The good news is the corset cover is already cut out and just waiting to be stitched together. That will hopefully get me a wee bit ahead of the game for next time! 😃 (Though I may take a very short detour to another project just as a palate cleanser...
I wore old lady clothes to be "modest" because I was part of a fundamentalist religious group - what a waste of a good figure (that I had at the time)! Loved your articulate rant in the middle. And yes, I love TV patterns because if you have ridiculous differences between hip-waist-bust ratio, there are instructions for which measurement to follow.
Oh my gosh they turned out adorable! (And with the flounce, they look more like a cute skirt at first glance! You know what that means?? *Secret shorts!!*)
The drawers look lovely! and flouncy, indeed!!! And... I was going to say, 'No, clothes are fine.... clothes shopping is fine..." and then I remembered the time I literally started crying because a GORGEOUS dress ACTUALLY FIT ME! And years of being extremely frustrated and bored when I went with my (very thin!) cousins to the mall, and they'd buy pretty bras and mine were... not. I HAD to wear a bra, and I couldn't buy any cute ones, from middle school onwards! And I wasn't "plus size" then, in MOST of my anatomy.
Yeah...mall shopping as a teen was frustrating. Hooray, because you get to go into the city and see a mall with some variety. Boo, because nothing at the fashionable stores fit. The 80's were not my happiest decade. 😬
SCANDELOUS!! Out in your underwear!!! Hee hee! Yeah, I love the idea of Let's teach people NOT to do or be a thing by making life hard for them! Hey, let's teach me to have a size 7 shoe by making nothing but size 7 shoes! Love your rants. Can't wait for the rest of the Victwardian outfit!
I've been buying Truely Victorian patterns for a decade. I love them. They have a great variety and if you have a problem you can contact them and they will help you through you situation.
It's been really interesting seeing so many people finally realise this now a lot of people have gained weight throughout the pandemic. Hopefully if nothing else it'll increase empathy and drive to change these things. The drawers are so much fun! I have no idea why I'm here since I mostly wear men's clothes and knit stuffed animals but I'm glad I am.
Those turned out so cute! I just love your pretty underwear. So cool, so light weight, so nice and flowy with just enough lace . . . My precious . . . Oops sorry. After Rachel Maksy broke the internet this weekend, my sides appreciated the break to appreciated a healthy dose of snark and mild rant about clothing not fitting properly to bringing back down to earth from watching her make kissy faces at Mr Darcy. I think you may need to incorporate her raspberries into some of your future videos 😜 So I have a guilty confession. After our conversation yesterday, I started daydreaming of having a pair of frilly combinations to hang out by the pool in and istead if of pre washing my buyer's regret fabric and seeing if I could fix my sewing machine after my daughter jammed it (I have no idea how she did it) while I was in town bought 10 yards if inexpensive light weight cotton muslin. Then wasted the afternoon away looking at patterns and lace on Etsy. You got my mind going. I figured if you had no shame hanging out in your under pinnings, I shouldn't either. Especially since I live out in the boondocks and there really isn't any one to see me, except for maybe my neighbors and the occasional person going by on their atv or dirt bike. That evening as I was cooling off from the days heat in various stages of undress, I realized you are on to something. I need a pair of combinations to lounge about in. We are in the triple digits and at the very beginning of our monsoon season. Its about to be hotter than Hades and so humid you can cut the air with a knife. You wouldn't think of it being humid in the middle of the God forsaken desert. So now thanks to your pretty and cool Edwardian underwear, not only am I officially jealous of your pretty underpinnings, I need to make myself a pair. I can always add lace later.
(looks left) (looks right) DO IT! 😂 Bonus points if you can find a parasol or patio umbrella. That sun is HOT! They sure weren't kidding about Hot Girl Summer, but I think they put the emphasis on the wrong subject of the phrase...
@@MaireColclough does the swing count as a parasol? Lol. I'm afraid anything reassembling a parasol is in short supply around here. Even umbrellas. However for mother's day my hubby got me a swing that I can sit in and what the kids in the pool in. Originally I saw myself having a quaint little garden spot where I could sit AMD work on some hand sewing projects, maybe a bit of embroidery or just do some crochet. Much like Cathy Hay. That was a short lived pipe dream. I am still battling the night shade that still insists in growing (that stuff is as tough as nails, even after back washing the pool water on it) and the devil's favorite plant, goat head burrs. Maybe someday it will be a pretty little corner. Assuming I can keep the passion vine alive and to thrive. Then I will have a pretty corner to sit in my swing and be cool in my combinations that I work on some projects while the kids cannon ball each other in the pool. 😉
I have a disease that causes abnormal fat deposits. I'm so greatful for pattern companies that have my size because I'm able to make things I love. BUT it shouldn't be limited to a few companies. Your rant was spot on. And your video was great!
Thank you! Every body is different, and there's a huge difference between sizing up and altering for fit. I'd rather both of us had the option to do more of the latter and less of the former!
You’re the best. I love how you always say exactly what I’m thinking. Bravo to you and please don’t ever stop trying to get the industry to realize there are so many of us who simply want beautiful patterns for our size. Also, I absolutely can’t wait to see Pimp My Underwear. Love you (not in a creepy way, I mean in a thank you for speaking for us way) and bravo!
The drawers are adorable!! I want to make a pair for outerwear as they look almost like a skirt bc of the flowy!! I’m from Australia and have always been plus sized It’s very demoralising to have to buy old lady clothes when you’re just a baby 😅 As I’ve gotten older I have many a chronic health condition that all stop me from losing weight because my body just hates me :P Luckily I’ve learned to style myself in a way that’s both cute and how I want and accessible Kind of Within what is available at least I’ll never wear a strapless top for fun I can tell you that much 😂
The drawers are definitely adorable. I'm just glad I managed to size them up properly! I probably won't wear them on their own unless I add a centre front seam rather than split-drawer facings. Because gape-ing could be...er...disastrous 😉 (I'm glad you're finding cute and fun ways to style yourself. You show your body who's the boss!)
YES YES YES! While I can't say I've experienced all the same issues you have, I have had similar issues finding clothes that fit (just due to how I carry my weight and the multi-size measurement differences between various body parts), have been taught similar fashion lessons, and struggle with modifying big 4 patterns to fit (though that last point might be user error/inexperience more than anything). So yes to all the size inclusivity!! And omg pimp my underpants 😂😂😂 CONTINUE FROLICKING MY FRIEND!! ALL THE FROLICKING IN ALL THE LACY UNDERDRAWERS!!
I'm hoping to reduce my size a bit so I have a little more room to just make alterations rather than having to re-size the full pattern. Because that was a pain in the...back. Or maybe that was the cutting-out process. I can't remember. It was a blur 😄 Hooray size inclusivity!
These are so cute. I have had this particular pattern for 20 years and been afraid to make it. Watching your videos making these undergarments has inspired me to give it a go. Once made pictures will follow. Please, do a pimp my drawers!!!
Make the pattern! Start with old bedsheets to mock up if you need to get a mockup done...but do it. It doesn't need to sit there for another 20 years! 😁
I love your rants!! I can’t stand shopping for clothes so often I find it’s a choice of too small or too ugly!! It’s frustrating and annoying. Then you go to patterns and it’s like playing roulette with sizing. When I decided to do some historical sewing I will definitely check out Truly Victorian.
Something I find interesting, is that a similar phenomenon occurs with tall people! I have always been quite tall, and at a pretty young age was relegated to the dull blues and greens of the ladies section. Its almost a day for celebration to see shirts that reach the top of my hips in store, and clothes online are always weirdly cut and in awful colours. This was really cool to see and hear about. I’m currently interested in pattern-making (at a surface level for now) and being inclusive to many groups (beginner sewists, plus size, tall, mobility impaired, etc.).
Yep. Tall is also difficult to buy off-the-rack for. And often requires adjustment in patterns (thankfully, most pattern designers seem willing to put in lines for lengthening a garment properly) 😃 Inclusivity is definitely a good thing, and having a good set of standard directions in a pattern goes a long way to ensure it can be altered for many needs.
