A Cautionary Tale: Shop Pant from Open Studio Patterns

I wanted to briefly summarize the issues I’ve had with the Shop Pant from Open Studio Patterns. I sent an email to Open Studio about the final garment measurement issues, and they kindly accepted my feedback and are going to update the pattern:

“Thank you for being so thorough with your PDF. We dove into the measurements and you are absolutely right about the discrepancy! Those finished garment measurements had been coming directly from our pattern grader’s software and we haven’t been able to identify where it went awry. The Shop Pant was released last April, which was before we had implemented a phase of our process that included verifying all the specs on finished samples. This step is usually done by a technical designer when you’re in production of ready-to-wear garments in the fashion industry. We were able to add this step as more resources became available, but really didn’t think the Shop Pant had any issues since so many people have made it already and love it. We sincerely apologize if the error caused you any frustration, especially since our number one goal is to help people along in their sewing practice. We are verifying all of the measurements and updating the chart as quickly as possible. We’ll be sure to re-issue the pattern file to everyone who has purchased it. We appreciate this community so much for supporting each other and sharing knowledge. Thank you for bringing it to our attention.”

I will review the pants in another blog post. This post concerns current size and measurement issues until the pattern is updated.

The Issue In-Depth

Starting on the left, the first column (SIZE) contains the size. The waist measurements are on top, and the hip measurements are on the bottom. The following two columns (BODY MEASUREMENT) have the recommended body measurements in inches and should match the table in the pattern. The fourth column (TABLE) includes the final garment measurements reported under the recommended body measurements in the pattern’s table. I’ve rounded decimals to 1 instead of 2, so 0.75 becomes 0.8. This is the incorrect column. The fifth column (PATTERN) contains the measurements I took from the pattern pieces. I measured the top of the waistband to acquire waistband measurements, and I measured from the top of the crotch curve over to acquire the hip measurements (see image below). The sixth column (DIFFERENCE…) is simply PATTERN minus TABLE. The waistband is larger than reported, and the hip is smaller. The final four columns explore the amount of ease intended vs actual. The TABLE EASE is TABLE minus BODY MEASUREMENT. This is the intended ease of the pattern. The PATTERN EASE is PATTERN minus BODY MEASUREMENT. This is the actual ease of the pattern.

Table vs. Pattern

Measurement

In the figures above, the x-axis is in inches, and the y-axis is each size. The bar represents the recommended body measurement for each size (columns 2 and 3 from the table above). The dot represents the final garment measurement in the table (column 4, TABLE). The cross represents the measurements I took from the pattern pieces (column 5, PATTERN).

Ease

These graphs really highlight the peculiarity of ease across the sizes. Again, the x-axis is in inches, and the y-axis is each size. The shaded light blue area represents an expected ease amount. The open boxes are the intended ease (columns 7 and 8 from the table above). The filled-in boxes are the actual ease (columns 9 and 10 from the table above). The pattern was intended to have a waistband and hip with an expected amount of ease (open boxes). However, the pattern pieces have too much ease in the waistband and not enough ease around the hips (filled-in boxes). The error in waistband ease is so systematic that it has to be a glitch in the computer grading/output!

Conclusion

Would you bake a three-layer cake without using a scale or measuring cups to ensure you had the correct quantity of all your ingredients? Probably not. You might successfully make a cake by accident, but the success rate will be low. What if you are making a box cake now? You should be able to assume that the correct amount of ingredients is in the package, right? I use these analogies to think about what the responsibilities of the sewer should be?

I can understand the case for both. We should expect a certain level of quality from the patterns we purchase (i.e., clear instructions, reasonable grading, and accurate size tables). On the other hand, do enough sewers take the time to measure their body, measure the pattern, and confirm sizing is correct? Patterns aren’t box cakes. They don’t work for everyone straight out of the box. Patterns are more analogous to baking a 3-layer cake from scratch. You can throw caution to the wind and make the pattern without measuring anything, and you’ll occasionally be successful. However, measuring your body, the pattern, etc., will significantly improve your success rate at sewing something that fits.

Yes, I wish the Shop Pant had the correct information in their size table, and they should have done a better job confirming everything before selling the pattern. But how many people have tested, purchased, and sewn these pants in the last 10+ months, and no one spotted the issues with hip and waistband measurements?

This is an excellent example of why measuring your body, measuring the pattern, confirming the information in the size charts, and documenting any alterations you make is so important. I love websites like https://sewing.patternreview.com/, because it is a repository for sewers to learn more about patterns and to share their experiences.

Guidance

If you are planning to make the Shop Pant before they update the pattern, you can use the table above to guide your size selection. Pick a size with at least 1 inch, preferably 2+ inches of ease at the hips. In the table above, it’s the “PATTERN” column that contains my hip measurements of the pattern pieces.

And sew a test garment for sure to confirm you have the correct size!