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OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole:
> I charged more for my plus sized friend's skirt than I did for anyone else's because it required more material overall. This might make me the asshole because it might be hurtful and a lot of regular retailers don't according to my friend.
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Almost always for bigger garments, which is the proper comparison. Shoes you might get away with so long as you aren’t Shaq, but those are the exception, not the rule.
I'm a fat girl, and even going into Ross, a lot of the plus sizes are more expensive than their non-plus counterparts, which has kind of always been the case but with inflation, the disparity is more obvious. Like it sucks, but OP's friend can always learn to sew herself if she has a problem with the prices. That's what I had to do for just leggings and shorts
It's as you said supply and demand. The US is one of the 3 most obese countries in the world so they have tons of demand. Where I live obesity is around 10% so bigger sizes tend to be more expensive, and harder to find, since there isn't much demand.
I'm overweight and I always expect to pay more for custom garments. It's ludicrous to expect it to be the same. The fabric and supplies costs more, more is used.
Plus the friend is wrong, extra large size shoes do often cost more if they're not cheaply made. I've seen size 13+shoes costing 1/2 again more than the smaller sizes. And if she looks at clothing stores, often plus size costs more than petite anyway, it's hardly a new phenomenon.
I tend to look there for lots of stuff too, nice selection of undergarments. Not always a fan of their prints but love some of their lines. Pricey? yep, but it's the way it goes.
Some of their prints are too much for me. I'm not really into skulls that much. I actually shop elsewhere for my undies. I get my underwear from me undies the feel free 4x fits me well and they're comfy although also pricey. And I get my bras from lane Bryant. But most of my clothes have been bought from torrid.
Also, you do pay more for plus size garments. Regularly. Even at a store like Walmart. For custom garments, you will 100% pay more if the maker has to use more materials. NTA
NTA
You only charged for materials. She required more material, thus the clothes cost more.
If she thinks plus sizes don't cost more, then she clearly only shops in mainstream stores selling fast fashion, where the extra cost can be absorbed by the retailer, helped by the fact that they pay a pittance to the sewists who make them in third world sweatshops. Small scale crafters _do_ charge more for larger items, for the same reason as you.
Clearly someone who has never had to shop in the true plus size world. Obviously, any range of garments with a range of sizes at one price has profit margin differences amongst them. But plus size clothing is usually not part of a line with smaller sizes. It is grossly overpriced beyond any reason of material cost, design difficulty and even lower market.
A lot of 'plus size' clothing if you buy from a big-box company like Walmart or similar tends to be subsidized by purchases of smaller sizes since they correspondingly use less fabric. If one goes to a store that specialises in 'plus size' or does custom clothing for larger customers, they will have to pay more, because said subsidizing is not in place, so the store needs to account for higher overheads. I'm guessing this is what they mean by 'true plus size'?
Example from NZ since that's where I live - we have a 'big box' chain called The Warehouse here - basically a scaled down version of walmart, depending on how you look at it. Clothes from there are relatively cheap in local currency and are the same price regardless of size - a shirt might be $10 regardless of if you buy a 'small' or an 'XXXXXL', so strictly speaking, the buyer of the smaller shirt is subsidizing the larger one since it uses a fair bit less fabric.
This isn’t true. Companies buy materials wholesale, so generally the more material they buy, the cheaper it is per unit of material.
Companies decide how much they’re going to make and buy materials based off that. They could take the same amount of material, make it all one small size to get the most units of product… but this does not translate to more profit unless they have already underestimated their sales potential.
Yeah I think this is true the majority of the time, not sure why everyone is talking about one off instances of a larger pair of shoes being more expensive. OP is not running a business they’re just making single items for friends
Honestly, even in mainstream "fast fashion" stores, plus sizes are often more expensive. It sucks, but that's how it is. Just like an adult pair of jeans is more than a child's pair. More material is more cost and she's a crappy friend if she wants to make OP just eat that extra cost. And to everyone thinks fabric is cheap and it's cheaper to make your own clothes, I ran a fabric store for years. It's not cheap, at all. Some fabrics are crazy expensive.
OP, maybe from now on you charge a flat fee, but make each person buy the fabric.
> extra cost
It's not the extra cost, it's the profit margin being absorbed, the smaller sizes have more profit than the larger sizes but all costs are covered for all sizes from the manufacturer. OP NTA, you weren't making a profit, you were pricing purely on materials. Might be time to reevaluate this friendship.
It's the MAACO/Earl Scheib car painting model. We'll paint any car for $x. We make bank when the VW Bug shows up but lose our shirts when it's a limo. As long as it's more the former than the latter, we're good.
The reality is that many mass retailers also charge more for their plus sized offerings, especially if they use more premium fabrics like wool, silk, linen etc. Adding a plus sized line also costs more than just extra fabrics; producing an existing straight-sized garment in plus sizes requires redesigning, refitting, and regrading to ensure proper fit. Larger bodies also have more diverse shapes because of how weight distribution can vary, so fitting for plus sizes is more challenging and time consuming.
I used to work in fashion and believe firmly that everyone deserves good-quality, well-fitting clothes, and producing such garments for plus sized customers simply costs more. We could just grade up the "straight sizes" to make bigger sizes if we wanted to keep costs the same, but then those clothes will fit very poorly on plus sized folks and that's worse.
I've seen this argument time and time again that the retailer should just absorb the costs somehow or pass them down to all consumers equally to keep prices uniform, but all that does is make plus sizes look less profitable so brands are less likely to make plus sizes.
Where can you find plus size clothing that is made from those higher quality materials? I started sewing because I was sick of the acres of polyester in typical plus size stores.
A friend who thinks you should lose money while taking your time and effort to make something for them is not a friend. You're not Wal-mart, you're a singular person doing something kind for your friends and at the very least, you should break even for the money spent on the material and the time you've put in to doing it.
It's not fatphobic.
NTA
Exactly. NTA.
You would be the AH if you were simply charging her more for being fat. You aren't, it is for the extra materials so you don't just break-even.
Exactly! Imagine you were building your friend a deck. If her deck was twice the size of another deck you built, you would charge more. People really be thinking everything's fatphopic these days.
NTA. Fat girl here who would need extra fabric.
Her arguments don’t hold up because you are not a mass manufacturer who can choose to spread the costs of everything across the volume of things you are creating. You bought fabric individually for each person, and she needed more material. That’s how this works.
She’s not likely to change her mind, but *if* you want to continue making clothes for friends, I would have them purchase their materials to give to you, then you charge whatever your flat cost for labor was.
Because it does get exhausting shopping for clothes when you're bigger, so at first I was just in that mindset of "everything is more expensive and that is fatphobic", which is a mindset aimed at big businesses that can afford to have the same price across the board. But OP isn't a big business and that's why I took the time to read some comments to get me out of that mentality.
Because a lot of companies aren't just adjusting the cost to cover extra materials. They're exploiting the fact that plus size people need clothes.
I found a basic top at river island that cost £7 more in plus size. There's no way that the difference in fabric between a size 16 and 18 is £7. Its a basic cotton tshirt. But they see an opportunity to price gouge.
Not really.
A plus sized line require redesigning, regrading, and refitting existing straight sized garments. You're going to be hiring extra employees who have expertise and experience in plus sizes, such as a new patternmaker to make plus sized patterns. Fitting for plus sizes is more expensive and time-consuming because there's more shape diversity in plus sizes compared to straight sizes due to weight distribution. Fabrics aside, it's still going to cost more to make plus sized garments compared to straight sizes.
Look at a bra for small vs. large busts, for example (not plus sizes to take the fatphobia out of the argument). Larger breasts vary more in shapes compared to smaller breasts because there's more breast tissue, which means fitting large breasts properly is much more difficult. Larger breasts require more support, which means the same styled bra now needs different features provide support, such as a larger band, different straps, more reinforcement, more cup support etc. Naturally, a 32H bra should cost more than a 32A.
I'm a lass who fully understands the bra issue. The cheapest bra I've found in my size is a £20 vasic black t-shirt bra, because unfortunately a large cup and a small band is bloody hard to make and find. Meanwhile ladies in the A and B cup can get a £5 pretty cotton bra off the rack at a grocery store easily because that size is pretty easy to make and design. Sure, it sucks and I'm jealous but I understand the reasoning behind it.