I've become fairly handy with sewing clothes for both repairs of seams for me and customizing patterns (or altering an existing garment) for my roommate and my aunt (who coincidentally exist on opposite sides of the body size spectrum). Luckily, they both are quite happy in nursing scrub pants patterns in a variety of stretchy materials. My aunt and roommate thankfully fits in off the rack shirts for any style they want but pants are another story. So, I have cut out two scrub pants patterns for them. My aunt uses the 2XL waist, XL length outseam and L inseam. She prefers a straight elastic waistband. My roommate uses halfway between the S and M waist, L outseam and XL inseam with 1.5in added at the top of the waist for added height for length between inseam to waist and added comfort. He prefers an elastic waistband with 1in ease and a drawstring to tighten as needed for his abdomen that has a tendency to go from sunken in to a weird almost pregnant look swelling depending on the flares of his Crohn's disease. Thankfully I fit quite nicely into off the rack women's XL (skintight on me but extremely opaque) cotton/licra blend leggings (super nice because I have to wear custom made leg braces) and off the rack (or rather 5 to a pack) men's XL cotton t-shirts (I'm partial to the Hanes tagless but the Walmart branded "George" isn't far behind in how much I like the feel of the fabric and fall of the fabric on my body). Then the only customizing that I do for my leggings is add 5in of 1in wide elastic to the bottom of the ankle seam to act as a "stirrup" so the leggings don't ride up when I am wearing my leg braces or when laying down/sleeping (w/o the braces).
oof. spot on about the pattern and sizing rant - my DNA apparently didn't get the memo that I'm not a medieval European peasant on the run from the English every other day of the week nor am I actually required to go viking (lit. 'raiding') and most things are readily available for the proper amount of funds. So yeah. 5'10 and very... pear-y. (But hey no issues doing archery so there's that I guess??) I literally shopped for 'men's' clothing all through high school bc I could never find jeans that were long enough and weren't total hip huggers. (Also... polyester. It has become the bane of my life since I now live in a more tropical clime than any of my ancestors would have thought possible.)
Ugh...polyester. I've been trying to turn a blind eye to it. but...I have a shirt that literally squeaks. It's kinda hot and nasty. So...no. But hey...archery is pretty cool!😃
As someone with family and friends who are plus-sized, I get it. I actually significantly upsized the top portion of M8123 from a 14 to a 26 for a friend and it worked perfectly for her (my local Joann Fabrics was out of the 14-22 packet and I refuse to pay full price). If you want modern size inclusive patterns, look at Indy pattern companies like Love Notions, Cashmerette and Itch-to-Stitch (for newer releases/rereleases) to name a few.
Omg! You look darling in those drawers! (And I would love a pimp my panties episode) I love the look of the drawers as they are now of course…but I also love the idea of gobs of lace dripping from a pair of drawers (although that does sound like a LOT work…and might also not then be wearable by someone like me who finds seams touching me to be mentally and physically painful). I also resonated with the clothing stores that say they are specifically for my body type…only to find that my butt is too flat, my boobs too abundant, shoulders too broad, torso and arms too long, legs too short…and do I leave feeling like I was put together with leftover bits and I don’t fit the proper proportions of a “normal “ human. And it takes forever for me to find something that I like…that fits me the way I like…and then I wear it into the ground. It is like a death in the family when I finally get rid of a piece of clothing (most of my clothing I have had over 10 years)
You did a fantastic job with them!!! I love that Truly Victorian makes an effort to have interchangeable sizing and be inclusive with the ranges. There’s very little more frustrating than having to alter a pattern so much you may as well have saved yourself the money and drafted it.
Thank you so much, Kayla! You're quite right. I go on all the time about plus-size inclusivity, but I feel the same way about *all* sizes, to be honest. I need to learn how to pattern draft. That's really the long & short of it. 😉
Preach on the rant!! Luckily as a teen I was just low enough in plus sizes that I could find clothes in the store (plus I live in maaaaajor metro area). I also didn’t care about popular fashions anyways. But now… trying to find clothes that fit is a nightmare, especially since I’m pickier about fit and further off the sizes available in most stores… I just need to find the spoons to work on clothes…
Yeah...I'm thinking in going to try building up a custom-fit wardrobe. It's just difficult finding the right base sizes. It's possible you'll even get there before me 😁
Totally agree with your pattern 'rant'. (And the jeans! Don't even get me going there!) I spent an hour last week trawling through Big 4 pattern books looking at all the things I would like that won't fit me, to find the relatively few things available in plus sizes. Where did the plus size section go?🤔. And I too appreciate a Truly Victorian pattern and their multi-size approach. I need to get some fancy drawers!😃
The Big 4 really need to get their act together. For instance: I reference McCall's in the video, and while you can find their plus size section, most of it stops around size 24, has a straight-sized model on the cover, and the e-pattern costs $10 more than the printed pattern. I just...don't understand. 🤔 Which makes me appreciate Truly Victorian all that much more, at least for historic patterns!
The Drawers look fantastic. I knew nothing of the difficulty of plus-size sewing until helping my late mother who was a modest UK16 and still struggled to find anything she felt really happy in, either off the rack or in patterns. She didn't like frump and was often frustrated by the shapeless bag offerings. Truly Victorian helped a lot with that, allowing us to make some garments that were nice to make, comfortable, and flattering. Truly Victorian patterns can take a bit of getting the hang of, but once you do, they're one of the nicest to work from. It's just a shame their mens range isn't nearly as comprehensive as their women's range, though that's true of pretty much all pattern manufacturers both new and reproduction vintage.
I'm finding that with experience and research, the choices made in the pattern do make sense. And when it starts making sense to me, it makes the experience that much more enjoyable. And yes...frump is the bane of my existance. I'd rather be fabulous than frump 😃
As someone who will never be the "Standard " size in Fast fashion at 6ft 1" {Mom's side of the fam she is 6ft} I say thank you for the rant maybe one day the industry will truly hear us as even Tailornova was a fail after imputing my measurements it told me in a nice way, of course, to go butt a stump. {oppsy My Texan is showing LOL} Having to draft a block has become very real, and I must say They came out wonderfully! I must definitely visit Truly Victorian when I make some dream period clothes, again Thank you so much!
It's not just plus-size people who have trouble finding clothing / patterns to fit. Even when I was quite slender (21" waist with 36" hips - I was made for the Victorian era!) I couldn't find patterns / clothing that fit me. Thank goodness I learned to alter patterns when I was young and slender. Now that I've joined the plus size crowd, it's much less daunting to rework a pattern. I guess this is what will keep our brains young!
Apparently pattern drafting, knitting, and piano lessens help keep your brain plastic. Which means I need to dig out the sheet music and practice more 😉
I did flounces too, but I decided to hand sew the entire garment (enjoyable, but took a million years). Then I decided that my trim would be gathered lengths of a scarf I'd cut up for the purpose. Each ruffle I created was an 89 inch loop 😅😅😅😅😅. I love it so much but tbh I don't know if I'd do it again (ok I would but only because I'm extra)
I sincerely admire your tenacity. I have a feeling I'll hand-stitch an entire garment only if I were seriously pursuing some sort of degree in anthropology and garment construction. Because time is short and I like having nifty clothing! 😄
There is one (one!) good plus size store in my country- City Chic (which has even expanded out to the US, a rarity for Australian stores). And while the quality is very good, the prices are matching that higher quality. And I don’t want to complain that the one high quality plus size store is too expensive… but it is. I mean, it was fine when I was working. Hell, I still have a very nice tailored work dress from 10 years ago. I’m not joking about the quality, and that incredibly rare in the plus sizes market. Also, they do tend (or did) toward the vintage, which was great for me. But again- they’re too expensive. And when it comes to cute history bounding styles… there’s nothing. Which is why I make my own clothes. I’m lucky that I’m midfat, and that is usually catered to by indie historical pattern companies (one of my favourites being Black Snail). But unless it’s a specific “curvy” pattern, I’ll be either at, or just over the range of the Bug 4. Usually over. So I just don’t even bother anymore. I might buy a very cheap secondhand pattern from an op shop, but only to get an idea for drafting it myself. Also, your rants are the favourite parts of your videos. I’m so glad you’re leaving them in! I love the seeing content too, obviously (I wouldn’t have found your channel otherwise), but the rants hold a special place in my heart.
I'm so glad historical pattern companies are letting you live the cottage core historybounding lifestyle you (and all of us) deserve. I really dislike how much more expensive plus sized clothing is in comparison to straight sizes, but if the quality is good...it's a toss-up. I just hope the price of linen - and other worthwhile materials - are a fair price so you can make as many historybounded outfits as you wish. (I'm trying to strike a balance with my rants/snark/etc. I'm just...glad (?) I'm not the only one who feels this way!)
