: “there is so much variation in shape it’s almost paralyzing to even begin.”
While facing a number of decisions with a high-stakes outcome can be difficult, and I don’t want to underestimate the thought and time required to plan out a size expansion (getting the block wrong could certainly mean a lot of time and money spent on something unfruitful), such comments suggest that plus size bodies are impossibly daunting. (For this comment in particular, I would also point out the ableist use of the work “paralyzing,” which undermines the actual experience of chronic or intermittent paralysis by comparing it to indecision). An alternative might be: “I’m facing a lot of decisions regarding what blocks and grading systems to use. It will take me a while to sort through them and determine the best ones for my customers.”
Style Decisions
In some cases, the difficulty of grading complicated designs for plus sizes was also cited as a reason to avoid or put off size range expansion. It is true that simple, boxy shapes are easier to draft, but that is true no matter what the size is. More complex designs will take longer than simpler designs, will require more pattern pieces and therefore more material in paper patterns, and will more closely hew to the shape of a specific block and therefore fit fewer types of bodies. However, once a designer has chosen their plus size block and grading method, the process is not fundamentally different than creating the same design for a smaller body. What it might require is thinking holistically about a given design across sizes, rather than envisioning a single “ideal look” in a smaller size. (This is why using croquis that fit real bodies, rather than stretched out fashion croquis, is important). There is also a market for more complex and fitted designs in plus sizes, as many of us have had more than enough of tents and oversized, draping garments.
This line of thinking is also underpinned by the idea that there are some designs fat people simply won’t look good in. Diet and beauty culture spends a lot of time telling us that some garments are “off limits,” but many of us are disregarding that advice and wearing whatever we want! Designs are always going to look different on bodies of different sizes, and folks who wear plus sizes deserve to be able to choose from a wide variety of styles, shapes, and types of garment.
Why this matters
These ways of framing choices are fundamentally and materially harmful for fat people, who continually receive the message that our bodies are disposable, difficult, unknowable, and unworthy of care, and that we should think of an integrated component of our body as one that can be sliced away. We’re taught that we don’t deserve adequate clothing and should try to hide our bodies. While in most cases, designers who responded intended to explain the limitations and difficulties they face, by framing plus size drafting — and by extension plus size bodies — as fundamentally, inherently difficult, they furthered a dehumanizing narrative of fat and plus size people.
As the Curvy Sewing Collective preaches, sewing can help us change that narrative! The amount of sewists posting and commenting with affirmations about their own worth and their desire to sew clothing that brings joy and comfort proves that many of us come to sewing to experience our bodies in a more positive way. As members of a community, I believe it’s all of our responsibility to therefore be thoughtful and welcoming with the language we use.
Within this discussion, it is important to note that business decisions made by individual companies might vary, and that, as noted, every company must specialize by choosing a pattern block and a set size range. It’s not possible for every company to represent every body. Indeed, it’s not necessary or practical for every straight-sized company to expand to cover plus sizes. However, changing the way we talk about plus size patterns, drafting, and bodies is a necessary step in building a community where all are welcome and included.
My BMI has not always been too high, and patterns have never accommodated my body’s shape. Even “thin” I am shaped like a pear, and my measurements have sometimes crossed three pattern sizes. It doesn’t seem to me that pattern designers ever accommodate “real” bodies, BMI notwithstanding. I do understand that as a population, statistics show that people with higher BMI are prone to more health problems and die at younger ages than people with lower BMI. That describes s population. Individual experiences are what they are. Clearly it is possible for people with high BMI to be severely healthy. Regardless of BMI or health condition, all people deserve to be arrayed in comfortable, attractive clothing. In my case, I have always needed to sew to get a good fit, and I’ve always had to alter the patterns to achieve that fit, regardless of my health.
I am generally appalled at the skills of graduates of design schools. I have a friend (much younger) who graduated from FIDM. She can only reproduce projects taught in her classes. The underlying understanding is missing. So any professional who says “I don’t know how to grade for plus-size patterns” is really saying “I don’t know how to grade.”
I am completely self-taught. As a result, I had to figure out the techniques myself, which generally meant I had a better understanding of the fundamentals.
