Fit and sizing in Victorian to early 1930's sewing patterns

(If you are looking for information on later vintage patterns from the 1960's - 1970's, pins-n-needles has written an excellent guide.)

If you are interested in using an antique or early vintage pattern to make a garment for a modern person, the fit will almost always require adjustment; the average body shape and proportions differ significantly for pre-1930's patterns due to changes in posture, undergarments and size (the average modern woman is both taller and broader than her forbears). Assessing how much adjustment a given pattern will need requires attention to three points: what size the pattern was intended for, how the measurements for that size should be taken, and how the garment is supposed to fit.

Size ranges

Victorian and early-20th-century sewing patterns are sized quite differently from modern patterns.

• In general, dress and blouse patterns for adult women are sized by bust measurement in inches (e.g., a size 36 fits a woman with a 36-inch bust measure).
• Skirts and other lower-body garments for adult women are sized by the waist or hip measurement in inches.
• Patterns for children, girls and misses are sized by age in years (e.g., a size 12 fits a "standard" 12-year-old girl). So if a pattern from before about 1935 says "size 12", don't assume it will fit any adult woman, much less a modern ready-to-wear size 12! Most manufacturers listed the inch measurements corresponding to the pattern size directly on the envelope; check this carefully.

One of the most confusing differences between modern sizing and Victorian / early 20th century sizing is that the average modern wears a "misses" size, and the "women's" size range is intended for fuller-figured persons. This is not true for antique and early vintage patterns! The "misses" size range was intended for adolescent girls (typically 12-18 or 14-20 years, depending on manufacturer and style), and the corresponding body type becomes shorter as well as slenderer as you go down the scale. The largest misses' size (18 or 20) is usually equivalent in bust measure to the smallest woman's size (typically around 32 inches), but is proportioned for a somewhat shorter, slimmer-hipped figure.

(For the curious, the 10-12-14-etc sizing range for modern women's clothing is based on the sizing for "misses". Slender women were proud to say that they could still fit into a size 18, and manufacturers of ready-to-wear clothing found that labeling a garment a size or two smaller than the actual size would help sales. Repeat over 100 years, and the majority of the population can now wear "misses" sizes.)

Petite sizes were not offered as such, but petite women were encouraged to use misses' patterns, and later envelopes often have phrases such as "for misses and small women". This may have worked for slender women whose proportions approached those of an adolescent, but the short and stout were out of luck.

If you find a lovely pattern in a misses' size and want to try to make it up for an adult, be careful about the style. Many, but not all, women's patterns were also offered in misses' sizes, but, of course, styles that were considered unsuitable for adolescents (such as formal evening dresses) were not. Conversely, girlish styles that would have been considered juvenile or even silly if worn by adults would still be offered in misses' sizes.

In addition, before the mid-1920's (when women's skirts became quite short), skirts for girls and adolescents were worn shorter than for adult women, starting above the knee for a toddler and lengthening with age. The illustration on a misses' size pattern envelope typically depicts a size 16 (16 years); girls of 16 wore the skirt some 1-2 inches above the ankle (thus 4-6 inches off the ground) until the late 1910's. For adult women's garments before about 1914, skirts should be floor length (or trained) for dressy outfits and not more than 1-2 inches from the ground for practical wear (except for sportswear such as hiking skirts, which may be somewhat shorter). Thus the skirt on a misses' pattern will need to be lengthened for an adult wearer even if she is the right height for the pattern.

Measurements

The biggest difference in how to measure for an antique or early vintage pattern is that measurements should always be taken fully clothed. Pattern manufacturers recommended that measurements be taken over a new, fashionable corset and a plain, closely-fitting dress (as well as all the necessary underwear). For patterns after the the mid-1920's, when clothing was much less bulky than formerly, measurements taken over modern undergarments will be fairly close, but for earlier periods remember that a lined and boned wool bodice will add an inch or two to the bust area, whereas petticoats and a full skirt can easily add 4 to 6 inches to the hips! So you want to use a 40-inch-hip Victorian skirt pattern and your hips measure 40 inches in your scanties, you will need to grade up the pattern to the equivalent of a 44-hip or even a 46-hip pattern to get the right size.

The earliest Victorian patterns almost invariably call for the bust measurement to be taken not over the fullest part of the bust but instead "well up under the arms". This is a holdover from earlier drafting systems which ensures a good fit over the back and shoulders (very important for Victorian and early Edwardian bodices), but means that the pattern will probably have to be altered to fit over the bust. Butterick did not switch to the "fullest part of the bust" standard until about 1905; McCall's switched a bit earlier. Demorest's, on the other hand, used "fullest part of the bust" as far back as the 1870's. Directions for taking the measurements are generally not provided on the pattern envelope; therefore, if you have the chance to look at pattern catalogs and fashion magazines which correspond to the era and the manufacturer of your pattern, it is useful to check the sizing instructions, especially for Victorian and early Edwardian patterns.

The hip measure is typically taken 5 inches below the waist for earlier patterns and 7 inches below the waist for patterns after about 1910, although this varies by manufacturer. The directions uniformly call for the hip measure to be taken "loosely", "easily", or "without drawing the tape tightly", so as not to crush the skirt and petticoats against the figure (which would give an artificially small measurement).

Fit

Up until the early 1910's, all fashionable clothing fit tightly through the upper body, to a degree that a modern wearer will generally find uncomfortable. Blouses and dress bodices of the 1900's in particular often look soft, fluffy and loose, but they are almost always constructed over a tight-fitting, boned lining. The "fashionable" fit will generally be found by modern wearers to be too tight in the armholes and too restrictive of arm motion; your choices are to alter to a looser but inauthentic fit or suffer silently in true period style. Until the early 1910's, fashionable dresses frequently fit very closely through the waist and hips, with almost no ease; this requires a corset, to prevent excessive strain on the dress fabric, and a boned lining, to prevent the dress from rucking up.

Differences in "correct" posture before about 1914 also make a big difference in how garments will fit; you can always choose to either alter the pattern or conform to the period posture.

• Before 1900, Victorian "good posture" required an erect stance with the shoulders thrown all the way back. When placed on a modern figure with more relaxed shoulder carriage, the back of the bodice will be too narrow between the shoulders and the front will be correspondingly broad.
• From 1900 until about 1908, the "straight-front" corset caused the bust and hips to be thrust out (while still keeping the shoulders well back); compared to modern posture, bodices of this era will be too long (and broad) in front and too short (and narrow) in back, the sleeve will seem to be rotated with respect to the bodice (pointing somewhat towards the back) and the neck position may seem too far to the front. Skirts from this era may hang badly on the modern figure (tending to mass towards the front); this can be fixed by altering the pattern above the hips (lengthen in front, shorten in back, and straighten the tops of the side gores).
• From 1909 until about 1913, the bust was still thrust out to some degree, but the hips (and buttocks) were less prominent. Bodices will require similar alterations to the previous period; skirts require less adjustment.

For garments after 1913, the looser fit, more relaxed posture, and less bulky undergarments means that less alteration will be required if you can find a pattern close to your size.

When judging fit, note that seam lines on bodices before about 1920 fall in different places from that considered correct for modern garments. Underarm seams are generally placed further towards the back, so that the sleeve seam and the underarm seam do not meet (except on "mannish" shirtwaists and sports blouses). Similarly, shoulder seams are placed well back, so that they are not visible from the front. Examine the illustration on the envelope, especially the back view; seam placement is usually visible.

I hope you find this information helpful. Happy Sewing!

julianabrown