If you’re bouncing back and forth between fittings and pattern revisions like a yo-yo and you feel like your fit comments keep getting lost in translation, it may be because you need a reference point.
Fit comments like “increase sleeve length” or “waist is too loose 1in” beg the question: compared to what? (Does anyone else forever imagine that question in the voice of Marcel the Shell of the 2010 YouTube fame or is it just me?) The fit comments are compared to the current sample being fit of course, but what does that sample actually measure? What is the current sleeve measurement that is too short? You need that reference point for where you’re starting from.
This is why measuring a sample against the spec before fitting it is so important. When I make samples from my clients, I measure them before I ever ship them out. If you are working with a different samplemaker or factory to make your fit samples, make sure one of you is taking the measurements. Those measurements will serve as the reference point for any changes you request.
If you make your fit comments based on a sample that doesn’t meet spec in the first place, the changes you ask for could end up all over the place. I’ve seen it happen where the requested change was to add 2” to the skirt length, but the next sample came in 4” longer. It wasn’t the pattern that needed the two extra inches, it was the sample that measured 2” too short.
Having a point of comparison throughout fittings and development ensures that all your fit comments are incorporated correctly in the next sample.