I would like to introduce you all to the practice known as “shrinking the marker”.
Inasmuch as three of my four great-grandfathers were tailors in both the old country and in the US or UK, and several uncles and great-uncles and my mother were in the rag trade (garment business) and I myself spent 10 years at a clothing manufacturer after I completed my MBA, this could almost be considered a genetic thing in my family.
Anyway. historically a good portion of ladies clothing manufacturing is done with the use of sewing contractors. The manufacturer would send a bolt of cloth, say 1000 yards of woven wool to a contractor who would be expected to make (I am guessing here ) 700 finished dresses from the cloth.
Now you all have seen how to cut out the pieces of a dress or blouse or even an apron using the pattern that you buy at the simpiicity or McCall’s store. This pattern would be used to make a size 6 or a size 10, etc.
But in a production environment, the contractor does not use a pattern, he uses a marker. The marker is like a pattern but it contains all sizes , like from size 3 to size 11 and the patternmaker is supposed to maximize the amount of pieces that can be cut from that single length of cloth. So if the contractor can get 710 dresses from the length of cloth instead of the 700 that the manufacturer is expecting there is extra profit available to the contractor. This results in smaller garments or where one outfit’s size 4 is more like another manufacturer’s size 6.
I hope that was clear enough for you all..
SRM