Sewing for Plus Sizes: Creating Clothes that Fit and Flatter

by: Barbara Deckert

Topics include: basted fitting, fit your body size, horizontal stress lines, horizontal design lines, underarm dart, apex mark, armscye seam, bust apexes, princess seams, sized sewers, crotch length, hip yoke, sag lines, original dart, adjusting the pattern, fly extension, crotch seam, rounded upper back, two side seams, waist darts, bust darts, garment waist, wearing ease, center front seam, front crotch

Book Description:

Outstanding! Works for Anyone!, -- Even though I am NOT a plus size, I have still found this book one of the best sewing instruction books ever. (I've been sewing for more than thirty years, but you can always learn something new.) And, as an admitted sewing junkie, I just enjoy reading books about sewing. This book is a pleasure to read, a help in sewing, and just plain good instruction from a person who is clearly an expert. I'd recommend Ms. Deckert's book to anyone who sews!

Construction Info yes, Style no -- This is an excellent guide to making adjustments to store-bought patterns, altering clothes and understanding why things don't fit. It was worth a lot for the detailed, well illustrated information on construction and alteration that is very readable and not a drag like a lot of this stuff is. It makes sense to a normal person. That said, the "flatter" part of the title is not necessarily so. In the illustrations under the heading of "give them something to look at" (so they won't notice your size) the "before" drab outfits looked much slimmer and more attractive than the fussy "after" ones. In theory, without a "distraction", all anyone will see is how heavy you are. In practice, the fussy details make you seem heavier.

Very skimpy on detail -- I think Fantastic Fit for Every Body: How to Alter Patterns to Flatter Your Figure by Gale Grigg Hazen and the Vogue Sewing Book are much better. An example of its skimpiness is she sorts everyone over size 14 into potato, super size, apple and pear but the reasonings and such are rather vague. How do you know if you are crossing over? Also handling errors is not really done as she sells Sewing 911 for that and there is little cross over here. The best, absolute best, part of the book and worth it for this alone is the taping dummy she shows you how to make. But for alterations? Sorry the other two are better.

Reviews:

Sewing for Plus Sizes - a Godsend -- Warning: Please be advised that this is the paperback book of Sewing for Plus Sizes: Design, Fit, and Construction for Ample Apparel. I did not see this info on the site and made the mistake of ordering both. After deciding paperback or hardcover you can't go wrong with this book. It was a Godsend for me. Being self taught in how to sew this book contained all the info I needed regarding pattern alterations for plus sizes and other tips I didn't even know I needed. Thank you Ms. Deckert!

Design, fit, and construction for ample apparel -- Every once in a while, as I’m racing through my local mall to the sewing store, some stranger stops me, compliments my outfit, and asks me where I bought it. I’m always flabbergasted when this happens because the stranger is always thin to average in build, while I wear about a size 32. Sometimes Bad Barbara wants to come out and reply, “Honey, itdoesn’t come in your size,” but then Good Barbara prevails and offers the woman a business card. For a variety of reasons, the ready-to-wear industry has failed to meet even our most basic clothing needs. Once, while checking the directory at the same mall, a gentleman asked me which shops sold plus-sized clothing; he was looking for a gift for his fiancée. I named the three that did out of hundreds in the mall and told him the size range for each. “That’s not going to help,” he said, “she’s a size 32.” He was shocked when I replied, “So am I!” (Fooled him, too!) This fellow confided that his fiancée -- a woman with a loving man in her life and enough strength and savvy to support herself with a home-based business -- seldom left her home because she felt she had nothing decent to wear. Because I’ve been sewing for more than 30 years, and even though I’ve worn every size from a 12 to a 32, I have never experienced that kind of social isolation. I have never hesitated to live my life fully because I had nothing to wear. These incidents made me realize that I knew how to do something that many women do not. I know how to make comfortable clothes that enhance my appearance, are suitable for the occasion, and improve my self-esteem to the point that not only is my size not an issue, but also sometimes it isn’t noticed at all. If you are among the 1 in 15 women in this country who sew -- and that’s at least 4-1/2-millionplus-sized sewers -- you can have any garment you want: any size, style, fabric, color, and designer name with comfortable and flattering fit. You no longer have to make do with the kind of ugly, ill-fitting, bulletproof-polyester circus costumes sold in many plus-sized shops and catalogs. You only need basic sewing skills to use this book. If you haven’t sewn for a while, brush up on your skills, get your machine tuned and lubed, and check out the chapter on tools so that you’ll have what you really need. Please give yourself permission to make mistakes; we all do, and that’s how we learn. Even if you do not yet sew, the information on design, fabric, and fitting will make you a better-informed consumer of ready-to-wear. You can also use the appendix to hire a dressmaker to harvest the benefits of custom clothing without actually doing the work. A Note on Nomenclature I have used a variety of expressions to describe plus sizes, all of which fall short of semantic success. “Plus sized” begs the question “Plus what size?” Are thin and average women “minus sized?” The expression “full figured” sounds as if you must be voluptuously busty to qualify. “Women’s” denotes all adult females, and I wouldn’t call small or average women “little girls.” “Queen sized” is simply silly. “Super sized” sounds like fast food. “Large” or “big” are fairly neutral and merely descriptive. Although “fat” is no more than a physical attribute, like eye color, many readers initially feel uncomfortable about calling themselves fat. One pithy nugget frequently expressed by size acceptance advocates, with tongue firmly in cheek, is “‘Fat’ is not a four-letter word; ‘thin’ is.” A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

Everyone looks great in clothes that fit, no matter what your size. If ready-to-wear doesn't do it for you, let Barbara Deckert teach you how to sew for your plus-size body. She will guide you through the process of selecting designs, fabrics, and colors that flatter plus- and super-size figures. In addition, you'll get great techniques for sizing up any pattern (even those fancy designer ones!), special concerns for plus-size sewers, and lots of hints and advice make this the most useful sewing book you'll ever own. "Clothing is about more than how you look. Others may judge us by the clothes we wear, and not having attractive, fashionable clothes that fit can contribute to body hatred. Clothing is about power, and Sewing for Plus Sizes is about empowering women to look at their large bodies with love." -- Lynn McAfee, Director, Medical Advocacy, Council on Size & Weight Discrimination "Barbara shares her upbeat philosophy on creating flattering, well-proportioned, and properly fitted clothes for plus sizes. She then thoroughly explains a wide range of pattern adjustments, and, for good measure, includes a wealth of solid sewing advice." -- Susan Khalje, author of Bridal Couture and Linen and Cotton "Just as Barbara Deckert says, 'Good fit makes you feel great!' and this book is a reflection of the new evolution that you can create your own 'style beyond size.' This is a must-have for all women size 14 and up who sew or want to work with a tailor or seamstress. More important, women with curves are given the tools to create a great fitting wardrobe and join 'The New Shape in Fashion.'" -- Michele Weston, Fashion and Style Director, Mode magazine