Silhouette Sizing Silhouette Patterns W Sizing Gail, The W sizing is for women who have moved into a larger size because of weight gain. There are several ways to differentiate who is a W size. One is by their height and weight and then also by their upper arm circumference.
Normal patterns grade up and out at the same ratio.
That means as a woman gets larger in circumference, she get taller. The W size pattern has different ratios and continues to increase in size, while the neckline and shoulders increase, but at smaller proportions and the height does not increase at all. It is made for the larger woman who is not tall as opposed to the regular graded patterns that assume that as she gets bigger around, she gets taller. But I know that the arm circumference is the key. Heavy upper arms are a tell tale sign.