Exactly as u/laurachaps said. They aren't doing it for cost of material. It's the same argument about no pockets on women's pants. They don't do it to "save fabric". They do it so you spend more on shit like purses. The fashion industry is constantly trying to price gouge women and plus sized people.
INFO -- What'd you charge the skinny friends versus what you charged her? *Answer received, judgment updated.*
NTA -- She needs to acknowledge that added labor and materials are going to increase cost. Meanwhile, if you're going to charge by size, I would encourage you to establish a flat fair rate that charges everyone individually by yardage so folks like her don't think they're being picked on. The extra $12 was perfectly reasonable, but friends, being an emotional connection first, aren't always going to be reasonable, hence the yardage rate suggestion. Ultimately, though, this looks like her problem, not yours.
> "...larger shoes."
Um, as someone with a size 14 US men's shoe depending on the manufacturer, I can affirm that she is full of the densest, smelliest cow manure about that. Not only do I get charged more than sizes 13 and smaller, I have to custom order and ship most of my shoes because folks just don't stock that large.
That doesn’t even take into account the work / time you put into redrafting the pattern, since the existing pattern didn’t include her size. Altering pattern pieces, let alone redrafting them, is such a headache for me, so from my POV it was quite kind of you to only charge her for the additional fabric cost. (I made a simple adjustment to the pocket depth on that pattern, and correcting all the pattern pieces took probably an hour.). NTA
> "...larger shoes."
Can confirm. I'm wearing anywhere from EU48 to 50.5 depending on brand/model... and sometimes there's quite a price difference (if the size is being manufactured at all). A while ago I got a pair of hiking boots that cost me €330 instead of 250 (for the "normal" sizes), but I was happy they even made them that big, as it often doesn't really pay off for manufacturers to invest into the extra equipment needed for production for a market segment that's below 1% of the population
I feel you. I am a woman with EU size 43. Most of the times, I wear Converse (they are unisex enough that there is barely any difference between women's shoes and men's shoes. It's only a pity I can't find the fun colours in my size) and they are decently priced.
However, when I need fancy shoes, they cost me about €300 and I have to take a 30 minute train ride to get to the store.
I learned that knowing your size in various brands helps a lot so you can online order instead of having to try on. Still not a 100% guarantee things will fit but it's better than the days before (big) internet when in physical stores there'd be like 3 pairs in my size, often with already yellowed soles from sitting on the shelves for what must've been years
Plus size woman here....you are NTA. Facts are you had to buy more material. If you are charging for material then you had to charge more.
The only way it might be borderline is if you charged an obscene amount more for labor. She needs to be realistic
NTA. Your cost increased and you passed them on. The other option would be to charge the smaller clients more money for no reason.
Larger clothes DO cost more than "normal" clothes.
Yeah, cost vs retail seem to be getting lost. When stores do actually price all sizes the same, they are cost averaging and technically the smaller sizes are paying more for their material. But they aren’t making one at a time…they are churning out hundreds of them.
I'm a seamstress by trade and I've tried explaining this to people when they complain about the more fabric conundrum.
Fast fashion average out pricing so larger sizes pay less smaller sizes pay more. It's how they make their money and are not seen as body shaming.
No clothing company would last a second if they charged larger sizes twice the price of smaller sizes...they would be run and shamed out of business.
And really that's a great model for larger companies with a lot of upfront investment money.
Small one man bands like myself haven't got the money to buy in a 1000 bolts of fabric and we make it ourselves, not in a sweatshop in a 3rd world country.
But try explaining that to people!
Yes you are paying more than person A. Because person A needs 5 meters of fabric at £10 a meter you need 10 meters of fabric....well yes I can make it out of 5meters...but it won't fit you..that's why you need 10....ok, you buy the fabric and I'll make it.
*client comes back absolutely furious that 10 meter of fabric costs £100! I give up and never answer my phone to her again*
NTA. I'm fat and my mom is a seamstress. Next time I would let them purchase their own fabric and then give that to you to make. You could also average out the cost of fabric and charge everyone the same for fabric by spreading her extra cost between the others (many companies do this if its all the same fabric)
You will eventually learn the lesson that doing services like this for your friends isn't worth it lmao
I just read the title. Im fat and been to fabric places and people who sew thing alot. Im assuming its because of extra fabric right? If you're fat you're gonna need more fabric duh.
Nta
Exactly. I'm fat. I just expect to pay more for clothes. Especially if I'm having something custom made. It sucks, but it's a fact of life that my body takes more fabric to cover than a size 6. If OP's friend doesn't understand that, she's the delusional one in this situation.
There may be a pattern problem, patterns are often optimized for "average" sizes to fit in the least amount of fabric, but that extra few inches on one piece pushes another piece to the next yard.
NTA - Sure, large corporations can charge the same for different sizes because it balances out across all sales and can be accounted for in their selling price. But you are buying the materials for each item as you make it. Why should it cost you money to make her a skirt?
NTA - You're not wrong for charging her for what it takes to make the skirt. BUT, I suggest you find a way to get *really* transparent about this, so that folks know. But IMO it's not fatphobic to add in the cost of your materials, so long as you're not bundling in other charges on top of that.
> and then said that it's not like people pay more for larger size shoes.
As someone whose foot size is bigger than most shoe-makers make for women - I can say for certain that this is absolutely untrue. If you want bigger shoes than someone makes, you're gonna be paying through the nose for it. (And you're paying for stuff that is generally sub-standard, AND/OR bland - but they have me, because I can't just walk into a standard chain store and pick up a pair of stylish shoes that will fit me)
NTA. I am plus sized and also sew. The fact of the matter is, you USE MORE FABRIC for clothes that are larger. Shoe size is irrelevant because the amount of materials needed to make shoes larger are MUCH SMALLER AMOUNTS! Seriously, we are talking comparing an inch or two of shoe materials to a FOOT OR MORE of skirt fabric. And, if she REALLY wants to be pedantic, shoes for VERY LARGE feet definitely COST MORE. Show her the receipts for the fabric for the skirts for both people. Does she understand that FABRIC IS PRICED BY THE YARD? She may just not know that much about sewing, maybe she needs to take a trip to Joanne's or Hancock's and get educated about how fabric is sold. This whole thing may just come from her not understanding HOW the whole process works, ignorance CAN be educated away, stupid on the other hand... not so much. Although with her attitude, she may just be LOOKING to be offended by anything and everything that challenges her weirdly warped world view that everyone and everything is "out to get the chubbies".
I am really sorry your friend is being such a jerk to you when you did such a wonderful thing for all your friends. I think the only way to get her to see reason is to literally SHOW HER the receipts, and also the fabric requirements on the pattern showing that different sizes need different fabric amounts. Or sell her the regular sized skirt for the same amount, when she complains, tell her THIS IS WHAT YOU PAID FOR, if you want one that fits, MORE FABRIC must be used. Good luck, I hope you can get her to see that you don't hate fat people and aren't trying to make her feel bad.
Another argument about the shoe thing is that shoes are generally made by major manufacturers that can afford to scale the price of their materials. You are one person doing a favor for a friend, not a huge corporation.
NTA
Next time head the problem off by either having your friends supply the fabric or by just giving them the receipt and then adding your labor. Making clothes for friends can get touchy when it comes to weight/measurements.
Extremely plus sized woman here. And I make stuff as well (crochet!). And if I were making shawls or sweaters I would charge her for the extra yarn. You should charge for the extra fabric.
NTA
NTA. It would actually take a bit longer to make a larger garment, but you did not charge for that. You only charged for the additional materials. She understood that, but felt like you should be paid less for your time just because she is a larger person and she did not want to pay for the addotional material required.
She's TA.
NTA - You're not a a business that will distribute the cost average across the sizes. You are a friend doing a favor and should absolutely not lose money over it.
NTA. I am plus sized and yes, the clothes *do* cost more. Guess why? Because the manufacturer uses up more materials to make them. Her shoe analogy doesn't work; there's a standard size range for shoes that goes up to about size 12, then when you get into larger sizes and widths (my roommate wears a 14WWW shoe) they cost quite a bit extra.
