After the dress...

I whited out some of the minimum and maximum values for sizes 6, 22 & 24, because the extreme patterns that I found didn't come in those sizes, and so I felt that those values weren't accurate.

Of course, even with a table like this, you still need to have a rough idea of the type of dress you might make, and you still need to estimate the amount of fabric to buy. I like the table because I feel like using it helps me start my estimating from a solid foundation.

Remember that an "average" is a number that approximates the middle value - that means that there are a lot of patterns just above it, as well as a lot of patterns just under it. So if you think you are going to make an “average” dress, you should buy a little bit more than the average number listed in the table above.

But how much should you add? This “Safety Margin” table should help you decide, based on how large of a safety margin YOU personally prefer! :)

To help make the values in the table more concrete, here are some images representing the patterns requesting the minimum, maximum and average amounts of fabric:

The pattern in my table requiring the minimum amount of fabric is view C of this McCall's pattern (view D has similar requirements - only a bit more than the minimum for certain sizes):

Notice that it is basically short, fitted and strapless.

Here are 3 patterns that represent the maximum values of fabric from the table for 45 inch fabric, 60 inch fabric and 60 inch fabric / plus size dresses. Note that many of the larger dresses do not include patterns that will work with 45 inch wide fabric, and that all of these maximums include very wide, long skirts.

And here are a few examples of patterns that called for the average amount of fabric (n most sizes):

It seems that you EITHER get sleeves OR a full-ish skirt (but only knee- to upper-calf length) for an average amount of fabric.