Inconsistent sizing strikes again.

It might be tempting to think that inconsistent sizing of women's clothes is something that happens only in the high street shops, and that by making your own clothes, you would render yourself immune to it.

Not so.

This afternoon, I bought this dress pattern. I bought the size range 10-14, as I'm different sizes top and bottom, but a 14 is usually okay in the bust, I can alter the waist, and this dress is very full, so the hip measurement wasn't a worry.

According to the body measurements given on the pattern envelope (and shown in the link above), I have a size 12 bust, a size 20 waist and size 18 hips.

According to the finished garment measurements (also given at the link above - scroll down a bit), I would need to make a size 8, in order to avoid being drowned in fabric.

The waist size is not given in the final garment measurements, which is ridiculous given that the dress is fairly fitted at the waist but flared at the hips.

Obviously every garment has a certain amount of design ease built in - a size 12 baggy jumper will be several inches larger than a size 12 fitted t-shirt, for example. But this doesn't strike me as a particularly roomy style of dress, so why on earth are the finished measurements allowing up to 4½" of ease above the given body measurements? It's not even consistent there either - the ease is 4½" for the size 8, and 3½" for all the other sizes.

Honestly.

No wonder it's so difficult to find (or even make!) clothes that fit.