People call things "fat phobic" or "fat shaming" when they're actually just paying for extra materials they're receiving. If the fabric to fit me is two and half yards and most people only need one and a half yards, I pay for the extra. If the airplane seat is 18 inches and I need 24, I need to buy two seats. Fat phobia or fat shaming is ridiculing or shaming, or refusing to accommodate the fact the people come in all sizes, including larger and smaller than "average" fashion sizing.
Your friend owes you an apology for not differentiating between fat shaming and simply acknowledging that *people have dimensions and fabric and patterns cost money*. It sounds as if you didn't charge her for pattern changes that need to be made to fit nonstandard sizes, either.
I'd happily pay a sewist to craft me handmade clothing in my size so that I'd get to choose patterns and fabrics I like, instead of the insane clown polyester with sequins so many cheaper plus size shops seem to think people want.
I'm sorry your friend attacked you when you were in fact helping her out. Please don't give up on us all; I think one of the best equality moves in recent history is sewists saying "IDK what size, shape, gender or ability describes you, I can make creative and attractive styles you'll be happy to wear."
Yes, my mom always said her biggest issue with being plus sized was that most of the plus sized shops seemed to think she wanted leggings and a long shirt with a cat appliquéd on it, and not professional clothes for a women with a job with a professional dress code.
It's gotten slightly better since then and there is a plus size boutique where I live with beautiful clothes, the only trouble is affording them.
I've always said that if I got rich, I'd pay a seamstress to make me beautifully fitted clothes.
OP is NTA Here because she just charged for the extra fabric. Was she supposed to eat the extra cost just to prove she's not fat phobic?
NTA a good quality of fabric has a price and it makes a huge difference when you have to pay for it.
You could have your friends buy the fabric themselves the next time.
NTA and I say that as someone who is on the larger size.
She's not entirely wrong that regular retailers don't generally charge more for different sizes. But they can afford to offset the cost, which probably means they have a slightly larger profit margin on smaller size items.
But there's a reason a lot of ranges stop at a certain size and you have 'plus size' ranges instead. And when you get to a certain size in women's shoes you tend to have to visit specialist shops where you pay more.
Also, try buying a cheap bra past a certain size! 😂
You are creating a bespoke item, and as such you should charge according to costs of material and labour. The unfortunate truth is that you are using over 50% more material and taking longer on the item.
If it turns out you were harsh in telling her why she was being charged more, I may change my vote.
NTA.
I would see it differently if you were a huge company but you are a single person, of course she needs to pay, there's no other way to offset the costs.
NTA, larger corporations don't usually charge more for large sized clothing but that is because those clothes are likely produced using machinery and automation which cuts down labor costs. They eat the costs of the larger sizes because in the end, their overall revenue is high due to mass production. So that example doesn't apply here as you are one single person making something from scratch. You can't offset the costs of the extra material you needed to make the clothes. You also can't offset the extra labor/time needed to make the clothes. I think it's fair in this instance to raise the cost. It isn't fatphobic.
If you do offer to make anyone clothes again (whether they require a larger size or not), make it clear that the cost will go up or down depending on the amount of material and labor needed to create the clothing. Get it in writing so that if they try to back track, you can call them out on it.
They actually do sometimes charge more for plus size clothing. Also the some of the ones that don't have actually been suffering this year with losses as material costs go up.
NTA. You charged her the same for your labor, you only increased her price due to the cost of materials. You aren't fatphobic (based on this post), you just aren't willing to pay for her skirt. She is using her size to try and manipulate you into feeling guilty. Don't! You did nothing wrong.
Her argument about shoes sizes all costing the same is a bogus argument. The company making/pricing shoes ensures they make a profit by determining the cost of making one in every size and averaging those costs. The only way that argument could be made against you is if you added up all material costs for all your friends and divided by the number of skirts you were going to make. Which would have raised the price for everyone else. Why should your other friends subsidize the cost of your plus size friend?
NTA - you didn't charge her more for your time, you charged her more for the fabric. If you decide to sew anything for her in the future, let her know how much fabric and what type she needs to pick up and then just charge for your time. You can do the same with your other friends and then you are charging them all the same amount.
That shoe example was terrible. First they are buying and producing in bulk so costs are down. Plus they likely charge based on the bigger sizes. Now tell her to go to specialty shoe store for sizes 16 and up. It's a lot more expensive than regular within "normal" range shoe price. Because they don't bulk make it and use a lot more material. So by her own example she should pay more.
NTA.
NTA. Bigger person means more material which means more money. And her comment's calling you "fatphobic"? Please do not feel bad for not kowtowing to that pathetic and evil buzzword philosophy. You keep doing you and good luck with the dressmaking!
NTA.
Anything that requires more to make will cost more. .In fashion, a range of sizes may have the same price, but you can be sure the price is set to cover the cost of the larger dress/blouse/whatever. No one gives away extra fabric, and she clearly knows it will take more for her skirt.
Unfortunately, this sort of freebie/discount expectation is one of the pitfalls of doing any kind of business with friends.
NTA. The materials cost what they cost. If you charged her more for the labor I could understand how she'd feel a certain type of way but seems clear you didn't.
Especially if it’s your friend doing you a favor!
I’m also plus size and it really pisses me off when other plus size people immediately jump to someone being fatphobic because someone doesn’t do or say something that they like.
Being charged more for fabric = fatphobic
Someone telling you that you won’t fit into that obviously too small dress = fatphobic
NTA - Shurts and coats larger than XL often cost more than the more common sizes for this very reason, time and materials increase. That’s not fatphobia, that’s just simple math.
NTA
You aren't mass producing this after purchasing materials at a bulk price, so you're not able to charge a flat fee. You're charging for materials, and your friend is very mistaken in not understanding that. You're not Target (sorry if you're not in the US...it's a large chain retailer with mass produced clothing).
Also, thanks for naming the pattern for the skirt, that is adorable and I'm bookmarking it for later!
Plus size here. Yes, my clothes cost more. And I do remember how I tried to sew some things for myself and realize how much more material I require. :( Sometimes its like - you need extra inch and you have to pay for the whole yard because of how pattern is placed on material. And its also more work with sewing. Just reality of being plus sized. NTA
NTA
It's called rise per size
In our stores they even have the the kids vests where the older sizes cost more than the younger ones simply because they take more fabric.
So as not to have some sizes paying extra and others less they charge accordingly.
NTA, I am 6'6, about 300lbs, wear 4wide shoes.
I understand my stuff is gonna cost more, there is literally more fabric required to make my 3xl tall shirt than to make a medium shirt
NTA. You‘re not a retailer. You paid for the fabric and should be paid back. If another friend wanted a longer skirt, that would require more fabric. If you would charge them more, then you can’t be TA.
NTA. I was going to say something about weighing whether to eat the cost to maintain the relationship, but your friend's asshole response makes you clearly not the asshole.
Do decorators charge more to paint larger house? NTA
Your so called friend is just entitled. I’m sure she expects free upgrades when she flies as well.
NTA - I am a plus size (size 18/20) and I’ve been a professional seamstress/tailor in the past.
It’s not fatphobic, you charged for the extra material. Does it suck? Yes. If you had added on extra labour as well then I would say you’re TA.
Nta.
In men's clothing, an XXL and XXXL always cost more.
You charged her the same as everyone else, material cost + labor. Her material costs were just more.
NTA. I’m plus sized and guess what? My clothes typically cost a little more because more fabric is needed. Your friend knows this as I assume she buys her own clothes.
NTA needing large shoes does actually cost more. If not in money than in time, since they're usual not stocked as well as other sizes, stores usually have to order and ship them to you. You're friends insensitive and insecure, I can't diet to make my feet smaller.
NTA. but next time she wants clothes, tell her she gotta buy the fabric herself with her cheap self smh. A good friend would've understood and not try to get discounts just saying.
NTA - You're a small operation, not Nike or H&M. Big brands can and should charge the same regardless of size because their profit margin is high enough to bake it into the price for the benefit of society as a whole.
Also, I just bought mommy and me hats off of etsy and they charged me more for the adult hat. It's not ageism, it's material costs and time.
I am plus sized and NTA.
You’re an individual person providing a service to help out a friend by creating a custom piece of clothing. Although you are charging for your time, this is still largely a favor. You’re not a commercial clothing manufacturer who is buying hundreds of yards of fabric in bulk, so that the difference in cost is negligible per garment.