I know a lot of people make it abundantly clear they don’t like being compared to a piece of fruit, but for me, referring to myself as an “apple” is just shorthand for having a comparatively bigger waist compared to hips, limbs, shoulders. In fact, I am an extreme apple with a six inch difference between my lower hip (sans stomach – 39″) and waist (45″). Can I realistically expect pattern companies to cater to me without the need for any fit adjustments? No, I can’t. My shape is quite unusual. I’ve been following #sewmysize on Instagram (which I love!) and have only seen a couple of other women with similar proportions. Plus size people are under-represented in the marketplace, and none more so than apples, especially from the extreme end of the spectrum. What’s the solution? Even patterns apparently drafted for apples have proven to be hopelessly large in the hips/butt/legs for me (or alternatively, small in the waist). I do think a practical and reasonable solution could be that pattern designers provide adjustment instructions specific to each pattern for different fit issues, but even that could be seen as too expensive an exercise in a lot of designer’s eyes. Of course, with experience, we all get to know our bodies (in a sewing sense), styles that suit us, and fit adjustments that we need to make – I’ve had to through necessity. But particularly in regards to patterns aimed at beginners, should designers be providing instructions and resources for fit adjustments?
It is interesting that designers feel challenged when altering their styles to fit women over a certain size when home sewers have been doing it for years.
I am not fat, but I am 6’0″ tall and curvy (as in, my shape goes in and out a lot). On most sewing patterns I have to do a lot of adjustments to have a realistic chance of wearing the finished result. Can I do them? Yes, because when I taught myself to sew I knew that learning about fit was going to be non-negotiable. Would it be really nice if *just for once* I could sew something straight out of the envelope? Yes, yes it really would.
Now I realise that I fall at the edge of quite a few bell curves, and so while it’s annoying to have to spend so much time tracing and fitting, it’s not unreasonable from a pattern drafter’s perspective. But ‘larger’ sizes are not an edge of the bell curve issue. You’re right that everyone has the power to learn pattern drafting themselves, but why should so many people have to and to such a degree? I can very much see why it feels like insult added to injury in the context of the social stigma that already exists around being fat.
This was meant to be a reply to Patti Hall…
But there are VERY few people, rather they are a size 10 or size 20, who can sew “straight from the envelope”. Fitting adjustments are a part of sewing.
Grading patterns up to just have a STARTING point doesn’t have to be.
I’m in a similar situation…I’m 6’1” and I’m larger (anywhere from a 16-22 depending on brand/pattern), but I’m not particularly curvy. I started sewing so I could customize things to fit, so pattern alteration has always been a part of it for me—especially since most patterns are designed for someone that’s 5’6”-5’8”. So far, it’s been easier for me to take straight sized patterns and scale them up because the shape is more in line with my body…I just have to make it bigger. The curvy patterns I’ve used are too curvy for me and require the same amount of work as (usually more than) a straight sized pattern.
I also realize that I’m in the minority here as far as my needs go being on the edge of the bell curve, as you put it. I’ve always felt that I’m hard to fit because I’m large but not curvy, tall but not thin…but being able to customize fit for myself (and usually add 6” to a pattern length) is what drew me to sewing in the first place.
I do want to say that I’m not trying to disregard how others feel about the language used or being excluded. I know that it’s hurtful. It never feels good to be excluded. I’m excited to see more talks of inclusivity across the board as making should be a space for all.
Shannon,
You made me feel better today.
Last week I received a post physical exam document and my weight and BMI was labeled as “severely obese.” SEVERELY! My blood pressure was 96/64, pulse was 60, and laboratory blood work was all within normal range. I don’t smoke or have diabetes. But the document did not state that I was severely healthy. My main health concern is major depressive disorder that is often increased by body shaming thoughts.
Your well written essay about business decisions made based on the percevied value of some people should be required reading for clothing designers and manufacturers. Thank you!
Lynn again, your doctor needs more lessons on appropriate language and attitudes than your pattern designers! I have a feeling it’s software more than anything. I’m certainly an advocate for informing anyone who requires an attitude adjustment whenever necessary, and have told my doctor to look at my face instead of his tablet during a visit and that some things just are a fact of my life. You know what is great and what needs work (or not) and should feel confident telling the doctor when his language is less than effective. A more positive outlook from him might result in a better, from his perspective, outcome at the next appointment. He needs more training. You’re fine.
