Clothing size is a loaded number. Seamstress Norma Binan of Hampden, owner of The Nifty Needle, will be the first to tell you that. Not only is she a plus size – clothing industry jargon that applies to women size 16 and beyond – she is experienced at sewing clothing for plus-size women – who in other decades were referred to more accurately and graciously as statuesque, Rubenesque or Junoesque.

“The average size of women in the United States,” she said, “is size 16.” But patterns and ready-made clothing do not reflect that fact. Many of the subsizes in ready-to-wear clothing, such as women’s, half sizes, juniors and misses, she said, have disappeared from the clothing racks and are no longer made. This also is true of sewing patterns.

“The problem for plus-size women,” she said, “is that readymade clothing choices, in terms of color and design, can to be limited. No matter what size you are, there is no reason to wear shapeless garments. It’s possible to have clothing that is well-designed and delightful to wear.”

The first challenge facing plus-size women wishing to make their own clothing or have it made for them, Binan said, is finding undergarments that fit properly to give shape and definition to the body. Many online companies, she said, sell the special lingerie plus-size women need. A bit of time spent surfing the Web will yield any number of companies that sell lingerie in larger sizes. Binan believes that more companies catering to plus-size women will become available in ensuing years. The U.S. population is increasing in girth, she said.

As a seamstress who does alterations and custom sewing, Binan looks to certain books in her personal library and suggests these titles for plus-size women contemplating sewing their own clothing. Heading the list are “Fashion Design for the Plus-Size” by Frances Lefto Zangrillo, “Life is Not a Dress Size” by Rita Farro, “Fit For Real People” by Patti Palmer and Marta Alto, and “Sewing for Plus Sizes” by Barbara Deckert.

Deckert’s book is illustrated with photographs that celebrate the grand proportions of plus-size women. The book gives tips on tools, fabrics and pattern alterations and includes an appendix on how to work with a custom clothing maker and a bibliography. Deckert informs readers that she has “worn every size from 12 to 32.”

The key to a garment that fits one’s body, regardless of shape or size, Binan said, is measurement. “Do every measurement possible and adjust the pattern pieces to those measurements.”

Binan has been sewing since she was 12 years old. Her first memory of sewing is as a 4-year-old sitting under a quilt frame while her mother and grandmother stitched. They would push the needle through the top of the quilt and she would push it back through.

Binan learned sewing from her mother, grandmother and older sister, but also taught herself sewing techniques. “I wasn’t always a plus size,” she laughed.

Binan prefers to use Loes Hinse patterns available on the Web, Burda patterns and those she finds at www.fashionpatterns.com.

Loes Hinse patterns, she said, use a lettering system, not a number system, to denote size, and make it possible to fit a shape that is far removed from the pencil-thin figures of the fashion runway.

Designs with princess lines, Binan said, are the easiest to adjust to one’s individual measurements.

Binan buys many fabrics online at Sawyer Brook, Michael’s and Vogue, but she also buys fabrics at local stores. She said it is difficult to find quality apparel fabrics in the Bangor area. She also finds the magazine Big Beautiful Women very helpful.

“It doesn’t matter who you are or what shape you are, clothing that fits will make you look lovely,” she said.

Binan is a member of the Bangor Chapter of the American Sewing Guild. To learn more about the organization, call her at 862-4367.

Snippets

March is National Craft Month. Visit these Web sites for inspiration: www.dmc-usa.com, www.enchantedlearning.com and www.michaels.com.

Ardeana Hamlin can be reached at 990-8153, or e-mail ahamlin@bangordailynews.net.