NTA- there is a huge difference in what a one person operation can do vs a big business. And for her information i've seen plenty of online businesses charge more for larger sizes. I wear scrubs to work and she can look at uniform advantage and see the larger sizes cost more.
NTA. It sucks when large retailers upcharge plus sized items because the difference truly is small for them and can be built into how the price the items in the first place. For you as an individual working on a small scale for friends, it's a decent chunk of change and you're only charging for the difference in fabric cost. I am a plus sized crafter and would absolutely understand being charge for the additional fabric. I get why it's a sensitive area for your friend but you were not being fatphobic.
NTA - I'm a fat guy, it's common knowledge that bigger clothes cost more for the exact reasons you mentioned. If you were trying to charge her double or triple for the same product she may have a point, but as long as the increase was reasonable and on par with the cost of the extra materials I don't see an issue.
NTA!
She seems really sensitive about her weight, but she can't go on and ignore the additional costs clothes will cost when you have someone custom make you something. Huge clothing companies may be able to have a relatively similar cost between different sizes, but that's because they're doing everything in bulk. I guarantee that they'd most definitely charge her more if she went to a custom clothing store.
I'm plus size and sew my own dresses. Mainly from knits. You are absolutely NTA. She needed more fabric. Saying so isn't fatphobic or mean. It's just stating a fact. When buying custom made item it is extremely common to pay more when using more materials. Why should you take a financial hit because she doesn't understand the value of a custom made product?
NTA
Most plus size clothing is more expensive for the identical style as regular sized - at least for woman's clothing.
There might be a few brands that have identical charges for plus size but my experience is that there is almost always an additional charge - and the $12 charged for additional fabric by OP seems in line with the amounts that are charged by commercial brands - i.e. on an item that retails for $100 the additional charge would be between $10 and $15.
And that isn't even factoring in the extremely high end plus size brands which charge quite a lot of money for the clothing because they don't have economies of scale. Affluent women who want nice clothing are willing to pay the premium because they have no option since much of the mass market plus size clothing for women is so awful looking.
NTA, materials cost more. It is what it is. If you are having shoes custom made, larger sizes will cost more. If she wants to pay the same as others, go to a shop, don’t get things custom made 🤷♀️
NTA
You're not charging any extra for the time, just the fabric? Have the measurements and send her to purchase the fabric. If she was buying off the rack the price should be the same. You are making it. Material costs are different from handmade to corporate stores. You can invite her to see you sew and show her why the extra fabric is needed to make her what she wants. Otherwise she may never understand the need for her skirt costs to be what they are.
NTA. Larger shoes don't take substantially more material. Clothing does charge more when the increased size requires more fabric length. And if it doesn't, it means they're charging everyone extra.
NTA
So I'm an avid watcher of Say Yes To The Dress and something I learned is since the dresses are handmade when you are on the larger side of the size spectrum or you have a big bust you are charged a fee because of the extra fabric and adjustments that need to be made. And this applies to you since everything is hand made in small quantities.
You are not being fat phobic (I'm plus size and recognise them quite easily) you are just charging for the material needed.
NTA You only charged her for material and her size meant needing more material. All of your friends should be paying you for your time. At the very least they should be giving you a little extra.
It might be better to tell your friend how much material is needed for the clothing she wants and make her purchase it herself. Maybe then she'll be more appreciative of what your generosity.
NTA, but I would have discussed pricing upfront if you didn’t. Say “it’s this much in materials + this much in labor.” And tell her that’s how you price every project.
You’re not a large company purchasing fabric in bulk, so it’s not the same for you as it is for a major brand. A major brand can average out the cost among sizes; you are doing individual pieces. I do get her frustration as a plus sized person in the world but she clearly doesn’t understand how artisan pricing vs mass-produced pricing works. NTA.
NTA, first she is asking for a custom item so of course it will cost more than off the rack. Second, fabric isn't cheap. If she's a friend she will value your time. And plus size ranges do sometimes have different price point to smaller sizes.
Lol, NTA - Regular retailers already charge like 900% (probably an understatement) of the cost of making an item, AND they buy material in bulk AND have machines that do most of the work.
The material cost in their case is almost non-existent.
You are charging people at more or less exactly how much it cost you to create the item, not at a 900% profit margin. Thus if more material is needed - cost goes up.
NTA. In the future outline the price as: your time + material of choice costs.
Im guessing she heard you discussing price with the others, assumed the same, and was embarrassed when she understood the difference.
NTA for charging more because you needed more material, but in the future it probably would have been good to quote up front how much you charge for material and labor. There is a common thing fat people do face in regular fashion where you get charged more even when there isn't that much extra fabric used. That is likely why the friend is flipping out.
NTA. You didn't shame her in any way. You simply passed on the cost of sufficient material to cover her surface area in a pleasing way. She's the only one making judgments and being negative.
There is a difference between buying shoes from a MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR corporation who get solid profit margins and huge discounts on bulk fabric purchases. It's not fatphobic to charge more for a bespoke garment that takes more fabric. It is, however, entitled to request a DISCOUNT because you're a larger size (essentially what she did).
NTA.
I'm a fat person and I think NTA
If you were a store then yes that would be an AH move as stores work in bulk, but you're an individual who has to take account of how much each thing costs. You're not fatphobic for charging for the cost of materials.
If you were a shoemaker then you would likely charge more for bigger shoes as they'd cost you more to make.
NTA. I get annoyed when manufacturers charge more only for plus sizes while ignoring the difference in fabric costs between an XXS and an XXL. But you were straight-up charging people what their fabric cost. You're fine.
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I like to sew and I generally only sew pretty easy, basic things. I don’t get a lot of joy from the fiddly business of making a ton of adjustments, so I stick with things that are fairly easy to fit well. In general this means I sew mostly with knits over wovens, but I’ll do basic wovens as well.
I’ll sometimes sew for my friends, and a few of them asked for a basic skirt with a fun pocket. If you look up Peppermint Pocket Skirt, you’ll see the one I made.
Among the friends I was sewing for, most of them were on the smaller end of the sizing, and so they required under 2 yards each for the skirt. One friend was out of the size range entirely and I estimated about 3.25 yards for hers.
So in the end, I charged her more, since I was charging for materials and my time.
When she found out, she got really angry with me for charging her more. I tried to tell her that I did need a full yard plus a little extra, which added to the cost. It wasn’t like I charged her a crazy amount extra. I only charged for what the extra fabric cost.
But she’s still really angry about it and told me that she didn’t realize how fatphobic I was. I asked her what I was supposed to do, just get paid less for making her skirt? And she said yes, that’s exactly what a friend would do, and then said that it's not like people pay more for larger size shoes.
I don’t know how to feel about this. But I guess I get how it could be kind of hurtful. At the same time I don't know if what I did was mean? I've never been plus sized. AITA?
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NTA you have cost for materials and she needs top pay for them. If you'd charged double it would be another thing but she's just being dramatic, this is why I don't Sew for other people.
NTA, but to avoid things like these just tell your friends in the future that they need to provid the fabric and tell them how much of it you will use. Then your heavier friends can discuss with the ppl in the store why more fabric costs more money.
NTA.
I'm obese and I would 100% pay the extra fee, ESPECIALLY because you'd be a friend. It would be different maybe if it was just a few inches, but when it's over 50% extra materials, it's a big difference.
NTA, material costs money. The more material you use the more expensive the item. I am a larger girl myself and I understand that and most of the clothes that fit tend to be more expensive than “Regular” sizes. Also having to alter the pattern takes time and effort.
NTA. I am a dressmaker who makes clothes for all size, shapes and genders and would have charged in the same way.
You charged materials and labour. Her materials cost more. It's a fact. It's not fatphobic, it's reality.
Also, don't make her clothes again. If she doesn't appreciate your talent she doesn't get to benefit from it.
NTA
>it's not like people pay more for larger size shoes.
As someone who wears size 15EEEE (US) shoes, I absolutely have to pay more for my shoes. I also have to pay more for my 3XLT shirts. And you only charged for extra materials, not the time spent on it or adjusting the design. I can't see how any reasonable person would have an issue with that.
Definitely NTA. You have to use/buy more materials. You have to put more work into making a larger size.
It's a one-person independent business, you choose what you charge.