I was a turn of the century baby just barely catching the 1900's arriving in 1998. Meaning I grew up in the early 2000s. I was moderately plump and fit into "plus sizes" but I was always told that I either dressed too old or too young. Now, this was not necessarily because I could not fit into anything trendy but because I was trying to emulate how the women I respected most dressed namely my mother and grandmother. I was never attracted to any of the fast fashion trends that were going around and none of my peers could give a persuasive enough argument for their fashion choices to sway me. However after constantly being told that it was inappropriate for a teenager to look and dress like I was 40 I tried to swing back the other way and went for "childish". This also displeased my mother and I still got a lot of "dress your age" comments. Eventually, I gave up on fashion altogether I had convinced myself that either fashion was flawed or I was because I didn't understand all the "rules". Either way, I told myself it was no longer worth the effort to care and I let my mom do all my clothes shopping for me since she seemed to have a better grasp on the "rules". This continued till I got cancer midway through college. I had to withdraw from school, all my hair went away, and I went from 230lb to 120lb in a month or two. All in all, I was left with a crud ton of clothes that did not fit me, and even the ones that still fit looked unbalanced without my long hair. Fortunately, I made a beautiful bald person and actually really enjoyed wearing hats and headscarves for the first time. I found that my eyes, earrings, and facial features stood out more without my hair and I started playing around with how to best accent them. Then when I was cancer-free and in recovery from chemo I found Bernadette's youtube channel and learned that history bounding was a thing and that there was more to fashion than "fast fashion". I said to myself F&#$ the "rules" they have always been arbitrary and always will be. I have centries of "rules" that I can pick and choose from and now I have a style that flatters me both in personality and in any size I happen to be.
I am totally in the same boat as you. I'm so frustrated that the vintage patterns and the retro clothing companies stop at a 18. I want to dress vintage just as much as a skinny person. :(
I assume you are aware of this, but on the off chance people in the comments might not be: the free sewing patterns available on moodfabrics go up to a 49.5" waist, and the pdf comes with all available sizes, so you can do the sizing-up methods you've shown in your videos! Love you videos! Cute clothes for all!
Hooray for Mood Fabrics! I think I've only ever used their circle skirt calculator, as I've not really visited their site otherwise (fabric from the US is...expensive). I'm glad they're being more inclusive with their patterns! 😃
@@MaireColclough They have tons of free patterns! Their site is a bit odd to navigate, you can't really search for things very well, but I have tried out a shorts, t-shirt, and dress pattern, and they've come out pretty good (or good-ish; I'm definitely still a novice)!
People who had to settle for frumpy BS all the way back through high school because the "cool" stores didn't carry their sizes? (raises hand) Yo. Off topic, but I love the top you're wearing in this video, with the asymmetric insertion lace!
Thank you! It's from one of the plus size retail stores. Possibly Torrid or Addition Elle (before they started going for a nautical aesthetic a few years back). I'd check the tag, but it's on the second floor and I'm in the nice cool basement, hiding from the heatwave currently slamming Alberta... 😉
I am so sad that it is still difficult to buy clothes and or patterns no matter what size you are. Big clothing means more fabric is puchased, I am surprised that the fabric manufacturers aren't paying serious court to the larger person! Birdy
I like these fancy underwear. Think I'm going to make some this spring. I am glad you told us about the two left legs. I will pay attention! Thank you for your videos!!!
“Let’s encourage people to lose weight by making their clothes ugly.” Yeah, because people lose weight *so* easily when they’re unhappy and stay at home because they feel ugly. Hi. Hello. I get depressed when I go on a diet. I mean. Clinically. Meassurably. So I try not to diet. Also, the big four can bite me. I’ll stay with the small creators that cater to my size, *and* have a diverse cast of body-types showcasing the products. And for the rest? I bloody well adapt and muslin to get more options. I’m tired of “making do”. Now I make what I *want*!
I go after the big 4 mainly because they have a huge presence in stores and not everyone (even in my own family) thinks to go online and Google. Plus, normalizing plus sizes at that level really would trickle down to other pattern makers. But I'm with you on supporting smaller design companies...thankfully, they're supplying for our demand! 😁
As a person who was a size 18 in high school, when enforced exersize in the form of running back and forth through the building trying to make it from class to class in 5 minutes or less was a thing, frumpy clothes were a thing. It sucked. I was a teen, and I was stuck wearing stuff that my mum would have worn. I chose to wear nothing but black jeans and black long sleeved shirts and black hoodies in the end because at least then I was matching at 5am when I'm barely awake; and also because its hard to look frumpy when you're in all black.
PREACH! I live in a major Canadian city, and yet between the state of retail going online, and pandemic closures, I can't even find a brick & mortar store my size without driving 30 km
As much as it pains me to support fast fashion, I find that my choices usually fall between Penningtons (leggings, mostly. Sometimes plain T-shirts) and Torrid (cute dresses, blouses, and jeans). Thankfully, they all have a web presence, and their sizing is mostly good. Unfortunately, all of them seem to have some sort of plastic content in the clothing. So...good and bad. 😬
It amuses me, lol! I am a beginner sexist who as my hubby says, is a beauty with a booty. Trying to learn to sew again, and redraft good or bad patterns is so frustrating!!! Keep preaching girl!
You are so epic. I agree with all you said. Pattern companies need to get their heads out of the 1950s standards and start offering patterns based on how people are sized now. When 50% of the population is size 14 and up it is ridiculous that they having adapted their pattern blocks. They are being financially stupid to not tap this underserved market.
Still no plus sized consortiums in Australia. I had to learn early to draft patterns so I could try to refashion small patterns to my size, especially after I got ill and gained weight. It is an awful lot of effort to try not to be frumpy.
The thing that ANNOYS... Hmmm actually it really PISSES ME OFF is that size 32w they advertise.... is in reality only a TIGHT 26w when you read the measurements of the "FINISHED" garment. Just once Id love a pattern to actually BE ADVERTISED as the finished garment REAL size... not have to go through and work out my measurements IN the store.
Yeah...I was noticing that, too. I seem to recall that pattern sizing tends to run smaller than retail sizing due to different standards in both industries. That's why the term "Vanity Sizing" gets used - we give a lower number to what pattern manufacturers consider a larger size. It's why a size 12 from 1973 is different from a modern size 12. It's...wacky.😬
You tell it like it is!. I hate that I can't find any 'cute' clothing and if I do they are ridiculously expensive. Reminds me....back to attempting my corset.
I think I'm just a little fatigued from watching fun clothing being produced on UA-cam, then seeing the same old styles from 3 or 4 years ago on plus-sized retail store websites. Only the fabric seems to change, and even that tends to be polyester at a linen price. So...I guess I let it out. 🙂
@@MaireColclough Exactly! I like a good peasant blouse but don't like off the shoulder styles or deep V necklines. Don't get me started about sleeves and arm scye (spelling?) that you could drive a Mack truck through. Polyester makes my skin crawl. :)
@@MaireColclough I can imagine that. I myself encountered those THICK waistbands once or twice in my life..but i always choose to sew on some Hooks and Eyes (and prayers)..lol.
I would be interested to hear how you find using Victorian drafting manuals like the keystone cutter as a plus size. All the people on Internet that use them tend to be quite slender...so wonder if they work for the other end of the spectrum?
OH my a rant dear to my heart. Had my mother not been a wiz at a machine in the 80s, I'd have been doomed. I run a ranch, and have the shoulders of a football player, so it's always been jeans and t-shirts. We never lived where there were shops, and when I did find something that worked well, I wore/wear things to a frazzle. And who makes all these clothes in plastics. They're HOT, they smell, and they don't wear well. Why are DH's jeans made of 100% thick cotton and wear for YEARS, and women's jeans are 99% spandex and last a season if you're lucky. WE NEED TO DO BETTER. I LOATHE shopping for clothing. I want FUNCTIONAL, classic, and hard wearing. Many companies just scale up patterns without knowing how it fits a person. Scaling up doesn't always work. My next project is my body double sewing dummy, so I can mock up patterns and sew to fit.
Good luck with your dress form! I think having a body double to help with fit, draping, pinching darts and hemming will be a game-changer for you. It's something I need to get around to someday. The time is coming when my mother is going to have to train the Husbeast in basic hem assistance 😉
@@MaireColclough I have one of those chalk dust puffer sticks from the 70s that marks my hem. Otherwise I drive 1.5 hours to the city and a tailor shop there has agreed to mark my hem for me for only $2.00. Which is a deal. Otherwise it's nearly impossible to fit things properly on yourself.
Yes! I'm 4'11" and a real chonkabelle. Yet I want to be dressed in a way that makes me happy! But here in Australia fabric is very expensive, so for me to make a basic dress I'm looking at at least 45$ in fabric, and if I want a big flowy one it's easily double that, which usually I cannot afford. It's brutal. Also, what the fuck is with the lack of nice bras over a DD?!?! Revolting beige minimizers are the only thing I can find in local stores, so thank goodness for brands like Elomi that I can buy online, but it feels so unfair that my slim friends can go buy five decent bras in multiple locations in my city for what I'll pay for one online that fits, and then have to have shipped internationally with added cost! I never bother with patterns because even when they are the right measurements, they are all for women a lot taller than me! I'm a short-round, I get that very little in this world will be sized to fit me, but sometimes it sucks. Anyway, now I'm just resorting to upcycling thrifted sheets into borderline history-bounding clothes for myself.
