Get some grading confidence!
This is the first in a series of articles that answers the most common questions we get about grading and the grading process.
“I feel like I don't have enough information to be able to grade well. How do I know that my grading will work and I am doing it right?”
Please know that you are not alone! Many beginning designers and graders struggle with confidence as they learn the process. Grading is a technical skill that takes time to learn, and it is mainly learned through doing, applying the principles while also playing with the art of making a design work across sizes.
While you might comprehend the grading process on a mental level pretty quickly, often confidence begins to grow only after completely grading a design (or two! or three!) and then honing your steps and systems to reproduce your process successfully.
However, there are a few things you can do right now to ensure you are on the right path to producing well-graded patterns.
Study some size charts
Body size sketches from Alvanon
Grading is primarily of process that requires the understanding of how the human body changes shape between sizes. To gain confidence in your skills and understanding, you may first need to put in some study time with some body size charts and really analyze what is happening between sizes at the main body points: the neck, shoulder width, chest, upper arms, hips.
How do the bodies increase and decrease between the sizes as they get smaller and larger?
This information can be compared numerically to help you make decisions later in your grading. Or if you are a visual learner, examine some body shape sketches that are sized (such as on the Alvanon site here). You should recognize that while the chest sizes get bigger and smaller quickly, the neck, wrists, and shoulders do not increase and decrease at the same rate.
Thus, the most important information you need while you are working through the grading process is a good body size chart! This is the primary tool for grading success because the size chart will become the base of your pattern's fit. For adults, I suggest using ASTM's standards, Ysolda's standard, or the KnitItNow Size Charts; for children, the most extensive are the charts on childrenssizechart.com.
Analyze your sample's fit carefully
Does your sample fit the sample size well? If it doesn't, then your graded sizes won't either, so fix the sample's fit first. If the neck gapes, the underarms are too low, the sleeves too tight, then that poor fit will be translated to the other sizes with the method I relate below.
If your sample does fit well, then the next step is to analyze your sample thoroughly for the fit data: compare your sample garment's measurements to the sample body size's measurements at those points. This will give you the amount of positive (or negative) ease for this particular design, which I call the design ease. For example, you might find your sample has 4"/10 cm of positive ease at the chest, 2"/5 cm positive ease at the upper arm and 1.5"/4 cm positive ease at the wrist, etc. This is crucial information that you should record in your design's information (so you can use it for later designs!) and in your grading spreadsheet.
Apply that fit to all the sizes
The next step is to apply that same design ease to all the sizes at all the same body points to get your target measurements for your graded sizes. Applying the SAME ease at all the body points across all your chosen sizes on that good body size chart is where you will nail the fit for your makers and produce a well-fitting pattern. For example, if your sample size's raglan yoke depth extends beyond the underarm 2"/5 cm, add 2"/5 cm to all the sizes' body armhole depths to get your target raglan yoke depth.
Then comes the (sometimes tricky) calculation part of the grading process: figuring all the stitches and rows and shaping and pattern instructions that will produce those measurements. Sometimes this can require what Julie Robinson calls "massaging the numbers," especially if there is a stitch pattern that restricts what you can do. But if you can get as close to those target measurements as possible, you will be assured a similar fit in all the sizes as your sample fits.
Use a tech editor!
Lastly, don't just produce your pattern and then ship it off to the makers. Take advantage of the wealth of skill and knowledge in our industry by getting your grading checked by a technical editor. Many tech editors who specialize in garment editing will not only check your numbers for stitch count and shaping errors, but will make sure you haven't made a grading error and your sizes really will fit your intended sizes like the sample does.
The collaborative process between you and a tech editor can increase your knowledge and confidence in ways you might not expect. Don’t hesitate to ask your editor for help with the tricky parts or for suggestions on how to manage the sizing better. Hire a tech editor here!
Did this help you? I would love to hear from you, so feel free to contact me with your thoughts. And do let me know what part of grading are you afraid of and what hold you back from grading confidently?
Does this topic get you super excited? Do you want to learn how to grade patterns? Sign up for one of our grading courses here.