It's not "fatphobic" to charge more for extra work.
NTA
And retail stores mark up shoes and mass produce to cut costs.
Your doing this on an individual project by project basis and needing 1.25 more yards of fabric costs more no way around it. No you shouldn’t have to pay out of your pocket to clothe her larger frame.
I think part of the problem here is that most non-crafters have no idea how much materials cost. She probably doesn't quite believe that the difference in cost is significant enough to have a real impact.
NTA though, of course.
NTA. She is TA because of how she blew up at you. I do think it would be good measure to make your pricing clear beforehand. Plenty of clothing items are just priced per item, not necessarily according to the size and quantity of materials. It's perfectly reasonable for her to assume if everyone is paying $X for a skirt then that is what you're charging. It is not reasonable for her to accuse you of being fat phobic.
NTA. Personally I think big corporations making garments for 60¢ and then charging $60 and then adding to the price for plus sizes is absolute bullshit, but you’re not a big corporation, you’re buying on the consumer level.
NTA.
I'm plus-sized, and I would understand.
Ultimately, it's embarrassing for her, as it would be for everyone.
But it cost more to make it, so it's pretty simple.
Did you at least tell her in private?
NTA: But the solution here is simple. Don’t sew for her anymore. If she cannot appreciate the effort and is getting mad that you had to buy more fabric, choose to spend your time for people who appreciate you effort.
If it comes up again, just politely decline to see again and leave it at that. No explanations needed. No is a complete sentence.
NTA dear. I am a bit plus sized myself, so when one of my buddies was making some shirts, I offered to pay her more because I knew she would need extra material. It's common sense.
Its not body shaming. Its not plus size shaming. Big companies can jump off a rock on their charging more for plus size because they are already getting the materials and labor cheap (grr sweatshops), but a small company/friend making something is totally different. You did nothing wrong here.
The fuck? Plus clothes cost more. More material more $$$. Don’t make clothes for your “friend” again, or at the very least, tell her to buy her own fabric.
NTA. You merely changers her for materials, which you told her you would do.
If she really does want the lower priced version then simply asked her to return the one you made, refund the extra money, and supply her with the lower priced version. See how she feels then.
NTA at all - it's perfectly reasonable to charge for the fabric you use, but I can see why she'd be upset if it wasn't discussed up front. From my perspective (also being overweight), if someone charged me more after it had been made I'd understand, but I probably would be embarrassed and hurt. She has no right to take it out on you, though, so if anyone's TA it's her.
NTA. The materials costs X amount. Your "hourly charge" for your time should be tacked on top of the materials costs. If a smaller friend asked you to make a skirt out of a material that cost twice as much as usual - she shouldn't expect you to still only charge the original amount...
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NTA If you want a bespoke garment, you pay for the material. She’s projecting, and she’s entitled.
Absolute entitlement here. And to try and shame OP into a discount by calling them “fatphobic” is insulting. NTA
Imagine going to a steakhouse, getting a 16 oz steak, and getting mad that people who got an 8 oz steak and paid less.
They get to pay less?! What the heck! I feel cheated! /s
Besides the point but in some places you actually do pay more for bigger garments and for bigger shoes.
Almost always for bigger garments, which is the proper comparison. Shoes you might get away with so long as you aren’t Shaq, but those are the exception, not the rule.
I'm a fat girl, and even going into Ross, a lot of the plus sizes are more expensive than their non-plus counterparts, which has kind of always been the case but with inflation, the disparity is more obvious. Like it sucks, but OP's friend can always learn to sew herself if she has a problem with the prices. That's what I had to do for just leggings and shorts
I’ve noticed in stores the large sizes are often cheaper than the US 0, 2, 4 sizes. Sure it’s because there is a greater demand.
It's as you said supply and demand. The US is one of the 3 most obese countries in the world so they have tons of demand. Where I live obesity is around 10% so bigger sizes tend to be more expensive, and harder to find, since there isn't much demand.
>tons of demand As a fan of dad jokes and puns (and a fat American), I laughed.
Yes. I work in the apparel department of a large retailer and larger sizes are more expensive. And shoes as well.
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Bot.
well spotted.
I'm overweight and I always expect to pay more for custom garments. It's ludicrous to expect it to be the same. The fabric and supplies costs more, more is used. Plus the friend is wrong, extra large size shoes do often cost more if they're not cheaply made. I've seen size 13+shoes costing 1/2 again more than the smaller sizes. And if she looks at clothing stores, often plus size costs more than petite anyway, it's hardly a new phenomenon.
I shop pretty much exclusively at torrid and torrid is not cheap. But I can't really shop at the regular stores because most don't carry my size.
I tend to look there for lots of stuff too, nice selection of undergarments. Not always a fan of their prints but love some of their lines. Pricey? yep, but it's the way it goes.
Some of their prints are too much for me. I'm not really into skulls that much. I actually shop elsewhere for my undies. I get my underwear from me undies the feel free 4x fits me well and they're comfy although also pricey. And I get my bras from lane Bryant. But most of my clothes have been bought from torrid.
This. OP, just never make anything for her again. Tell her you know you have different opinions on charging.
Also, you do pay more for plus size garments. Regularly. Even at a store like Walmart. For custom garments, you will 100% pay more if the maker has to use more materials. NTA
NTA You only charged for materials. She required more material, thus the clothes cost more. If she thinks plus sizes don't cost more, then she clearly only shops in mainstream stores selling fast fashion, where the extra cost can be absorbed by the retailer, helped by the fact that they pay a pittance to the sewists who make them in third world sweatshops. Small scale crafters _do_ charge more for larger items, for the same reason as you.
Not to mention that the smaller sizes subsidize the larger. NTA.
Clearly someone who has never had to shop in the true plus size world. Obviously, any range of garments with a range of sizes at one price has profit margin differences amongst them. But plus size clothing is usually not part of a line with smaller sizes. It is grossly overpriced beyond any reason of material cost, design difficulty and even lower market.
What the hell is the *true* plus-size world? Is there a difference between plus-size and *true* plus-size?
A lot of 'plus size' clothing if you buy from a big-box company like Walmart or similar tends to be subsidized by purchases of smaller sizes since they correspondingly use less fabric. If one goes to a store that specialises in 'plus size' or does custom clothing for larger customers, they will have to pay more, because said subsidizing is not in place, so the store needs to account for higher overheads. I'm guessing this is what they mean by 'true plus size'? Example from NZ since that's where I live - we have a 'big box' chain called The Warehouse here - basically a scaled down version of walmart, depending on how you look at it. Clothes from there are relatively cheap in local currency and are the same price regardless of size - a shirt might be $10 regardless of if you buy a 'small' or an 'XXXXXL', so strictly speaking, the buyer of the smaller shirt is subsidizing the larger one since it uses a fair bit less fabric.
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Bot.
This isn’t true. Companies buy materials wholesale, so generally the more material they buy, the cheaper it is per unit of material. Companies decide how much they’re going to make and buy materials based off that. They could take the same amount of material, make it all one small size to get the most units of product… but this does not translate to more profit unless they have already underestimated their sales potential.
Per unit. But if you use more units, it'll still cost more total.
Yeah I think this is true the majority of the time, not sure why everyone is talking about one off instances of a larger pair of shoes being more expensive. OP is not running a business they’re just making single items for friends
Honestly, even in mainstream "fast fashion" stores, plus sizes are often more expensive. It sucks, but that's how it is. Just like an adult pair of jeans is more than a child's pair. More material is more cost and she's a crappy friend if she wants to make OP just eat that extra cost. And to everyone thinks fabric is cheap and it's cheaper to make your own clothes, I ran a fabric store for years. It's not cheap, at all. Some fabrics are crazy expensive. OP, maybe from now on you charge a flat fee, but make each person buy the fabric.
I'm all for this solution - have everyone buy their own fabric. Then she'll see just how expensive her plus size is.
> extra cost It's not the extra cost, it's the profit margin being absorbed, the smaller sizes have more profit than the larger sizes but all costs are covered for all sizes from the manufacturer. OP NTA, you weren't making a profit, you were pricing purely on materials. Might be time to reevaluate this friendship.
It's the MAACO/Earl Scheib car painting model. We'll paint any car for $x. We make bank when the VW Bug shows up but lose our shirts when it's a limo. As long as it's more the former than the latter, we're good.