I'm on the taller side, myself, so I have other issues with fit. I know the tendency with petite sizing is to err on the side of slenderness, and that's not fair to those ladies with a bit more substance. I'm so sorry fabric is that expensive! As for the bras...that's another rant entirely. Check out the Redthreaded corset video if you'd like a look at my thoughts on that topic 😄
@@MaireColclough I commiserated with you in the comments of that video, too! Ha ha For sure, most clothing sized for petit assumes you're built like Audrey Hepburn! A lot of things are fairly expensive here, it's just so difficult sometimes to take so much from the family budget just so I can have some nice fabric! I do end up thrifting a fair amount of fabric these days, though, so that's good.
@@fatsparrowsewing yeah....and for some reason, stores don't like to mark the difference between tall and petite. So...you buy trousers that turn into pedal-pushers or vice versa... 😳
Hey I just found you. I love you!!!!! Also I love listening to you, your vocabulary and sense of humor is SO refreshing you could give Ms Banner a run for her money anon.... Love your life girlfriend it really is an adventure. Keep posting and I will keep watching.!!!! Bann
I hear you. I thank you. I love you. I am currently trying to scale up a big four plus size blazer ( does that word age me?) to a plusser size. When you said, "Dress how I feel inside" my heart jumped to my throat. I KNOW. Again, I love you. Keep telling the truth for us.
My JCPENNEY had the "husky" sizes in....the....basement. Same for my Dress Barn 30 years later. I have been collecting patterns from a very good thrift store. I have 100+ that I would like to size up when I have more skills and 19 that will actually fit me. Tunics and elastic waistband pants... here I come. Also skinny jeans can F right off.
Ugh, I’m so glad the skinny jeans trend is dying. Though honestly, I’ve already switched to skirts only because I got sick of trousers never fitting me. Because when you’ve got large thighs and calves, but still have skinny knees and ankles, all you get are pants too tight on the former, and way too baggy on the latter. It’s not a good look! And so I gave up and went to skirts, which I find more comfortable anyway.
Just watched the lace in skirt (cannot remember the col something name) video. Maybe remake these using that same lace in to make it fit for many sizes? And, did you do the inserts? Gonna watch more, wheee
I was a teen in the 70's; I was (and am) fat. So my mom bought me polyester double knit pants and poly shirts. I hated them. I took Home Ec and learned to sew. Thats when I finally got decent looking clothes. I wasn't taught how to upsize a pattern; wish I had learned what I see the ladies here on YT can do.
There are studies going back over half a century that show that losing weight and keeping it off long-term is nearly impossible. Most people who lose weight will end up fatter over the long term, because are bodies adjust to keep us alive during our self-inflicted famines.
I am hearing you, I am short with a 40inch waist with hips etc to match I am also 73 years old and no interest in doing anything about my weight but I still want to wear stylish clothes also I would love to be able to wear Edwardian clothing so I have just as much trouble with patterns love the drawers
I've never really subscribed to the idea that you have to be a certain age to wear a certain look. And I have mad respect for anyone in their 70's wanting to explore past fashions! I would definitely recommend Truly Victorian patterns for that 40-inch waist. They're very customizable. I'd just...also recommend the Facebook Group in case you get as confused as I do with the instructions 😉
Yeah...there's a McCall's pattern in the new expanded sizing that I'd like to try out. And I expect that alterations will occur, since the pattern is just a starting point. I'm hoping that sizing up won't be a huge problem 😬
@@MaireColclough THis is a button down shirt dress. It it fairly straight and I'm going to flair the skirt more at the hips to points down. There's no WAY she can sit in that. The sleeves also don't have enough ease in them, I can see that just by looking at the photo. Do they think people just wear these clothes and NEVER move in them?!
@@weatherlady9666 I have no idea. Honestly, after watching some of Stephanie Canada's pattern comparisons, I have even less faith in the large commercial pattern industry.
Out of interest, how does eShakti hold up when doing non-standard sizing? I've heard good things but not specifically about the larger size and custom sized clothing.
I wish I had an answer for you. I haven't yet ordered from eShakti. I had a gift certificate, but only realized later, when I finally saw something I wanted to purchase, that it had expired. Which...is kinda shady, in my books. 🙄
I add my voice to wanting to see cute patterns for fat people. And yes, there are models to show those clothes. Gosh, wouldn't it be great for retired styles from Torrid to make it to a pattern line?
Dear Big Four Pattern Companies, I am not giving you my money. Why would I. It would be a waste. The "Vintage Reprints" have absolutely nothing to do with the original pattern; apparently you never kept a file. And the plus size options are either nonexistent or, frankly, insulting designs. If I wanted an elastic waist band on my pants I'd shop at Sears... in the 1970's... Thank you, no. - - - Nice flex on the buttonhole. And nice Rant. Please, pimp your underpants. Cheers! {you're doing CoSy (Costume Symposium), on the YT, Aug 19-22, yes} - Cathy (&, accidently, Steve), Ottawa/Bytown
I will look into pimping my underpinnings...and as far as I know, I'm participating in CoSy. Barring any emergencies or natural disaster. If course... 😉
The good news is the corset cover is already cut out and just waiting to be stitched together. That will hopefully get me a wee bit ahead of the game for next time! 😃
(Though I may take a very short detour to another project just as a palate cleanser...
My life explained in one video.
I wore old lady clothes to be "modest" because I was part of a fundamentalist religious group - what a waste of a good figure (that I had at the time)! Loved your articulate rant in the middle. And yes, I love TV patterns because if you have ridiculous differences between hip-waist-bust ratio, there are instructions for which measurement to follow.
The TV patterns are quite customizable, I'm finding...live and learn, I guess! 😉
Oh my gosh they turned out adorable! (And with the flounce, they look more like a cute skirt at first glance! You know what that means?? *Secret shorts!!*)
A couple of modifications for modesty's sake, and you'd be 100% correct! 😁
The drawers look lovely! and flouncy, indeed!!!
And... I was going to say, 'No, clothes are fine.... clothes shopping is fine..." and then I remembered the time I literally started crying because a GORGEOUS dress ACTUALLY FIT ME! And years of being extremely frustrated and bored when I went with my (very thin!) cousins to the mall, and they'd buy pretty bras and mine were... not. I HAD to wear a bra, and I couldn't buy any cute ones, from middle school onwards! And I wasn't "plus size" then, in MOST of my anatomy.
Yeah...mall shopping as a teen was frustrating. Hooray, because you get to go into the city and see a mall with some variety. Boo, because nothing at the fashionable stores fit. The 80's were not my happiest decade. 😬
SCANDELOUS!! Out in your underwear!!! Hee hee! Yeah, I love the idea of Let's teach people NOT to do or be a thing by making life hard for them! Hey, let's teach me to have a size 7 shoe by making nothing but size 7 shoes! Love your rants. Can't wait for the rest of the Victwardian outfit!
If it's that scandalous, I'm sure Mum will inform me which neighbour was peeking over the fence 😉
@@MaireColclough 🤭
I've been buying Truely Victorian patterns for a decade. I love them. They have a great variety and if you have a problem you can contact them and they will help you through you situation.
I lurk on the Facebook page. It's really a wonderful resource 😃
The Facebook group saved my butt from making a big mistake on a shirtwaist just today.
It's been really interesting seeing so many people finally realise this now a lot of people have gained weight throughout the pandemic. Hopefully if nothing else it'll increase empathy and drive to change these things. The drawers are so much fun! I have no idea why I'm here since I mostly wear men's clothes and knit stuffed animals but I'm glad I am.
Love the drawers, love the video, love the rant and completely identify. Shout out to all my "Petite Plus" people!
Thank you! 💕
Those turned out so cute! I just love your pretty underwear. So cool, so light weight, so nice and flowy with just enough lace . . . My precious . . . Oops sorry.