Wow! You had to tell a doctor to look at you and not his tablet? I went to a doctor I loved for many years. We had some minimal talk about my weight, but she understood that if it was easy for me to lose then I would. Our focus was more on other parts of my health. Unfortunately, I moved out of state and I haven’t been to a doctor since (over 5 years). Your story is part of my fear. I hope I’m finally old enough to speak up like you did and not just take it. My plan is to tell my new doctor that they may mention my weight once a visit and that’s it. More discussion is just counter productive.
I really don’t care how anyone wants to water it down or how politically correct any verbiage is and unless a woman is 6 foot tall and large boned, I don’t think plus size applies. We’re just fat and that in itself produces some issues. Yes, I would love to take a fashion pattern and be able to just increase the seams to fit me but it doesn’t work like that. Some of us fat ladies have large protruding tummies or large protruding butts or both. Maybe it’s large upper arms, or a well blessed chest and very full legs. It could be all those things. A regular “ plus size” pattern won’t work. Why can’t a pattern company just come up with styles and patterns for full hips or protruding butts or a large mid section. Why is everyone so delicate on this matter. Why are people so afraid to actually address the size issues. By being so we get nothing. They can give it a cutesy name like the new “ curvy “. But we know the category we fall in. A rose by any other name is still a rose. I would just like to have a pattern that gives me some real options to address with my body.
Thank you, Mary. I prefer plain, straight language rather than euphemisms as well. Plus size patterns don’t work for me either – don’t fit me in the main area that I need the “plus”!
The other important piece, IMO, is that “fitting adjustments” does not equal being required to grade up multiple sizes. The two are always conflated when this conversation comes up and it’s frustrating!
I concur with your post on all counts. It is well written and thorough. It would do many designers a world of good to read, think, and form a considerate, informed response.
My other frustration at the assertion that it’s “just, so HARD!”, is that there are multiple designers doing it! If they can, you CAN. If you choose not to, please just own that decision.
I am happy to see more sewing bloggers saying NO to purchasing patterns that are outside of their size range and patronizing the pattern companies that cater to them as customers. You don’t need to change anything about your business if you don’t want to. No harm, no foul…But I won’t hand over my money, give you free press via blogs and social media, etc.
Amen!
Which companies are those that cater?
IMO, many in the sewing community only look to the “popular” Indie brands but there are others who have wide size ranges.
Obviously Cashmerette 🙂
Obviously the “Big4”; Vogue, McCall’s, Butterick, Simplicity.
Burda envelope patterns,
Burda magazine/downloads (there is also an edition of the mag that is all Plus. It is usually a compilation of patterns from prior “full” issues).
Style Arc
Itch to Stitch
Colette
Hot Patterns
SBCC (petite)
Petite Plus (petite)
Jalie
Love Notions
Muse
I’d add 5 out of 4 as well.
Scroop Patterns is another one.
I love developing patterns for myself, friends and family and am hoping to teach pattern drafting to a wider audience. Can you recommend any resources for obtaining or creating relevant pattern blocks for plus sizes and/or training for drafting specifically for larger sizes. I’d love to learn more and spread the knowledge but have struggled to find good resources in the UK. Any help or recommendations much appreciated. Thanks for raising and continuing to pick up on this topic and the associated narrative – I think this is extremely valuable.
I belong to FAcebook group for sewists with my specific fit issue (fuller tummy area). Many of the members of that group are breaking the “rules” for people with fuller curves – don’t wear stripes, peplums are a no-no, no pockets near the belly, and so on. And you know what? They all look great! Why? Because we can make our garments to FIT RIGHT and we are able to choose colors and prints we feel confident in. I wish more pattern finally companies would get this – that if they give us our sizes, we can can make any color or print or line design look great. Great post!
I am very interested to know what sewing group on Face book that gives such help, could you oblige by passing it on Maureen
I found the Sewing For My Not-Pregnant Belly FB group to be helpful & empowering
Well said and very helpful summary of the discussions that are happening! I’ve noticed several designers mentioning the ongoing conversations and I really appreciate this insight. Thank you!
