Size Charts and Grading Without a Certificate: How Experienced Pattern Makers Prove Their Skill

By Delight Technical College | School of Tailoring, Fashion & Design- RPL | 2026

A tailor makes a dress for one client. A boutique wants the same dress in five sizes. A school wants a uniform that fits hundreds of children. The moment a design has to fit many bodies, grading becomes essential. Grading means scaling a pattern up or down across sizes while keeping its shape, proportions and style. It is half of the unit Pattern Construction and Grading Principles, and many people have learned it informally. Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) can recognise that skill.

🔢 What Grading Means

Grading is not simply enlarging a pattern on a photocopier. Bodies do not grow evenly in every direction, so a graded pattern must change at specific points while keeping the design proportions. A competent grader understands:

• Which parts of a pattern change between sizes, such as bust, waist, hip, shoulder and length
• How to keep necklines, darts and pockets in proportion
• How to shift and mark key points on each pattern piece
• How to trace new sizes accurately and check that seams still match
• How to label every size clearly

📊 Key Terms Every Assessor Expects You to Know

Term	What It Means
Size chart	A table of body measurements for each size in a range
Block	A basic pattern from which other styles are developed
Grade rule	The amount a measurement increases or decreases from one size to the next
Base size	The size on which the first pattern is drafted and tested
Ease	The extra room added for comfort and movement

🧵 Where Experience Appears in Daily Work

• A school-uniform tailor who produces the same garment in many sizes uses grading logic
• A boutique tailor who adjusts a standard pattern for different clients uses grading logic
• A garment worker who makes up different sizes from the same style uses grading logic

If you do any of these, you may already be doing more of the unit than you realise.

🎓 Where This Fits in the Delight Learning Guide

Unit 11: Pattern Construction and Grading Principles

• Module III | Level 5 (Craft) | Term Three

🗂️ Evidence for Grading

• A set of patterns for the same style in several sizes
• A size chart you use, written or typed
• Photographs of the same garment made in different sizes
• Production records, such as orders for several sizes of the same design
• A statement from an employer or client who has relied on your sizing

⚠️ Common Grading Problems an Assessor May Raise

• A neckline that becomes too wide or too narrow as sizes change
• Sleeves that no longer match the armhole
• Pockets or details that look out of proportion on larger or smaller sizes
• Seams that do not join when the patterns are laid together

Being able to name these problems, and explain how you avoid them, is a strong sign of competence.

🚀 Practical Preparation

• Take one pattern you know well and grade it into two additional sizes
• Lay the pieces together to check that the seams match
• Make a note of the points you changed and why
• Bring the work to your assessment as evidence of your method

“Making one garment fit one person is craft. Making a design fit many people is skill. Grading is where the two meet.”

💡 Curious whether your sizing skills could be certified? Call Delight Technical College on +254 722 533 771 or visit Muindi Mbingu Street, Nairobi.

📍 Delight Technical College | Muindi Mbingu Street, Opposite Jevanjee Gardens, Nairobi | +254 722 533 771 | www.delight.ac.ke