After Rachel Maksy broke the internet this weekend, my sides appreciated the break to appreciated a healthy dose of snark and mild rant about clothing not fitting properly to bringing back down to earth from watching her make kissy faces at Mr Darcy. I think you may need to incorporate her raspberries into some of your future videos 😜
So I have a guilty confession. After our conversation yesterday, I started daydreaming of having a pair of frilly combinations to hang out by the pool in and istead if of pre washing my buyer's regret fabric and seeing if I could fix my sewing machine after my daughter jammed it (I have no idea how she did it) while I was in town bought 10 yards if inexpensive light weight cotton muslin. Then wasted the afternoon away looking at patterns and lace on Etsy. You got my mind going. I figured if you had no shame hanging out in your under pinnings, I shouldn't either. Especially since I live out in the boondocks and there really isn't any one to see me, except for maybe my neighbors and the occasional person going by on their atv or dirt bike. That evening as I was cooling off from the days heat in various stages of undress, I realized you are on to something. I need a pair of combinations to lounge about in. We are in the triple digits and at the very beginning of our monsoon season. Its about to be hotter than Hades and so humid you can cut the air with a knife. You wouldn't think of it being humid in the middle of the God forsaken desert. So now thanks to your pretty and cool Edwardian underwear, not only am I officially jealous of your pretty underpinnings, I need to make myself a pair. I can always add lace later.
(looks left)
(looks right)
DO IT! 😂
Bonus points if you can find a parasol or patio umbrella. That sun is HOT!
They sure weren't kidding about Hot Girl Summer, but I think they put the emphasis on the wrong subject of the phrase...
@@MaireColclough does the swing count as a parasol? Lol. I'm afraid anything reassembling a parasol is in short supply around here. Even umbrellas. However for mother's day my hubby got me a swing that I can sit in and what the kids in the pool in. Originally I saw myself having a quaint little garden spot where I could sit AMD work on some hand sewing projects, maybe a bit of embroidery or just do some crochet. Much like Cathy Hay. That was a short lived pipe dream. I am still battling the night shade that still insists in growing (that stuff is as tough as nails, even after back washing the pool water on it) and the devil's favorite plant, goat head burrs. Maybe someday it will be a pretty little corner. Assuming I can keep the passion vine alive and to thrive. Then I will have a pretty corner to sit in my swing and be cool in my combinations that I work on some projects while the kids cannon ball each other in the pool. 😉
@@SimpleDesertRose a covered swing sounds divine. Fingers crossed for your garden adventures! 😁
I have a disease that causes abnormal fat deposits. I'm so greatful for pattern companies that have my size because I'm able to make things I love. BUT it shouldn't be limited to a few companies. Your rant was spot on. And your video was great!
Thank you! Every body is different, and there's a huge difference between sizing up and altering for fit. I'd rather both of us had the option to do more of the latter and less of the former!
So pretty and fresh looking...I would consider wearing those as summer pajamas! :)
Perhaps as combinations.... 🧐💕
You’re the best. I love how you always say exactly what I’m thinking. Bravo to you and please don’t ever stop trying to get the industry to realize there are so many of us who simply want beautiful patterns for our size. Also, I absolutely can’t wait to see Pimp My Underwear. Love you (not in a creepy way, I mean in a thank you for speaking for us way) and bravo!
Oh, I'll keep crabbing about it. 😉
Pimp my Underwear (underpinnings? Underpants?) may take a while, but we'll get there eventually!
The drawers are adorable!!
I want to make a pair for outerwear as they look almost like a skirt bc of the flowy!!
I’m from Australia and have always been plus sized
It’s very demoralising to have to buy old lady clothes when you’re just a baby 😅
As I’ve gotten older I have many a chronic health condition that all stop me from losing weight because my body just hates me :P
Luckily I’ve learned to style myself in a way that’s both cute and how I want and accessible
Kind of
Within what is available at least
I’ll never wear a strapless top for fun I can tell you that much 😂
The drawers are definitely adorable. I'm just glad I managed to size them up properly! I probably won't wear them on their own unless I add a centre front seam rather than split-drawer facings. Because gape-ing could be...er...disastrous 😉
(I'm glad you're finding cute and fun ways to style yourself. You show your body who's the boss!)
YES YES YES!
While I can't say I've experienced all the same issues you have, I have had similar issues finding clothes that fit (just due to how I carry my weight and the multi-size measurement differences between various body parts), have been taught similar fashion lessons, and struggle with modifying big 4 patterns to fit (though that last point might be user error/inexperience more than anything).
So yes to all the size inclusivity!!
And omg pimp my underpants 😂😂😂 CONTINUE FROLICKING MY FRIEND!! ALL THE FROLICKING IN ALL THE LACY UNDERDRAWERS!!
I'm hoping to reduce my size a bit so I have a little more room to just make alterations rather than having to re-size the full pattern. Because that was a pain in the...back. Or maybe that was the cutting-out process. I can't remember. It was a blur 😄
Hooray size inclusivity!
These are so cute. I have had this particular pattern for 20 years and been afraid to make it. Watching your videos making these undergarments has inspired me to give it a go. Once made pictures will follow. Please, do a pimp my drawers!!!
Make the pattern! Start with old bedsheets to mock up if you need to get a mockup done...but do it. It doesn't need to sit there for another 20 years! 😁
I love your rants!! I can’t stand shopping for clothes so often I find it’s a choice of too small or too ugly!! It’s frustrating and annoying. Then you go to patterns and it’s like playing roulette with sizing.
When I decided to do some historical sewing I will definitely check out Truly Victorian.
Yeah...I avoid clothes shopping like the plague...which means I've been saving my gift cards for a while.... 😶
I've been forced to shop frumpy since I was 16. Thank God for goth. Otherwise, I would have looked like a church cleaning charwoman since my teens.
Ah, Goth. I miss my mostly- black wardrobe. Going to have to fix that...😉
Something I find interesting, is that a similar phenomenon occurs with tall people! I have always been quite tall, and at a pretty young age was relegated to the dull blues and greens of the ladies section. Its almost a day for celebration to see shirts that reach the top of my hips in store, and clothes online are always weirdly cut and in awful colours. This was really cool to see and hear about. I’m currently interested in pattern-making (at a surface level for now) and being inclusive to many groups (beginner sewists, plus size, tall, mobility impaired, etc.).
Yep. Tall is also difficult to buy off-the-rack for. And often requires adjustment in patterns (thankfully, most pattern designers seem willing to put in lines for lengthening a garment properly) 😃
Inclusivity is definitely a good thing, and having a good set of standard directions in a pattern goes a long way to ensure it can be altered for many needs.
I've become fairly handy with sewing clothes for both repairs of seams for me and customizing patterns (or altering an existing garment) for my roommate and my aunt (who coincidentally exist on opposite sides of the body size spectrum). Luckily, they both are quite happy in nursing scrub pants patterns in a variety of stretchy materials.
My aunt and roommate thankfully fits in off the rack shirts for any style they want but pants are another story. So, I have cut out two scrub pants patterns for them.
My aunt uses the 2XL waist, XL length outseam and L inseam. She prefers a straight elastic waistband.
My roommate uses halfway between the S and M waist, L outseam and XL inseam with 1.5in added at the top of the waist for added height for length between inseam to waist and added comfort. He prefers an elastic waistband with 1in ease and a drawstring to tighten as needed for his abdomen that has a tendency to go from sunken in to a weird almost pregnant look swelling depending on the flares of his Crohn's disease.
Thankfully I fit quite nicely into off the rack women's XL (skintight on me but extremely opaque) cotton/licra blend leggings (super nice because I have to wear custom made leg braces) and off the rack (or rather 5 to a pack) men's XL cotton t-shirts (I'm partial to the Hanes tagless but the Walmart branded "George" isn't far behind in how much I like the feel of the fabric and fall of the fabric on my body). Then the only customizing that I do for my leggings is add 5in of 1in wide elastic to the bottom of the ankle seam to act as a "stirrup" so the leggings don't ride up when I am wearing my leg braces or when laying down/sleeping (w/o the braces).
oof. spot on about the pattern and sizing rant - my DNA apparently didn't get the memo that I'm not a medieval European peasant on the run from the English every other day of the week nor am I actually required to go viking (lit. 'raiding') and most things are readily available for the proper amount of funds. So yeah. 5'10 and very... pear-y. (But hey no issues doing archery so there's that I guess??) I literally shopped for 'men's' clothing all through high school bc I could never find jeans that were long enough and weren't total hip huggers. (Also... polyester. It has become the bane of my life since I now live in a more tropical clime than any of my ancestors would have thought possible.)
Ugh...polyester. I've been trying to turn a blind eye to it. but...I have a shirt that literally squeaks. It's kinda hot and nasty. So...no.
But hey...archery is pretty cool!😃
As someone with family and friends who are plus-sized, I get it. I actually significantly upsized the top portion of M8123 from a 14 to a 26 for a friend and it worked perfectly for her (my local Joann Fabrics was out of the 14-22 packet and I refuse to pay full price). If you want modern size inclusive patterns, look at Indy pattern companies like Love Notions, Cashmerette and Itch-to-Stitch (for newer releases/rereleases) to name a few.