I agree that we as humans can be kinder to one another, but having said that, I need to own my body ss it is rith this minute. I am plus size and have had to learn over the years how to fit who I am now. I have the added age related redistribution of some bodily assets. I went to school for fashion design and I do know how to pattern draft and that has been a blessing. I was closer to the straight sizing then and made tweeks to the patterns I purchased. In school we never really covered fitting as were being groomed for the ready to wear market. The first fitting class I took the teacher made the statement that only 1% of people will fit sny given pattern and that everyone else would need to make some adjustment in the pattern to fit their bodies, o matter what size. I have appreciated the tutorial bsse of information gathered by various forums like the Curvy Sewing Collective to help make patterns fit properly. I have to confess that I have had to retrain my expectations of what a pattern proportion should look like and know that the satifying sensation of a well fitting garment is a far better goal.
I would love it if companies would just be honest and say they don’t know how or have the desire to design for plus sizes. It’s a skill that not everyone has or even wants to. Don’t wrap the fact that you don’t have these skills up in some made up excuse about difficulty or lack of market. Both are false. I see more people like me than not, and if I can draft a bodice for myself so can a trained professional.
This is a great blog post. Although I have not been reading the actual conversation posts, I agree with your assessment of the conversation. Learning to make a pattern that fits you (no matter what your size) is not THAT hard. All of the Big 4 companies have some sort of simple pattern that you can use for muslins or you can simply take your own measurements and produce a skirt and top pattern into your tried and true pattern. Then you can read more about pattern making and learn to shift darts into gathers or pleats, or change collar or sleeve styles. Sure it is nice if pattern makers would produce a gazillion patterns that would fit us all. But ultimately, you have the power within yourself to do that, too. I especially like to follow Carolyn’s blog Diary of a Sewing Fanatic as she is great at “seeing” the details in Ready To Wear and making it happen with her Tried and True Patterns.
Really interesting post. I haven’t followed all of this discussion by any means, but I get the impression that pattern designers would like to think of themselves as inclusive, so rather than just saying, “I don’t cater for your body” they are saying “I’d love to cater for your body, but I can’t, because your body is wrong” without realising that that is loads worse.
I’m glad the discussion has begun. Fat shaming is one of the last ‘allowable’ prejudeces.
The I really don’t care how anyone wants to water it down or how politically correct any verbiage is and unless a woman is 6 foot tall and large boned, I don’t think plus size applies. We’re just fat and that in itself produces some issues. Yes, I would love to take a fashion pattern and be able to just increase the seams to fit me but it doesn’t work like that. Some of us fat ladies have large protruding tummies or large protruding butts or both. Maybe it’s large upper arms, or a well blessed chest and very full legs. It could be all those things. A regular “ plus size” pattern won’t work. Why can’t a pattern company just come up with styles and patterns for full hips or protruding butts or a large mid section. Why is everyone so delicate on this matter. Why are people so afraid to actually address the size issues. By being so we get nothing. They can give it a cutesy name like the new “ curvy “. But we know the category we fall in. A rose by any other name is still a rose. I would just like to have a pattern that gives me some real options to address with my body.
I agree. My problem is that while I have the big stomach and fat upper arms I am also under 5′ so patterns for 5’6″ for example just look silly on me because the proportions are all wrong. As to design, I have recently started looking at the designs from African designers because they design specifically for larger (traditionally sized) women. Having taught myself to copy other designs but in my size and proportions I now look on line at the styles and draft to fit me. There are also a number of YouTube channels run by African dress makers who teach pattern drafting and garment sewing from scratch, including how to take your own measurements correctly. Kim Dave is probably one of the best, she is actually a genuine top fashion designer working in London and she covers lots of up to date, as well as classic, designs and shows how to draft a pattern which will fit you. Bilikis is another while Savi’s fashion studio is run by a Bangladeshi woman who shows how to get a basic sloper made just for you, including sleeves, bust darts, trousers etc. Once you know the basics itbis easy to go on to design or copy fashions just for you. In my case, I like many of the mediaeval styles and make patterns based on them but in my size, (the lacing means that I can easily tighten them if I actually manage to loose weight) but everyone has their own preferences.
Useful tips, thank you – I’m going to have a look at these!
The language we use has a profound effect on us. Thank you for this thoughtful and well written post.
So well written. Bright me to years. Thank you
Didn’t catch spell check. Was “Brought me to tears”