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Catching on To Sewing Ease
By Glenda Sparling, Sure-Fit Designs^TM

Space to move within your clothing - that's what ease is.  You may have wondered why a size 12 fits you perfectly one time, then the nest garment you sew in the same size seems to fit like a "bag".  Understanding "ease" will help you know why this happens.

There are two basic kinds of ease: wearing ease and design ease.

Wearing ease is the minimum amount of room in your clothing that you feel comfortable with for normal body movement.  It is the number of inches added to your actual body measurements that allow for this comfort room.   Even though each person has varying likes and dislikes as to how they want their clothes to fit, the sewing industry basically accepts wearing ease to be 2 1/2" (6.4cm) at the bust area, 1" (2.5cm) at the waist and 3" (7.6cm) at the hip area.

Design ease is generally considered to be ease above and beyond wearing  beyond wearing ease.  It has been incorporated into the design to create special effects and a variety of silhouettes.  For example, multi-tucking, gathers, or 'tent' style designs incorporate additional design ease.   Some garment designs have virtually no ease, or minus ease.  These are designs such as bathing suits, lingerie, halter tops and some sun-dress styles.  Some garments made from stretch fabric also require less ease because the fabric has 'built-in' ease.

Before sewing a garment, you can measure your pattern to determine the amount of ease it has.  Make sure to measure from seam to seam excluding seam allowances and space for pleats, tucks, or darts.  Compare y9ur actual body measurements to the total circumference measurement of the pattern.  The difference is the actual amount of wearing or design ease the pattern has.  With this knowledge, you can double check your pattern's ease allowance, them refine its fit to fit your needs, figure shape and lifestyle.

EASE ALLOWANCE CHART:

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