Good work on the upsizing! I hope I can continue to learn so I can do the same 😃
Omg! You look darling in those drawers! (And I would love a pimp my panties episode) I love the look of the drawers as they are now of course…but I also love the idea of gobs of lace dripping from a pair of drawers (although that does sound like a LOT work…and might also not then be wearable by someone like me who finds seams touching me to be mentally and physically painful). I also resonated with the clothing stores that say they are specifically for my body type…only to find that my butt is too flat, my boobs too abundant, shoulders too broad, torso and arms too long, legs too short…and do I leave feeling like I was put together with leftover bits and I don’t fit the proper proportions of a “normal “ human. And it takes forever for me to find something that I like…that fits me the way I like…and then I wear it into the ground. It is like a death in the family when I finally get rid of a piece of clothing (most of my clothing I have had over 10 years)
I wear clothing into the ground, too. Pretty sure I've had the Husbeast re-enact the Monty Python Dead Parrot sketch using one of my hoodies... 😉
You did a fantastic job with them!!! I love that Truly Victorian makes an effort to have interchangeable sizing and be inclusive with the ranges. There’s very little more frustrating than having to alter a pattern so much you may as well have saved yourself the money and drafted it.
Thank you so much, Kayla! You're quite right. I go on all the time about plus-size inclusivity, but I feel the same way about *all* sizes, to be honest.
I need to learn how to pattern draft. That's really the long & short of it. 😉
@@MaireColclough haha but that sounds like a whole lot of effort 😂
@@McNerdyCostumesandProps Doesn't it? 😁
Preach on the rant!! Luckily as a teen I was just low enough in plus sizes that I could find clothes in the store (plus I live in maaaaajor metro area). I also didn’t care about popular fashions anyways. But now… trying to find clothes that fit is a nightmare, especially since I’m pickier about fit and further off the sizes available in most stores…
I just need to find the spoons to work on clothes…
Yeah...I'm thinking in going to try building up a custom-fit wardrobe. It's just difficult finding the right base sizes. It's possible you'll even get there before me 😁
I'm late to the party - but I'd have definitely recommended ribbon. The more ribbon the better in my own opinion. With lots of bows 😊
Was totally that teen that didn’t have it/ access to nice clothes!! Also, so expensive!!!! Love this video this is exactly how I feel. Thank you!!
Yep...larger sized clothing does tend to be much more expensive. But that's a rant for another day 😉
Totally agree with your pattern 'rant'. (And the jeans! Don't even get me going there!) I spent an hour last week trawling through Big 4 pattern books looking at all the things I would like that won't fit me, to find the relatively few things available in plus sizes. Where did the plus size section go?🤔. And I too appreciate a Truly Victorian pattern and their multi-size approach. I need to get some fancy drawers!😃
The Big 4 really need to get their act together. For instance: I reference McCall's in the video, and while you can find their plus size section, most of it stops around size 24, has a straight-sized model on the cover, and the e-pattern costs $10 more than the printed pattern. I just...don't understand. 🤔
Which makes me appreciate Truly Victorian all that much more, at least for historic patterns!
The Drawers look fantastic. I knew nothing of the difficulty of plus-size sewing until helping my late mother who was a modest UK16 and still struggled to find anything she felt really happy in, either off the rack or in patterns. She didn't like frump and was often frustrated by the shapeless bag offerings. Truly Victorian helped a lot with that, allowing us to make some garments that were nice to make, comfortable, and flattering. Truly Victorian patterns can take a bit of getting the hang of, but once you do, they're one of the nicest to work from. It's just a shame their mens range isn't nearly as comprehensive as their women's range, though that's true of pretty much all pattern manufacturers both new and reproduction vintage.
I'm finding that with experience and research, the choices made in the pattern do make sense. And when it starts making sense to me, it makes the experience that much more enjoyable.
And yes...frump is the bane of my existance. I'd rather be fabulous than frump 😃
As someone who will never be the "Standard " size in Fast fashion at 6ft 1" {Mom's side of the fam she is 6ft} I say thank you for the rant maybe one day the industry will truly hear us as even Tailornova was a fail after imputing my measurements it told me in a nice way, of course, to go butt a stump. {oppsy My Texan is showing LOL} Having to draft a block has become very real, and I must say They came out wonderfully! I must definitely visit Truly Victorian when I make some dream period clothes, again Thank you so much!
It's not just plus-size people who have trouble finding clothing / patterns to fit. Even when I was quite slender (21" waist with 36" hips - I was made for the Victorian era!) I couldn't find patterns / clothing that fit me. Thank goodness I learned to alter patterns when I was young and slender. Now that I've joined the plus size crowd, it's much less daunting to rework a pattern. I guess this is what will keep our brains young!
Apparently pattern drafting, knitting, and piano lessens help keep your brain plastic. Which means I need to dig out the sheet music and practice more 😉
Do check out Lady Rebecca's vlog on the corset cover from last summer. It’s…. special. The pattern, I mean.
I'll have to re-watch it. I probably missed something 😉
I did flounces too, but I decided to hand sew the entire garment (enjoyable, but took a million years). Then I decided that my trim would be gathered lengths of a scarf I'd cut up for the purpose. Each ruffle I created was an 89 inch loop 😅😅😅😅😅. I love it so much but tbh I don't know if I'd do it again (ok I would but only because I'm extra)
I sincerely admire your tenacity.
I have a feeling I'll hand-stitch an entire garment only if I were seriously pursuing some sort of degree in anthropology and garment construction. Because time is short and I like having nifty clothing! 😄
There is one (one!) good plus size store in my country- City Chic (which has even expanded out to the US, a rarity for Australian stores). And while the quality is very good, the prices are matching that higher quality.
And I don’t want to complain that the one high quality plus size store is too expensive… but it is. I mean, it was fine when I was working. Hell, I still have a very nice tailored work dress from 10 years ago. I’m not joking about the quality, and that incredibly rare in the plus sizes market. Also, they do tend (or did) toward the vintage, which was great for me. But again- they’re too expensive. And when it comes to cute history bounding styles… there’s nothing. Which is why I make my own clothes.
I’m lucky that I’m midfat, and that is usually catered to by indie historical pattern companies (one of my favourites being Black Snail). But unless it’s a specific “curvy” pattern, I’ll be either at, or just over the range of the Bug 4. Usually over. So I just don’t even bother anymore. I might buy a very cheap secondhand pattern from an op shop, but only to get an idea for drafting it myself.
Also, your rants are the favourite parts of your videos. I’m so glad you’re leaving them in! I love the seeing content too, obviously (I wouldn’t have found your channel otherwise), but the rants hold a special place in my heart.
I'm so glad historical pattern companies are letting you live the cottage core historybounding lifestyle you (and all of us) deserve. I really dislike how much more expensive plus sized clothing is in comparison to straight sizes, but if the quality is good...it's a toss-up. I just hope the price of linen - and other worthwhile materials - are a fair price so you can make as many historybounded outfits as you wish.
(I'm trying to strike a balance with my rants/snark/etc. I'm just...glad (?) I'm not the only one who feels this way!)
I was a turn of the century baby just barely catching the 1900's arriving in 1998. Meaning I grew up in the early 2000s. I was moderately plump and fit into "plus sizes" but I was always told that I either dressed too old or too young. Now, this was not necessarily because I could not fit into anything trendy but because I was trying to emulate how the women I respected most dressed namely my mother and grandmother. I was never attracted to any of the fast fashion trends that were going around and none of my peers could give a persuasive enough argument for their fashion choices to sway me. However after constantly being told that it was inappropriate for a teenager to look and dress like I was 40 I tried to swing back the other way and went for "childish". This also displeased my mother and I still got a lot of "dress your age" comments. Eventually, I gave up on fashion altogether I had convinced myself that either fashion was flawed or I was because I didn't understand all the "rules". Either way, I told myself it was no longer worth the effort to care and I let my mom do all my clothes shopping for me since she seemed to have a better grasp on the "rules". This continued till I got cancer midway through college. I had to withdraw from school, all my hair went away, and I went from 230lb to 120lb in a month or two. All in all, I was left with a crud ton of clothes that did not fit me, and even the ones that still fit looked unbalanced without my long hair. Fortunately, I made a beautiful bald person and actually really enjoyed wearing hats and headscarves for the first time. I found that my eyes, earrings, and facial features stood out more without my hair and I started playing around with how to best accent them. Then when I was cancer-free and in recovery from chemo I found Bernadette's youtube channel and learned that history bounding was a thing and that there was more to fashion than "fast fashion". I said to myself F&#$ the "rules" they have always been arbitrary and always will be. I have centries of "rules" that I can pick and choose from and now I have a style that flatters me both in personality and in any size I happen to be.
