Male and female pattern drafting are different. And since all clothes are created are created from a pattern, this difference does matter even when buying clothes from ready-to-wear.

The female measurement sheet has 10 more measurements than the male measurement sheet. (50 vs 40)

The actual difference between the two sheets, though, is more than that. Some of the same named measurements are taken differently. For example, the outseam measurement, is taken differently between the two forms, and the female sheet allows for measuring multiple locations which could be helpful in skirts.

Most notable, is that the female sheet contains measurements and information to accommodate breasts. So there are multiple measurements for the upper body on the female sheet that just aren’t used in men’s pattern drafting. And generally men don’t need to calculate a cup size.

On the male sheet, it’s assumed that there is a natural waist, a navel circumference and a pant-waist location. Meaning that most men have a natural waist above their navel and either choose to wear their pants at their navel or below their navel. Whereas, the assumption on the female sheet is that the natural waist is where skirts and pants sit, unless a lowered or empire waist are drafted, and those measurements are accommodated.

Another notable measurement on the male sheet that is not on the female sheet is the full arm length. I’ve seen this used online for sizing of shirts and jackets, but I have not seen it used in pattern drafting. And I would hope it’s not used in pattern drafting because it simply doesn’t give enough information to draft a decent fitting shirt or jacket. And if you’re drafting your own patterns, likely you want a really good fit.

Without getting into the details of what I know about pattern drafting, which admittedly isn’t a whole lot since I’m not a professional pattern drafter, why would you pick one form over another.

If you really only want one or can only afford one, my first inclination is to use the one you’ll be most likely to sew from or buy from. For example, if you are male and you will only ever buy or sew male clothes get the male one. Likewise if you’re female.

However, if you really aren’t sure, you can just get the female one and do some research to adapt the “how-to” measurements for the male form for male drafting. Then cross out the non-needed measurements and pencil in those weird measurements used for buying clothes online.

If you need to accommodate breasts, get the female sheet, even if you want to minimize them. The measurements should work themselves out to give you a well-fitting garment even if you are wearing a minimizer. On the flip side, it could be fun to take all the measurements on both sheets and draft patterns for the same person using two different methods to see what works better.

Male and female pattern drafting follows different methods from each other, likely because they have different origins. Men would go to the tailor, which wash likely a man for propriety reasons, to get clothing. Women would see a dressmaker, likely a female again for propriety reasons, to get their dresses. (Obviously this is for those that were wealthy enough to be able to afford this kind of clothing and not just sewing cotton muslin together to make their own at home.) But this means that the two methodologies developed completely separate.

Add to that, the typical male form varies from the female form in a few notable ways. The first is that typically, a female will have a larger bust measurement than under bust measurement this is why we have to wear bras. Men don’t and they only need one measurement, the chest measurement. The other notable difference is that men’s waist to hip ratio is usually closer to 1. And women typically have a much smaller waist to hip ratio. And drafting methodologies and the measurements that support them accommodate this difference by providing more measurements for the female through the hips.

Do all humans fall into these “typical” measurement ratios? Of course not. This is why for some figures, it’s really hard to find clothes that fit. Because even when a person is close to a “standard” there’s still a lot of variation that needs to be accommodated.

Some of these differences are simply because bone structure, namely the pelvis, is different between males and females. But it is also affected by hormones which will determine how much muscle mass a person has, and where they carry their weight. Age, repeated weight loss and weight gain cycles, posture, illness, genetics, and many other factors will also affect weight distribution and therefore body shape.

I’m offering the bundle at nearly 25% discount from buying each separately. So if you can, just get both and you’ll have them.