Sizing Guide for Clothing Patterns

Find your perfect sewing size for a well-fitting garment

Size Chart

Compare your body measurements to the chart(s) below to select your clothing size.

If your bust, waist and hip fall between multiple sizes, you may need to grade between sizes for individualized fit.

Our patterns are drafted for a height of 5' 5" (165 cm) and use US clothing sizes.

For our clothing patterns that offer different cup volume options, they are based on the the Horizontal Hemisphere and Bottom Cup Depth measurement like our bra patterns for more accuracy and fewer muslins.

How to Take Measurements

Highbust

Measure around the rib cage over the bust at the top of the underarm. Keep the tape measure as parallel to the floor as possible while pulling on the tape. Some of our patterns need a TIGHT measurement. This is often 1 ~ 3" (2.5 ~7.6 cm) smaller than usual and necessary to maintain upper tension for a strapless dress.

Underbust

Measure around the rib cage directly under the bust. Keep the tape measure as parallel to the floor as possible while pulling on the tape. This should feel about as tight as a well fitting bra.

Waist

Measure around the natural waist just above the belly button. Keep the tape measure as parallel to the floor as possible while pulling on the tape. This is often the smallest part of the torso.

Hip

Measure around the widest part of the hip over the fullest portion of the rear. Keep the tape measure as parallel to the floor as possible while pulling on the tape.

Cup Volume measurements for clothing should be measured while wearing your best fitting bra or bra specific to the dress pattern (ie. strapless). This is different than our bra patterns. Try to be accurate to the quarter inch or half centimeter.

Horizontal Hemisphere (HH)

Measure the horizontal distance from the wire line (near sternum) to wire line (near underarm) while crossing the nipple. Try to keep the tape measure parallel to the ground then repeat for other breast.

Bottom Cup Depth (BCD)

Measure the vertical distance between your nipple and the breast crease (wireline) following the contours.

Size and Fitting Resources

Tips to achieving a supportive strapless bra

Choosing a Size Set for Clothing Patterns

Sizing Suggestions for Our Underwired Bra Patterns

How to Turn On/Off Layers in Adobe Reader

Test Out Our Bra Sizing System with the FREE Mysa Lounge Bra Pattern!

Beginner’s Guide to Bra Making

Breast Anatomy in Relation to Bra Fit

Self-Paced Bra Fit Online Courses

Choosing a Size Set for Clothing Patterns

Which size set should I choose if I’m on the border between both?

For strapless styles, select your size based on your underbust first, then your TIGHT high bust. Waist and hip can be graded to match your measurements, using the finished garment measurements chart available within the pattern listing.

For all other styles, select your size based on your high bust measurement. Then grade waist and hip as needed.

What are the differences between the size sets?

Sizes 0-16 have a larger chest-waist-hip ratio.

Sizes 16-34 was designed on our plus size block and have a smaller chest-waist-hip ratio, while maintaining proportions in the torso length.

Both size sets include all cup size options. Cup pattern pieces cannot be interchanged with the equivalent pattern piece in another size set without alteration.

Grading Between Dress Sizes

If your measurements fall between multiple sizes, you’re in the right place! This is very common and one of the wonderful things about sewing your own garments. You can grade between sizes to create something that is specific to your body.

To get started, circle your measurements on the size chart. You may need the High bust of one size, waist of another and hip of yet another! It’s a good idea to retake measurements before starting a new project. Some patterns, like our Kanon Bustier, use a TIGHT high bust measurement in addition to an under bust measurement.

To grade between sizes, you’ll basically draw a line between different points (size) on the pattern. Be sure that the seam lengths and seam corners still match up after the changes. Don’t forget to take a look at the finished garment measurements to see if grading is needed as some areas have more ease than others (ie. hips vs waist).

Sewing Patterns with Individual Cups (Bustier, strapless, etc)

The Under Bust Measurement determines base dress size. Adjust the High Bust, Waist and Hip measurement as necessary.

Start with the size that best matches the underbust then trace the “wireline” (Center Front and Side Front Bodice pieces) that matches the underbust. We highly recommend “tissue fitting” - ie. taping the pattern pieces together (with seam allowances removed) and holding it against the body to check the height of the bodice. Strapless cupped bodice styles should be about 1” (2.5cm) or less below the underarm crease. This maybe significantly taller than your standard bra and is necessary to maintain shape and support.

