Ease Calculator — Wearing Ease & Design Ease

Ease is the difference between your body measurement and the finished garment measurement.

The formula

Finished measurement = Body measurement + Ease amount

Ease amounts by fit type (total ease at the bust):

• Close fitting: 2.5–5cm (≈1–2in)
• Fitted: 5–8cm (≈2–3in)
• Semi-fitted: 8–10cm (≈3–4in)
• Loose: 10–15cm (≈4–6in)
• Oversized: 15–20cm (≈6–8in)

These are practical home-sewing guides combining minimum wearing ease (≈5–6.5cm bust, 2.5cm waist, 5–7.5cm hip for wovens) with light design ease. Big-4 commercial patterns (McCall’s, Vogue, Butterick, Simplicity) tend to label their bust-ease bands a little higher — Fitted 7.5–10cm (3–4in), Semi-fitted 10–12.5cm, Loose 12.5–20cm — so if you are cutting from a Big-4 envelope, check its finished-garment measurements rather than relying on the category name alone.

Knit fabrics stretch, so they often use negative ease (finished smaller than the body). Switch on “Custom Ease Overrides” and enter a negative value (e.g. −3cm at the bust) to model a fitted knit top.