Pattern grading across your full size range.

Grading is the step that turns one well-fitting sample into a range a customer can actually buy. Done badly it produces a size 8 that fits beautifully and a size 18 that fits nobody, because the increments were applied mechanically without thought for where bodies actually change.

Grading from real body data

Good grading is not arithmetic. We use anthropometric knowledge — how real bodies change from one size to the next — to decide where each increment goes, so a size 16 is proportioned like a size 16 body rather than a size 10 made bigger.

Three ways we can grade

Industry-standard rules — the sensible default if you are starting out and have no established system. Your own grading system — if you already have one, we work to it exactly so new styles sit alongside your existing range. A bespoke specification — developed with you when your customer does not match the standard assumptions.

Building a size chart around your actual customer

One size system does not serve every brand. The labels that grow are usually the ones that picked a customer and fitted that customer properly, rather than trying to fit everybody adequately and nobody well. When we develop grading rules with you we work through price point and retail positioning, fabric behaviour and stretch, your customer's age range and demographic, how the garment will be worn, and what vanity sizing your market expects.

Getting this right shows up commercially: better fit means fewer returns, higher satisfaction and more repeat purchases. It is one of the least glamorous investments a young label can make and one of the most profitable.

Fabric changes the grade

A pattern graded for a stable woven cannot simply be reused for a jersey. Stretch, recovery, drape and weight all change how increments should be distributed. Tell us the cloth and we will grade for it.

Range and increments

XS to XL is routine. We grade well beyond that in either direction, including extended and petite ranges, where the increments genuinely need rethinking rather than extending — bodies do not simply scale.

New labels and established brands

For a new label we start from who you are selling to: gender, age range, how the garment will be worn, style preferences and the vanity sizing your market expects. For an established brand we can go further and use your real customer data — returns, fit feedback, which sizes sell through — to refine the size model you already have. Both are worth doing properly once: a grading system built around an actual customer is one of the quietest ways to cut returns and win repeat buyers.

Womenswear grading

In womenswear, the choice of size range itself shapes how a brand is perceived and how it sells. Depending on the market sector, it can make sense to skew the range slightly smaller or larger than the standard. We set the range and the increments around your customer and your positioning rather than around a generic chart.

Menswear grading

Menswear is sized either numerically (34, 36, 38 up to 60) or by letter (S, M, L up to XXXL), depending on the garment and the market. Two measurements need particular care: the drop between chest and waist, which governs proportion, and height, usually handled as short, regular and long fittings. Men are less likely to try clothes on before buying, so consistent grading — and sizing that lines up with what customers already wear from other brands — matters more than it first appears. It shows directly in the returns rate.

Childrenswear grading

For children we recommend sizing by age rather than height, which customers find confusing. Ranges can run as single or dual sizes depending on the garment, and fall into three broad bands: babywear (0–2 years), kidswear (3–11) and teenswear (12–16). As a range moves into the older bands we usually add a second base size, because boys and girls start to grow differently and one base pattern can no longer serve both well.

Plus-size grading

True plus size generally starts at UK 18. Body shape varies more across this market than any other, so the first job is identifying the shapes your customers actually are. If you are extending an existing range past 18, we recommend a new base size rather than grading the old one further, with particular attention to armhole shaping, shoulder length and across-back width, and the bust–waist–hip proportions. For a dedicated plus-size line, a base size of UK 18 or 22 is the usual starting point. Plus-size tall is a notably under-served niche.

Maternity grading

Maternity wear usually follows standard UK sizes 6 to 16, sometimes subdivided by trimester. The base pattern is normally drafted for the second to third trimester, since most women can still wear their usual clothes early on. Maternity trousers are sized by the pre-pregnancy waist (26, 28, 30, 32) with allowance built in for the bump. Because every pregnancy changes the body differently, bespoke grading pays off here — particularly for niches such as petite or plus-size maternity.

Sportswear grading

Sportswear base patterns are drafted with ease built in for movement, and the sport decides the fit: a compression Lycra top for high-impact training grades very differently from a relaxed t-shirt for a beginner. We recommend single sizes (8, 10, 12, 14, 16) over dual sizes such as S/M — they fit better, and customers moving down a size as they get fitter is a good reason to come back.