"Dress your age" is so subjective. If you're attracted to classic lines, you'll never be out of style. Then you can concentrate on accessorizing! 😉
I am totally in the same boat as you. I'm so frustrated that the vintage patterns and the retro clothing companies stop at a 18. I want to dress vintage just as much as a skinny person. :(
I assume you are aware of this, but on the off chance people in the comments might not be: the free sewing patterns available on moodfabrics go up to a 49.5" waist, and the pdf comes with all available sizes, so you can do the sizing-up methods you've shown in your videos!
Love you videos! Cute clothes for all!
Hooray for Mood Fabrics! I think I've only ever used their circle skirt calculator, as I've not really visited their site otherwise (fabric from the US is...expensive). I'm glad they're being more inclusive with their patterns! 😃
@@MaireColclough They have tons of free patterns! Their site is a bit odd to navigate, you can't really search for things very well, but I have tried out a shorts, t-shirt, and dress pattern, and they've come out pretty good (or good-ish; I'm definitely still a novice)!
People who had to settle for frumpy BS all the way back through high school because the "cool" stores didn't carry their sizes? (raises hand) Yo.
Off topic, but I love the top you're wearing in this video, with the asymmetric insertion lace!
Thank you! It's from one of the plus size retail stores. Possibly Torrid or Addition Elle (before they started going for a nautical aesthetic a few years back).
I'd check the tag, but it's on the second floor and I'm in the nice cool basement, hiding from the heatwave currently slamming Alberta... 😉
I am so sad that it is still difficult to buy clothes and or patterns no matter what size you are. Big clothing means more fabric is puchased, I am surprised that the fabric manufacturers aren't paying serious court to the larger person!
Birdy
Welp, Rome want built in a day. That's why we have to keep reminding the industry. 🙂
I like these fancy underwear. Think I'm going to make some this spring. I am glad you told us about the two left legs. I will pay attention! Thank you for your videos!!!
You look so pretty! You have done a great job!!
Thank you! 💕
“Let’s encourage people to lose weight by making their clothes ugly.” Yeah, because people lose weight *so* easily when they’re unhappy and stay at home because they feel ugly. Hi. Hello. I get depressed when I go on a diet. I mean. Clinically. Meassurably. So I try not to diet. Also, the big four can bite me. I’ll stay with the small creators that cater to my size, *and* have a diverse cast of body-types showcasing the products. And for the rest? I bloody well adapt and muslin to get more options. I’m tired of “making do”. Now I make what I *want*!
I go after the big 4 mainly because they have a huge presence in stores and not everyone (even in my own family) thinks to go online and Google. Plus, normalizing plus sizes at that level really would trickle down to other pattern makers.
But I'm with you on supporting smaller design companies...thankfully, they're supplying for our demand! 😁
Also, it very obviously doesn’t work. Because we’ve had nothing but pitiful offerings for most of our lives, and we’re still fat.
I am profoundly amused by the idea. And now I need a pair of fancy drawers - no one is ever going to see them on my zoom calls, so it’s totally fine.
They're surprisingly comfy. Definitely lounge wear 😁
Oh well said! Wish i had found you sooner. Im actually considering crocheting clothes for myself.
Looks awesome! I love hearing you talk while you craft/sew.
Oh thank you!
As a person who was a size 18 in high school, when enforced exersize in the form of running back and forth through the building trying to make it from class to class in 5 minutes or less was a thing, frumpy clothes were a thing. It sucked. I was a teen, and I was stuck wearing stuff that my mum would have worn. I chose to wear nothing but black jeans and black long sleeved shirts and black hoodies in the end because at least then I was matching at 5am when I'm barely awake; and also because its hard to look frumpy when you're in all black.
PREACH! I live in a major Canadian city, and yet between the state of retail going online, and pandemic closures, I can't even find a brick & mortar store my size without driving 30 km
As much as it pains me to support fast fashion, I find that my choices usually fall between Penningtons (leggings, mostly. Sometimes plain T-shirts) and Torrid (cute dresses, blouses, and jeans). Thankfully, they all have a web presence, and their sizing is mostly good. Unfortunately, all of them seem to have some sort of plastic content in the clothing. So...good and bad. 😬
@@MaireColclough My issue with their online presence is I need to try stuff on. Not everything my size flatters all my lumps
Absolutely love the drawers... They look amazing.
Thank you! 😃
@@MaireColclough forgive me, I ought have said you look awesome... G'day from Queensland, Australia
It amuses me, lol! I am a beginner sexist who as my hubby says, is a beauty with a booty. Trying to learn to sew again, and redraft good or bad patterns is so frustrating!!! Keep preaching girl!
I see you have the same perverse autocorrect I do. 😄
I don't know about preaching, but I'll definitely keep crabbing 😉
You are so epic. I agree with all you said. Pattern companies need to get their heads out of the 1950s standards and start offering patterns based on how people are sized now. When 50% of the population is size 14 and up it is ridiculous that they having adapted their pattern blocks. They are being financially stupid to not tap this underserved market.
Oh, yeah, frumpy and mature clothes as a teenager shamed me in high school, too.
Sir Not-appearing-in-this-video 😄
Still no plus sized consortiums in Australia. I had to learn early to draft patterns so I could try to refashion small patterns to my size, especially after I got ill and gained weight. It is an awful lot of effort to try not to be frumpy.
The thing that ANNOYS... Hmmm actually it really PISSES ME OFF is that size 32w they advertise.... is in reality only a TIGHT 26w when you read the measurements of the "FINISHED" garment. Just once Id love a pattern to actually BE ADVERTISED as the finished garment REAL size... not have to go through and work out my measurements IN the store.
Yeah...I was noticing that, too. I seem to recall that pattern sizing tends to run smaller than retail sizing due to different standards in both industries. That's why the term "Vanity Sizing" gets used - we give a lower number to what pattern manufacturers consider a larger size. It's why a size 12 from 1973 is different from a modern size 12. It's...wacky.😬
You tell it like it is!. I hate that I can't find any 'cute' clothing and if I do they are ridiculously expensive. Reminds me....back to attempting my corset.
I think I'm just a little fatigued from watching fun clothing being produced on UA-cam, then seeing the same old styles from 3 or 4 years ago on plus-sized retail store websites. Only the fabric seems to change, and even that tends to be polyester at a linen price.
So...I guess I let it out. 🙂
@@MaireColclough Exactly! I like a good peasant blouse but don't like off the shoulder styles or deep V necklines. Don't get me started about sleeves and arm scye (spelling?) that you could drive a Mack truck through. Polyester makes my skin crawl. :)
@@krysil1221 I have a couple of shirts with the same plastic squeak you get from 1970s acrylic yarn. Which explains why I don't wear them.... 🙄
" a rant about pattern sizing " PREACH!!!!! 👏🙌👏🙌👏🙌❤❤❤
A rant...or maybe just annoyance and frustration... 😅
Sooo pretty! Great looking french drawers and the handmade button hole is really well made!
That buttonhole caused some angst, let me tell you. That fabric was *THICK* 😁
@@MaireColclough I can imagine that. I myself encountered those THICK waistbands once or twice in my life..but i always choose to sew on some Hooks and Eyes (and prayers)..lol.
I realized after the fact that I could have used a hook and bar closure. Next time 😁
@@MaireColclough but you made a beautiful buttonhole instead. What did the old guy, who was stabbed on a stair, said? Veni vidi vici!!!
@@sewingforyourlife You could say I...took a stab at it 😁
I would be interested to hear how you find using Victorian drafting manuals like the keystone cutter as a plus size. All the people on Internet that use them tend to be quite slender...so wonder if they work for the other end of the spectrum?
I received one of the manual reprints for Yule last year, so I do plan to try it out eventually 😁
OH my a rant dear to my heart. Had my mother not been a wiz at a machine in the 80s, I'd have been doomed. I run a ranch, and have the shoulders of a football player, so it's always been jeans and t-shirts. We never lived where there were shops, and when I did find something that worked well, I wore/wear things to a frazzle. And who makes all these clothes in plastics. They're HOT, they smell, and they don't wear well. Why are DH's jeans made of 100% thick cotton and wear for YEARS, and women's jeans are 99% spandex and last a season if you're lucky. WE NEED TO DO BETTER. I LOATHE shopping for clothing. I want FUNCTIONAL, classic, and hard wearing. Many companies just scale up patterns without knowing how it fits a person. Scaling up doesn't always work. My next project is my body double sewing dummy, so I can mock up patterns and sew to fit.
Good luck with your dress form! I think having a body double to help with fit, draping, pinching darts and hemming will be a game-changer for you. It's something I need to get around to someday. The time is coming when my mother is going to have to train the Husbeast in basic hem assistance 😉
@@MaireColclough I have one of those chalk dust puffer sticks from the 70s that marks my hem. Otherwise I drive 1.5 hours to the city and a tailor shop there has agreed to mark my hem for me for only $2.00. Which is a deal. Otherwise it's nearly impossible to fit things properly on yourself.
