Sizing
Select your size based on the largest required measurement.
If your measurements match the chart, easy! When printing your PDF, use the layers option and print only your size.
If you fall between sizes, you will need to grade your pattern to fit. When printing your PDF, use the layers option and print ‘all sizes’ or select the sizes you wish to grade between. Check the Tutorials page for tips on how to fit your patterns.
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Cup Sizes: Ordinarily, dress patterns are designed for a B cup, which is generally calculated by a difference of 5cm/2” between the upper bust and full bust. Due to design ease, this means clothing patterns actually fit a small range of bust sizes rather than just a B cup.
Bra sizes are different to cup sizes in clothing because they are fitted with negative ease across the back and zero/negative ease for the volume of the breast; and just as bras sizes vary according to manufacturer, so can clothing cup sizes, due to fit and design.
Cup sizes in clothing are made with a Full Bust Adjustment, which increases the difference between the high bust and low bust.
Because of the ease in Pattern Union garments, the cup sizes have been grouped into THREE categories:
Group 1: A/B/C
Group 2: D/E
Group 3: F/G.
To determine your cup size, subtract your upper bust from your full bust. The rounded difference for each group is:
Group 1: 2.5cm - 7.5cm/1”- 3”
Group 2: 7.5cm - 12.5cm/3”- 5”
Group 3: 12.5cm - 17.5cm/5”- 7”
Select the bust measurement that best corresponds to your full bust and cup. You may need to grade across bust, waist and hip sizes to suit your figure.
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Note: not all patterns feature all sizes. Please check the information listed with each pattern on the product page.