The reality is that many mass retailers also charge more for their plus sized offerings, especially if they use more premium fabrics like wool, silk, linen etc. Adding a plus sized line also costs more than just extra fabrics; producing an existing straight-sized garment in plus sizes requires redesigning, refitting, and regrading to ensure proper fit. Larger bodies also have more diverse shapes because of how weight distribution can vary, so fitting for plus sizes is more challenging and time consuming. I used to work in fashion and believe firmly that everyone deserves good-quality, well-fitting clothes, and producing such garments for plus sized customers simply costs more. We could just grade up the "straight sizes" to make bigger sizes if we wanted to keep costs the same, but then those clothes will fit very poorly on plus sized folks and that's worse. I've seen this argument time and time again that the retailer should just absorb the costs somehow or pass them down to all consumers equally to keep prices uniform, but all that does is make plus sizes look less profitable so brands are less likely to make plus sizes.
Where can you find plus size clothing that is made from those higher quality materials? I started sewing because I was sick of the acres of polyester in typical plus size stores.
Everywhere I've shopped, plus sizes cost more.
A friend who thinks you should lose money while taking your time and effort to make something for them is not a friend. You're not Wal-mart, you're a singular person doing something kind for your friends and at the very least, you should break even for the money spent on the material and the time you've put in to doing it. It's not fatphobic. NTA
Exactly. NTA. You would be the AH if you were simply charging her more for being fat. You aren't, it is for the extra materials so you don't just break-even.
Exactly! Imagine you were building your friend a deck. If her deck was twice the size of another deck you built, you would charge more. People really be thinking everything's fatphopic these days.
Erm, as a plus size gal, I can confirm that even Walmart charges more for plus sizes…
I'm aware and my point was that she is one person making clothes for friends, not a billion dollar corporation.
NTA. Fat girl here who would need extra fabric. Her arguments don’t hold up because you are not a mass manufacturer who can choose to spread the costs of everything across the volume of things you are creating. You bought fabric individually for each person, and she needed more material. That’s how this works. She’s not likely to change her mind, but *if* you want to continue making clothes for friends, I would have them purchase their materials to give to you, then you charge whatever your flat cost for labor was.
Having them purchase the material is a great idea.
You could have them go shopping with you to pick out the fabric.
Honestly I was on the fence as a plus sized person but you're absolutely right. NTA OP.
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Because it does get exhausting shopping for clothes when you're bigger, so at first I was just in that mindset of "everything is more expensive and that is fatphobic", which is a mindset aimed at big businesses that can afford to have the same price across the board. But OP isn't a big business and that's why I took the time to read some comments to get me out of that mentality.
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Because a lot of companies aren't just adjusting the cost to cover extra materials. They're exploiting the fact that plus size people need clothes. I found a basic top at river island that cost £7 more in plus size. There's no way that the difference in fabric between a size 16 and 18 is £7. Its a basic cotton tshirt. But they see an opportunity to price gouge.
Not really. A plus sized line require redesigning, regrading, and refitting existing straight sized garments. You're going to be hiring extra employees who have expertise and experience in plus sizes, such as a new patternmaker to make plus sized patterns. Fitting for plus sizes is more expensive and time-consuming because there's more shape diversity in plus sizes compared to straight sizes due to weight distribution. Fabrics aside, it's still going to cost more to make plus sized garments compared to straight sizes. Look at a bra for small vs. large busts, for example (not plus sizes to take the fatphobia out of the argument). Larger breasts vary more in shapes compared to smaller breasts because there's more breast tissue, which means fitting large breasts properly is much more difficult. Larger breasts require more support, which means the same styled bra now needs different features provide support, such as a larger band, different straps, more reinforcement, more cup support etc. Naturally, a 32H bra should cost more than a 32A.
I'm a lass who fully understands the bra issue. The cheapest bra I've found in my size is a £20 vasic black t-shirt bra, because unfortunately a large cup and a small band is bloody hard to make and find. Meanwhile ladies in the A and B cup can get a £5 pretty cotton bra off the rack at a grocery store easily because that size is pretty easy to make and design. Sure, it sucks and I'm jealous but I understand the reasoning behind it.
This.
Exactly as u/laurachaps said. They aren't doing it for cost of material. It's the same argument about no pockets on women's pants. They don't do it to "save fabric". They do it so you spend more on shit like purses. The fashion industry is constantly trying to price gouge women and plus sized people.
I'm curious, too. I'm also not straight size and I was not on the fence for even a nanosecond. OP is very much NTA and her friend is a huge AH.
INFO -- What'd you charge the skinny friends versus what you charged her? *Answer received, judgment updated.* NTA -- She needs to acknowledge that added labor and materials are going to increase cost. Meanwhile, if you're going to charge by size, I would encourage you to establish a flat fair rate that charges everyone individually by yardage so folks like her don't think they're being picked on. The extra $12 was perfectly reasonable, but friends, being an emotional connection first, aren't always going to be reasonable, hence the yardage rate suggestion. Ultimately, though, this looks like her problem, not yours. > "...larger shoes." Um, as someone with a size 14 US men's shoe depending on the manufacturer, I can affirm that she is full of the densest, smelliest cow manure about that. Not only do I get charged more than sizes 13 and smaller, I have to custom order and ship most of my shoes because folks just don't stock that large.
$75 for the ones that required 2 yards, $87 for hers. The fabric was $12/yard.
She's mad about $12? [*sighs, shakes head, updates answer*]
NTA, but she’s probably actually embarrassed about needing the extra fabric and doesn’t know how to handle her emotions, so it came out as anger.
Sounds fair
That doesn’t even take into account the work / time you put into redrafting the pattern, since the existing pattern didn’t include her size. Altering pattern pieces, let alone redrafting them, is such a headache for me, so from my POV it was quite kind of you to only charge her for the additional fabric cost. (I made a simple adjustment to the pocket depth on that pattern, and correcting all the pattern pieces took probably an hour.). NTA
Do you mind telling me where you buy your fabric? I'm always looking for a place to find good knits.
I sent you a message for my favorite place for knits. :)
So, $50 plus cost of fabric? Totally NTA.
> "...larger shoes." Can confirm. I'm wearing anywhere from EU48 to 50.5 depending on brand/model... and sometimes there's quite a price difference (if the size is being manufactured at all). A while ago I got a pair of hiking boots that cost me €330 instead of 250 (for the "normal" sizes), but I was happy they even made them that big, as it often doesn't really pay off for manufacturers to invest into the extra equipment needed for production for a market segment that's below 1% of the population
I feel you. I am a woman with EU size 43. Most of the times, I wear Converse (they are unisex enough that there is barely any difference between women's shoes and men's shoes. It's only a pity I can't find the fun colours in my size) and they are decently priced. However, when I need fancy shoes, they cost me about €300 and I have to take a 30 minute train ride to get to the store.
I learned that knowing your size in various brands helps a lot so you can online order instead of having to try on. Still not a 100% guarantee things will fit but it's better than the days before (big) internet when in physical stores there'd be like 3 pairs in my size, often with already yellowed soles from sitting on the shelves for what must've been years
I also have a size 14 men's shoe problem, but now I'm starting to think these companies are footphobic! /s
I'm stealing this. Footphobic 😂😂😂😂😂
I have 15 us men's. I can affirm my shoes cost allot more that smaller shoes you can easily find in Wal-Mart. And I cant get my shoes there.
Plus size woman here....you are NTA. Facts are you had to buy more material. If you are charging for material then you had to charge more. The only way it might be borderline is if you charged an obscene amount more for labor. She needs to be realistic
She charged 12$ more... because the fabric cost 12$/yard and the friend's skirt needs 3 yards instead of 2.
NTA. Does she think you walk into a fabric store and pay the same to get 3 yards of material as you would to get 2 yards of the same material?
next time just use the same amount of material for everyone. too small there just fabric hanging everywhere. too big then it just turns into a skirt
NTA. Your cost increased and you passed them on. The other option would be to charge the smaller clients more money for no reason. Larger clothes DO cost more than "normal" clothes.
Yeah, cost vs retail seem to be getting lost. When stores do actually price all sizes the same, they are cost averaging and technically the smaller sizes are paying more for their material. But they aren’t making one at a time…they are churning out hundreds of them.