Always such beautiful work! Thank you so much for sharing.
Yes! I'm 4'11" and a real chonkabelle. Yet I want to be dressed in a way that makes me happy! But here in Australia fabric is very expensive, so for me to make a basic dress I'm looking at at least 45$ in fabric, and if I want a big flowy one it's easily double that, which usually I cannot afford. It's brutal. Also, what the fuck is with the lack of nice bras over a DD?!?! Revolting beige minimizers are the only thing I can find in local stores, so thank goodness for brands like Elomi that I can buy online, but it feels so unfair that my slim friends can go buy five decent bras in multiple locations in my city for what I'll pay for one online that fits, and then have to have shipped internationally with added cost! I never bother with patterns because even when they are the right measurements, they are all for women a lot taller than me! I'm a short-round, I get that very little in this world will be sized to fit me, but sometimes it sucks. Anyway, now I'm just resorting to upcycling thrifted sheets into borderline history-bounding clothes for myself.
I'm on the taller side, myself, so I have other issues with fit. I know the tendency with petite sizing is to err on the side of slenderness, and that's not fair to those ladies with a bit more substance. I'm so sorry fabric is that expensive!
As for the bras...that's another rant entirely. Check out the Redthreaded corset video if you'd like a look at my thoughts on that topic 😄
@@MaireColclough I commiserated with you in the comments of that video, too! Ha ha
For sure, most clothing sized for petit assumes you're built like Audrey Hepburn!
A lot of things are fairly expensive here, it's just so difficult sometimes to take so much from the family budget just so I can have some nice fabric! I do end up thrifting a fair amount of fabric these days, though, so that's good.
@@fatsparrowsewing yeah....and for some reason, stores don't like to mark the difference between tall and petite. So...you buy trousers that turn into pedal-pushers or vice versa... 😳
@@MaireColclough yes! I tried Capri pants once, they came to my ankles! 😄
Hey I just found you. I love you!!!!! Also I love listening to you, your vocabulary and sense of humor is SO refreshing you could give Ms Banner a run for her money anon.... Love your life girlfriend it really is an adventure. Keep posting and I will keep watching.!!!!
Bann
I hear you. I thank you. I love you.
I am currently trying to scale up a big four plus size blazer ( does that word age me?) to a plusser size.
When you said, "Dress how I feel inside" my heart jumped to my throat. I KNOW.
Again, I love you. Keep telling the truth for us.
You can do this. Thank you 💕
You look so cute in your unmentionables! Great job!
Love the parasol!
Thank you! Picked it up at a Comic convention a few years back. Steampunk vendors are useful 👍
My JCPENNEY had the "husky" sizes in....the....basement. Same for my Dress Barn 30 years later. I have been collecting patterns from a very good thrift store. I have 100+ that I would like to size up when I have more skills and 19 that will actually fit me. Tunics and elastic waistband pants... here I come.
Also skinny jeans can F right off.
I think you're safe from the elastic -waisted trousers 😁
Ugh, I’m so glad the skinny jeans trend is dying. Though honestly, I’ve already switched to skirts only because I got sick of trousers never fitting me.
Because when you’ve got large thighs and calves, but still have skinny knees and ankles, all you get are pants too tight on the former, and way too baggy on the latter. It’s not a good look! And so I gave up and went to skirts, which I find more comfortable anyway.
Did you make that parasol!? You look gorgeous, I cannot wait to see everything all done!! *.*
Alas, the parasol was a purchase from a Comic Expo a few years ago. Hooray for Steampunk vendors 😉
Pimp my underpants, 😆! Love your humor, 😂🤣!
Just watched the lace in skirt (cannot remember the col something name) video. Maybe remake these using that same lace in to make it fit for many sizes? And, did you do the inserts? Gonna watch more, wheee
That's a possibility!
Good job on the drawers!
Thank you! 😊
They look great!
I wish I lived closer. We could be fitting buddies.
That's ok...you can coach me from afar...I'm clumsy enough, you're probably safe that way 😉
Yay! I hoped that your post about traipsing around in the yard meant a video was otw!
Victwardian!
OMG you must do the PIMP MY UNDERWEAR!!! Hahahahaha
Nice job on your drawers!
Oh, and ya… I’m a GenXer. Lots of grandma clothes when I was growing up. Ugh.
And you were correct! 😃
It's really the best description I've found for that little era that crosses the turn of the 19th/20th century 😉
Late- but still here for the rant
I was a teen in the 70's; I was (and am) fat. So my mom bought me polyester double knit pants and poly shirts. I hated them. I took Home Ec and learned to sew. Thats when I finally got decent looking clothes. I wasn't taught how to upsize a pattern; wish I had learned what I see the ladies here on YT can do.
It's never too late to begin. 💕
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Thank you!
Rant on! Preach!
There are studies going back over half a century that show that losing weight and keeping it off long-term is nearly impossible. Most people who lose weight will end up fatter over the long term, because are bodies adjust to keep us alive during our self-inflicted famines.
MORE! QUEEN MORE!
I...honestly don't know how to respond to that. Thank you. 😳😁
@@MaireColclough i just need more of the truth and sewing! You make me giddy and confident to go along with my sewing projects!
@@hakudoushinumbernine 👍
Looks fabulous!
Thank you very much! 💕
I am hearing you, I am short with a 40inch waist with hips etc to match I am also 73 years old and no interest in doing anything about my weight but I still want to wear stylish clothes also I would love to be able to wear Edwardian clothing so I have just as much trouble with patterns love the drawers
I've never really subscribed to the idea that you have to be a certain age to wear a certain look. And I have mad respect for anyone in their 70's wanting to explore past fashions! I would definitely recommend Truly Victorian patterns for that 40-inch waist. They're very customizable. I'd just...also recommend the Facebook Group in case you get as confused as I do with the instructions 😉
@@MaireColclough thanks I will it's a bit daunting to start but there is a vest pattern I would like to try on their website
And lord help me, but I did buy a McCalls and a Vogue pattern yesterday, knowing FULL well they'll need to be sized up and altered. ::rolleyes::
Yeah...there's a McCall's pattern in the new expanded sizing that I'd like to try out. And I expect that alterations will occur, since the pattern is just a starting point. I'm hoping that sizing up won't be a huge problem 😬
@@MaireColclough THis is a button down shirt dress. It it fairly straight and I'm going to flair the skirt more at the hips to points down. There's no WAY she can sit in that. The sleeves also don't have enough ease in them, I can see that just by looking at the photo. Do they think people just wear these clothes and NEVER move in them?!
@@weatherlady9666 I have no idea. Honestly, after watching some of Stephanie Canada's pattern comparisons, I have even less faith in the large commercial pattern industry.
❤
💕
Preach Sister I'm a big girl too
Out of interest, how does eShakti hold up when doing non-standard sizing? I've heard good things but not specifically about the larger size and custom sized clothing.
I wish I had an answer for you. I haven't yet ordered from eShakti. I had a gift certificate, but only realized later, when I finally saw something I wanted to purchase, that it had expired. Which...is kinda shady, in my books. 🙄
💜🤩
Thank you! 💕
Please, please do a "pimp my under pants" video!
I add my voice to wanting to see cute patterns for fat people. And yes, there are models to show those clothes.
Gosh, wouldn't it be great for retired styles from Torrid to make it to a pattern line?
That would actually be really cool. Maybe the Big 4 pattern companies should talk with Torrid about doing a plus size collaboration. 🤔
Please! Pimp my underpants! Yes!
I'll take it into consideration! 😁
Too too often, they dress fat / fluffy / full-sized / fabulous women like me either for a funeral or for a circus.
Dear Big Four Pattern Companies,
I am not giving you my money. Why would I. It would be a waste. The "Vintage Reprints" have absolutely nothing to do with the original pattern; apparently you never kept a file. And the plus size options are either nonexistent or, frankly, insulting designs. If I wanted an elastic waist band on my pants I'd shop at Sears... in the 1970's... Thank you, no.
- - -
Nice flex on the buttonhole. And nice Rant. Please, pimp your underpants. Cheers!
{you're doing CoSy (Costume Symposium), on the YT, Aug 19-22, yes}
- Cathy (&, accidently, Steve), Ottawa/Bytown
I will look into pimping my underpinnings...and as far as I know, I'm participating in CoSy. Barring any emergencies or natural disaster. If course... 😉
@@MaireColclough Excellent. Most definitely excellent.
Barring any and all natural disasters...