If you are using a store bought strapless bra instead of the Marei Strapless Pattern, use the Horizontal Hemisphere (HH) measurement of the BRA CUP instead of the body. Please remember that the cup shape of the dress pattern may not match the cup shape of the retail bra and may need to be adjusted accordingly.

Base size is determined by the underbust.

Grade down for the highbust and up for the waist.

All Other Sewing Patterns

The high bust measurement determines base dress size. Adjust the Under Bust, Waist and Hip measurement as necessary.

Grading Between Cup Sizes

Our cup sized clothing patterns use a combination of measurements such as bottom cup depth (BCD) AND horizontal hemisphere (HH) to determine size. More measurements = fewer muslins! Today's post will feature how to mix and match sizes for those who do not fall squarely within a specific size.

Lets take a look at some sample measurements from Heidi:

Start with the size that best matches the underbust measurement. Trace the “wireline” (Center Front and Side Front Bodice pieces) that matches the underbust. In our example, that means size 14 (orange highlight) is our base size for the bodice and cup/bodice seam.

Base size is determined by the underbust. Use the “wireline” that matches the underbust.

The high bust is one size smaller and the waist one size larger, so we’ll need to grade one size down and one size up at these points. Since the hip size matches our base size, there is no change below the waist of the pattern.

Grade down for the high bust and grade up for the waist.

We highly recommend “tissue fitting” - ie. taping the pattern pieces together (with seam allowances removed) and holding it against the body to check the height of the bodice. Strapless cupped bodice styles should be about 1” (2.5cm) or less below the underarm crease. This maybe significantly taller than your standard bra and is necessary to maintain shape and support. Once the bodice height is determined, adjust the cup pattern pieces to match.

If you are using a store bought strapless bra for the Kanon Bustier Dress Pattern, use the Horizontal Hemisphere (HH) measurement of the BRA CUP instead of the body. Please remember that the cup shape of the dress pattern may not match the cup shape of the retail bra and may need to be adjusted accordingly. In general, the larger cup sizes have more projection and smaller sizes have less projection. You can “sister size” using another bra cup with the same HH - the adjust the cup seams to match the bodice. Please make sure that your store bought strapless bra is a boned LONGLINE as the standard shorter length strapless bras will simply slide down from the weight of the dress.

If Cup is LARGER than Bodice Size

Once the Front Bodice pieces are squared away, its time to move on to cup adjustments. Select the cup size that best matches the Horizontal Hemisphere measurement (over bra). Compare the “wireline” seam lengths and note how much needs to be added/removed for each Front Bodice pattern piece (Front and Side pieces). If the seam length needs to be shorted, remove from Upper Cup. If seam length needs to be longer, add to Upper Cup. There is no need to adjust cup projection or the curves within the cup as this has already been taking into consideration for each cup size group. If you need more projection, go up to the next cup size group. For example if Size 16 E/F didn’t have enough projection - try size 16 G/H cup.

If Cup is SMALLER than Bodice Size

Once the Front Bodice pieces are squared away, its time to move on to cup adjustments. Select the cup size that best matches the Horizontal Hemisphere measurement (over bra). Compare the “wireline” seam lengths and note how much needs to be added/removed for each Front Bodice pattern piece (Front and Side pieces). If the seam length needs to be shorted, remove from Upper Cup. If seam length needs to be longer, add to Upper Cup. There is no need to adjust cup projection or the curves within the cup as this has already been taking into consideration for each cup size group. If you need less projection, use a smaller cup size group. For example if Size 16 G/H had too much projection - try size 16 E/F cup.

Adaptive Clothing & Accessibility

Accessibility is the premise of Adaptive Clothing designs. It is clothing designed specifically to accommodate individuals with disabilities or limited mobility. Sometimes referred to as adaptive wear, adaptive fashion or accessible fashion, it incorporates a range of elements that can be categorized into 4 main groups.

Sensory - fabrics and construction to minimize friction
Access - medical device access
Mobility - physical challenges
Fit -

LilypaDesigns has several lingerie patterns catering to those who have mobility challenges. These sewing patterns feature front closures, multiple points of adjustments, pockets for medical devices and clean edge finish sensory options.

Koma Wireless Bra Pattern