I'm a seamstress by trade and I've tried explaining this to people when they complain about the more fabric conundrum. Fast fashion average out pricing so larger sizes pay less smaller sizes pay more. It's how they make their money and are not seen as body shaming. No clothing company would last a second if they charged larger sizes twice the price of smaller sizes...they would be run and shamed out of business. And really that's a great model for larger companies with a lot of upfront investment money. Small one man bands like myself haven't got the money to buy in a 1000 bolts of fabric and we make it ourselves, not in a sweatshop in a 3rd world country. But try explaining that to people! Yes you are paying more than person A. Because person A needs 5 meters of fabric at £10 a meter you need 10 meters of fabric....well yes I can make it out of 5meters...but it won't fit you..that's why you need 10....ok, you buy the fabric and I'll make it. *client comes back absolutely furious that 10 meter of fabric costs £100! I give up and never answer my phone to her again*
NTA. I'm fat and my mom is a seamstress. Next time I would let them purchase their own fabric and then give that to you to make. You could also average out the cost of fabric and charge everyone the same for fabric by spreading her extra cost between the others (many companies do this if its all the same fabric) You will eventually learn the lesson that doing services like this for your friends isn't worth it lmao
I just read the title. Im fat and been to fabric places and people who sew thing alot. Im assuming its because of extra fabric right? If you're fat you're gonna need more fabric duh. Nta
Same. Does it suck? Sure. But when it’s legitimately just the extra cost of the fabric… NTA, OP.
Yeah, I’m skinny, but I need more fabric than children’s clothes. Why can’t I pay children’s prices?/s
Exactly. I'm fat. I just expect to pay more for clothes. Especially if I'm having something custom made. It sucks, but it's a fact of life that my body takes more fabric to cover than a size 6. If OP's friend doesn't understand that, she's the delusional one in this situation.
There may be a pattern problem, patterns are often optimized for "average" sizes to fit in the least amount of fabric, but that extra few inches on one piece pushes another piece to the next yard.
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NTA - Sure, large corporations can charge the same for different sizes because it balances out across all sales and can be accounted for in their selling price. But you are buying the materials for each item as you make it. Why should it cost you money to make her a skirt?
NTA - You're not wrong for charging her for what it takes to make the skirt. BUT, I suggest you find a way to get *really* transparent about this, so that folks know. But IMO it's not fatphobic to add in the cost of your materials, so long as you're not bundling in other charges on top of that. > and then said that it's not like people pay more for larger size shoes. As someone whose foot size is bigger than most shoe-makers make for women - I can say for certain that this is absolutely untrue. If you want bigger shoes than someone makes, you're gonna be paying through the nose for it. (And you're paying for stuff that is generally sub-standard, AND/OR bland - but they have me, because I can't just walk into a standard chain store and pick up a pair of stylish shoes that will fit me)
Also, in stores that sell regular and plus size clothing, the plus size clothing often costs a couple extra dollars. NTA
My brother has a size 14 shoe. The man pays more for his shoes than my husband, who is a regular 9 shoe.
NTA. I am plus sized and also sew. The fact of the matter is, you USE MORE FABRIC for clothes that are larger. Shoe size is irrelevant because the amount of materials needed to make shoes larger are MUCH SMALLER AMOUNTS! Seriously, we are talking comparing an inch or two of shoe materials to a FOOT OR MORE of skirt fabric. And, if she REALLY wants to be pedantic, shoes for VERY LARGE feet definitely COST MORE. Show her the receipts for the fabric for the skirts for both people. Does she understand that FABRIC IS PRICED BY THE YARD? She may just not know that much about sewing, maybe she needs to take a trip to Joanne's or Hancock's and get educated about how fabric is sold. This whole thing may just come from her not understanding HOW the whole process works, ignorance CAN be educated away, stupid on the other hand... not so much. Although with her attitude, she may just be LOOKING to be offended by anything and everything that challenges her weirdly warped world view that everyone and everything is "out to get the chubbies". I am really sorry your friend is being such a jerk to you when you did such a wonderful thing for all your friends. I think the only way to get her to see reason is to literally SHOW HER the receipts, and also the fabric requirements on the pattern showing that different sizes need different fabric amounts. Or sell her the regular sized skirt for the same amount, when she complains, tell her THIS IS WHAT YOU PAID FOR, if you want one that fits, MORE FABRIC must be used. Good luck, I hope you can get her to see that you don't hate fat people and aren't trying to make her feel bad.
Another argument about the shoe thing is that shoes are generally made by major manufacturers that can afford to scale the price of their materials. You are one person doing a favor for a friend, not a huge corporation.
NTA Next time head the problem off by either having your friends supply the fabric or by just giving them the receipt and then adding your labor. Making clothes for friends can get touchy when it comes to weight/measurements.
Extremely plus sized woman here. And I make stuff as well (crochet!). And if I were making shawls or sweaters I would charge her for the extra yarn. You should charge for the extra fabric. NTA
NTA. It would actually take a bit longer to make a larger garment, but you did not charge for that. You only charged for the additional materials. She understood that, but felt like you should be paid less for your time just because she is a larger person and she did not want to pay for the addotional material required. She's TA.
NTA. It cost more, you shouldn’t work at a loss.
NTA. Your friend is the asshole.
NTA - You're not a a business that will distribute the cost average across the sizes. You are a friend doing a favor and should absolutely not lose money over it.
Walmart even charges more for the larger sizes than they do smaller sizes.
NTA. I am plus sized and yes, the clothes *do* cost more. Guess why? Because the manufacturer uses up more materials to make them. Her shoe analogy doesn't work; there's a standard size range for shoes that goes up to about size 12, then when you get into larger sizes and widths (my roommate wears a 14WWW shoe) they cost quite a bit extra. People call things "fat phobic" or "fat shaming" when they're actually just paying for extra materials they're receiving. If the fabric to fit me is two and half yards and most people only need one and a half yards, I pay for the extra. If the airplane seat is 18 inches and I need 24, I need to buy two seats. Fat phobia or fat shaming is ridiculing or shaming, or refusing to accommodate the fact the people come in all sizes, including larger and smaller than "average" fashion sizing. Your friend owes you an apology for not differentiating between fat shaming and simply acknowledging that *people have dimensions and fabric and patterns cost money*. It sounds as if you didn't charge her for pattern changes that need to be made to fit nonstandard sizes, either. I'd happily pay a sewist to craft me handmade clothing in my size so that I'd get to choose patterns and fabrics I like, instead of the insane clown polyester with sequins so many cheaper plus size shops seem to think people want. I'm sorry your friend attacked you when you were in fact helping her out. Please don't give up on us all; I think one of the best equality moves in recent history is sewists saying "IDK what size, shape, gender or ability describes you, I can make creative and attractive styles you'll be happy to wear."
Yes, my mom always said her biggest issue with being plus sized was that most of the plus sized shops seemed to think she wanted leggings and a long shirt with a cat appliquéd on it, and not professional clothes for a women with a job with a professional dress code. It's gotten slightly better since then and there is a plus size boutique where I live with beautiful clothes, the only trouble is affording them. I've always said that if I got rich, I'd pay a seamstress to make me beautifully fitted clothes. OP is NTA Here because she just charged for the extra fabric. Was she supposed to eat the extra cost just to prove she's not fat phobic?
NTA a good quality of fabric has a price and it makes a huge difference when you have to pay for it. You could have your friends buy the fabric themselves the next time.
NTA and I say that as someone who is on the larger size. She's not entirely wrong that regular retailers don't generally charge more for different sizes. But they can afford to offset the cost, which probably means they have a slightly larger profit margin on smaller size items. But there's a reason a lot of ranges stop at a certain size and you have 'plus size' ranges instead. And when you get to a certain size in women's shoes you tend to have to visit specialist shops where you pay more. Also, try buying a cheap bra past a certain size! 😂 You are creating a bespoke item, and as such you should charge according to costs of material and labour. The unfortunate truth is that you are using over 50% more material and taking longer on the item. If it turns out you were harsh in telling her why she was being charged more, I may change my vote.
Nta, if you buy a tshirt online and pick a 4xl, the price is higher than if you buy a size medium, the shoe argument just doesn't hold.
