Size-inclusive fit doesn’t just begin with grading more sizes of your pattern. It starts far earlier in the design stage. Size-inclusivity starts with how you think about your customer, conceptualize your designs, and consider each detail for different bodies.
Sketching in proportion
Fashion design, like any art, involves creating balance and beauty with the materials. Proportions matter in creating that balance. What proportions are you designing with? They should represent the proportions of your target customer.
I’m not a huge fan of traditional fashion illustrations for product development purposes. The 9-heads tall figures don’t accurately represent real women’s bodies. When the proportions don’t match, it is hard to visualize how the design will actually look or fit on the body and you may need to redesign parts of your garment once you see it on a real woman. Is there room for that pocket below the bustline? It is hard to tell if your sketch isn’t proportionally accurate
When you are sketching your designs, do so on a croquis or template that has the same proportions of your customer. If you are designing exclusively plus size or petite, draw your sketches in those proportions. If you offer inclusive sizes with a wide size or height range, it may be helpful to make several sketches of the same design with different size proportions so you can see how the balance of the design elements change.
Note which elements have fixed placement or size and which change to match the proportions of the body. Doing so anticipates the inclusivity of the fit even before any patternmaking or fitting has begun.
Inclusive darts and style lines
Design details used for garment shaping are another consideration for inclusive fit. Details like darts, style lines, ruching, gathers, pleats, etc. have both a visual and a fit element. They aren’t purely decorative. Depending on their placement in your design, your patternmaker will use these elements to shape the garment around the curves of the body. Fullness can be added or removed along these seam lines and within these details to contour the fit for each size.
When it comes to size-inclusivity, then, where and when you use these design details matters. For example, you may be able to get away with no bust dart for a small, thin body, but you definitely need one for a larger body regardless of any change in cup size. Even if your design does include darts, the amount of intake needed for certain sizes might result in a too-pointy dart tip. In this case, spreading the shaping across multiple darts or turning the dart into a princess seam or style line can give you a more contoured fit across all sizes.
Don’t worry if you are not sure what design elements will provide the best shaping for an inclusive fit. This is a conversation you can have with your patternmaker! I bring up this point about darts to illustrate how the placement and type of design elements have an impact on inclusive fit. Your goals for the style and your intended size range are factors to consider for an inclusive design.
Same look, not always same design
Sometimes to get the same good fit across all sizes, the design is actually slightly different. As the body changes sizes, not only do the proportions change, but the functional needs do too. To design and fit inclusively and get the same look across the range, sometimes the design details need to be slightly different.
Consider strap width as an example. Let’s say your design has ?” spaghetti straps. This will probably be just fine for the smaller sizes, but do they look, feel, and function the same for the plus sizes? To get the same proportional look and to securely carry the weight of a larger garment, maybe the straps in the larger sizes need to be ?” wide.
The paneling on a corset is another good example. When dividing the panels for an evenly spaced look, the side front of the smaller sizes might only be one piece. However, for larger sizes with more body depth, adding another seam to split the side front panel into two would be a better representation of the same design.
It is common to cut multiple patterns for a large size range. In fact, I recommend it for size ranges of more than 6-8 sizes. Drafting one pattern for the smaller sizes and another for the larger sizes in the range allows you to not only get a better fit across the whole range, but tailor how you translate your design for a consistent look across an inclusive size range.
Creating inclusive fit is a big part of patternmaking and product development, but it doesn’t start there. Size-inclusivity starts in design. How you visualize and sketch your designs, where you place your design details, and how you translate your design across your size range all set the stage for inclusive fit.