Grading Is Mandatory. Turning Garments into Shapeless Sacks is Optional
I’m going to be really honest with you here, grading is not my favourite part of the job. The numbers, the deep technical thought, the Excel formulas (my arch nemesis). It’s like trigonometry. Ok it’s nothing like trigonometry, I just remember whatever that was it was vile. In the world of womenswear product development, grading is the bridge between your perfect sample and a profitable collection. Bad grading leads to production nightmares and high return rates.
There’s no single right way to grade. There’s definitely wrong (so wrong), but there are also lots of different rights. It all depends on your product, your customer, your size range, and your brand.
When the grading is wrong, you’ll know.
Massive armholes. Gaping necklines. Proportions that make it look like the garment was designed by someone who has never seen a human in real life.
You probably won’t spot it until it’s too late because who actually checks the fit of every size?
Next thing you know, returns are on fire and customers are tagging you on Instagram in angry mirror selfies.
What is really frustrating for me is that lots of brands only discover what a Garment Tech is once they have had a problem like this, and they cone begging for help because their bulk is messed up.
Of course I get my firefighting hat on and jump into action, but it’s so annoying that it would have been so much cheaper to just set it up correctly in the first place.
So, what is grading?
Grading is how we take your base pattern and turn it into your full size range.
Every part of a garment has a grade rule.
Points move on an X/Y axis.
The garment grows and shrinks in a controlled way.
This isn’t cooking, you cannot just add a bit to the side.
I often see the same increments used up and down the size range and that’s when things begin to look a bit spicy. And I don’t mean spicy in a margarita way.
Example: the shoulder seam.
A size 8 woman generally has a more petite frame than a size 24 (not always, but mostly). So yes, the shoulder should increase as the sizes go up, but should it increase by the same amount every time?
If your shoulder is graded at 0.3 cm per size, that’s 2.4 cm between an 8 and a 24. Sounds tiny, but it’s enough to make the shoulder seam slide down the arm like a sad half-smile. And that’s just one measurement.
Don’t even get me started on trouser grading. I’ve seen some interesting leg lengths where all the size 20 customers are apparently 6’3 supermodels.
Single vs. Double Grading
Are your garments meant to fit one size at a time, or to cover a size range?
My general rule:
Fitted garments = single sizes (8, 10, 12...)
Looser garments = double sizes (S, M, L...)
What I Actually Do
I spend a lot of time on grading because I want to know your customer and I want to get it right.
I benchmark your competitors and stalk their size guides online.
I take suspicious piles of clothing into changing rooms, trying to look totally normal so I can secretly measure them, pretending like I really go for the oversized look.
Sometimes I’m really brave and might whip out my tape measure right there on the shop floor.
Once I’ve generated your graded spec, I check it, recheck it with fresh eyes, and walk you through it line by line before production.
I have nightmares about incorrect grading being discovered after fabric has been cut.
Factories mostly flag the +30cm instead of +3cm… but we do not rely on that.
When One Size Range Isn’t Enough
So many brands come to me saying they want better fit for plus-size customers.
‘We don’t want standard grading!’ Great! Curvy girls deserve flattering fit too.
If your size range is broad, you can’t just grade one pattern all the way through.
This is what you get with mass production and it’s why plus-size women often end up with garments that feel like shapeless sacks.
What you should do instead is have two fit processes
Fit and seal your smaller size (say, a 10 or 12)
Grade it up to your upper mid-size (say, an 18)
Re-fit the 18. I guarantee you’ll want to tweak the waist, bust, proportions…actually, probably everything
Seal the size 18
Then grade the rest of your range from there
Yes, it means two sets of patterns, two lots of sampling and all the other headaches that come with this but the result is really worth the effort.
In summary, There’s zero point guessing at grading; it’s too easy to get wrong and too expensive to fix.
If you’re stuck, just get an expert involved early. (Preferably a cat lover with a fear of Excel.)
If you found all this boring. I hear you.
Let’s both hold the honesty stick tight and agree that this bit is not the most exciting or interesting part of having a fashion brand but it is sooo vital.