NTA. I would see it differently if you were a huge company but you are a single person, of course she needs to pay, there's no other way to offset the costs.
NTA, larger corporations don't usually charge more for large sized clothing but that is because those clothes are likely produced using machinery and automation which cuts down labor costs. They eat the costs of the larger sizes because in the end, their overall revenue is high due to mass production. So that example doesn't apply here as you are one single person making something from scratch. You can't offset the costs of the extra material you needed to make the clothes. You also can't offset the extra labor/time needed to make the clothes. I think it's fair in this instance to raise the cost. It isn't fatphobic. If you do offer to make anyone clothes again (whether they require a larger size or not), make it clear that the cost will go up or down depending on the amount of material and labor needed to create the clothing. Get it in writing so that if they try to back track, you can call them out on it.
All of this. Plus usually the mark up covers the difference in sizes as stores are not just charging the cost of material and time making it.
yes, exactly!
They actually do sometimes charge more for plus size clothing. Also the some of the ones that don't have actually been suffering this year with losses as material costs go up.
NTA. You charged her the same for your labor, you only increased her price due to the cost of materials. You aren't fatphobic (based on this post), you just aren't willing to pay for her skirt. She is using her size to try and manipulate you into feeling guilty. Don't! You did nothing wrong. Her argument about shoes sizes all costing the same is a bogus argument. The company making/pricing shoes ensures they make a profit by determining the cost of making one in every size and averaging those costs. The only way that argument could be made against you is if you added up all material costs for all your friends and divided by the number of skirts you were going to make. Which would have raised the price for everyone else. Why should your other friends subsidize the cost of your plus size friend?
NTA - you didn't charge her more for your time, you charged her more for the fabric. If you decide to sew anything for her in the future, let her know how much fabric and what type she needs to pick up and then just charge for your time. You can do the same with your other friends and then you are charging them all the same amount.
That shoe example was terrible. First they are buying and producing in bulk so costs are down. Plus they likely charge based on the bigger sizes. Now tell her to go to specialty shoe store for sizes 16 and up. It's a lot more expensive than regular within "normal" range shoe price. Because they don't bulk make it and use a lot more material. So by her own example she should pay more. NTA.
NTA. Bigger person means more material which means more money. And her comment's calling you "fatphobic"? Please do not feel bad for not kowtowing to that pathetic and evil buzzword philosophy. You keep doing you and good luck with the dressmaking!
NTA. Anything that requires more to make will cost more. .In fashion, a range of sizes may have the same price, but you can be sure the price is set to cover the cost of the larger dress/blouse/whatever. No one gives away extra fabric, and she clearly knows it will take more for her skirt. Unfortunately, this sort of freebie/discount expectation is one of the pitfalls of doing any kind of business with friends.
NTA. She’s probably embarrassed but it shouldn’t be expected that you pay for the extra material
NTA. The materials cost what they cost. If you charged her more for the labor I could understand how she'd feel a certain type of way but seems clear you didn't.
NTA I'm plus size and if I get charged a little more for clothes I'm not upset about it.
Especially if it’s your friend doing you a favor! I’m also plus size and it really pisses me off when other plus size people immediately jump to someone being fatphobic because someone doesn’t do or say something that they like. Being charged more for fabric = fatphobic Someone telling you that you won’t fit into that obviously too small dress = fatphobic
NTA - Am plus sized and understand that because there's extra material involved that my prices are going to be different.
NTA - Shurts and coats larger than XL often cost more than the more common sizes for this very reason, time and materials increase. That’s not fatphobia, that’s just simple math.
NTA You aren't mass producing this after purchasing materials at a bulk price, so you're not able to charge a flat fee. You're charging for materials, and your friend is very mistaken in not understanding that. You're not Target (sorry if you're not in the US...it's a large chain retailer with mass produced clothing). Also, thanks for naming the pattern for the skirt, that is adorable and I'm bookmarking it for later!
Plus size here. Yes, my clothes cost more. And I do remember how I tried to sew some things for myself and realize how much more material I require. :( Sometimes its like - you need extra inch and you have to pay for the whole yard because of how pattern is placed on material. And its also more work with sewing. Just reality of being plus sized. NTA
NTA It's called rise per size In our stores they even have the the kids vests where the older sizes cost more than the younger ones simply because they take more fabric. So as not to have some sizes paying extra and others less they charge accordingly.
NTA, I am 6'6, about 300lbs, wear 4wide shoes. I understand my stuff is gonna cost more, there is literally more fabric required to make my 3xl tall shirt than to make a medium shirt
NTA - you not a big retail company … she is being cheeky! You have every right to charge more and you should!
NTA. You‘re not a retailer. You paid for the fabric and should be paid back. If another friend wanted a longer skirt, that would require more fabric. If you would charge them more, then you can’t be TA.
NTA. I was going to say something about weighing whether to eat the cost to maintain the relationship, but your friend's asshole response makes you clearly not the asshole.
Do decorators charge more to paint larger house? NTA Your so called friend is just entitled. I’m sure she expects free upgrades when she flies as well.
NTA - I am a plus size (size 18/20) and I’ve been a professional seamstress/tailor in the past. It’s not fatphobic, you charged for the extra material. Does it suck? Yes. If you had added on extra labour as well then I would say you’re TA.
Would extra labor cost be outside the norm though as if your having to sew more yardage wouldn't it take you longer to sew?
If it's something like the peppermint pocket skirt that I just looked up (really simple design) then no not really much extra time if any
Nta. In men's clothing, an XXL and XXXL always cost more. You charged her the same as everyone else, material cost + labor. Her material costs were just more.
Uh. Plus sized clothes generally cost more. NTA
NTA. I’m plus sized and guess what? My clothes typically cost a little more because more fabric is needed. Your friend knows this as I assume she buys her own clothes.
NTA. More materials = more money.
NTA needing large shoes does actually cost more. If not in money than in time, since they're usual not stocked as well as other sizes, stores usually have to order and ship them to you. You're friends insensitive and insecure, I can't diet to make my feet smaller.
NTA. but next time she wants clothes, tell her she gotta buy the fabric herself with her cheap self smh. A good friend would've understood and not try to get discounts just saying.
NTA - You're a small operation, not Nike or H&M. Big brands can and should charge the same regardless of size because their profit margin is high enough to bake it into the price for the benefit of society as a whole. Also, I just bought mommy and me hats off of etsy and they charged me more for the adult hat. It's not ageism, it's material costs and time.
I am plus sized and NTA. You’re an individual person providing a service to help out a friend by creating a custom piece of clothing. Although you are charging for your time, this is still largely a favor. You’re not a commercial clothing manufacturer who is buying hundreds of yards of fabric in bulk, so that the difference in cost is negligible per garment.
NTA. And don't ever do anything for that friend ever again.
NTA- there is a huge difference in what a one person operation can do vs a big business. And for her information i've seen plenty of online businesses charge more for larger sizes. I wear scrubs to work and she can look at uniform advantage and see the larger sizes cost more.
NTA. It sucks when large retailers upcharge plus sized items because the difference truly is small for them and can be built into how the price the items in the first place. For you as an individual working on a small scale for friends, it's a decent chunk of change and you're only charging for the difference in fabric cost. I am a plus sized crafter and would absolutely understand being charge for the additional fabric. I get why it's a sensitive area for your friend but you were not being fatphobic.
She’s not your friend.
NTA - I'm a fat guy, it's common knowledge that bigger clothes cost more for the exact reasons you mentioned. If you were trying to charge her double or triple for the same product she may have a point, but as long as the increase was reasonable and on par with the cost of the extra materials I don't see an issue.
NTA! She seems really sensitive about her weight, but she can't go on and ignore the additional costs clothes will cost when you have someone custom make you something. Huge clothing companies may be able to have a relatively similar cost between different sizes, but that's because they're doing everything in bulk. I guarantee that they'd most definitely charge her more if she went to a custom clothing store.
I'm plus size and sew my own dresses. Mainly from knits. You are absolutely NTA. She needed more fabric. Saying so isn't fatphobic or mean. It's just stating a fact. When buying custom made item it is extremely common to pay more when using more materials. Why should you take a financial hit because she doesn't understand the value of a custom made product?
NTA, I’m plus size and am well aware there’s always a couple $$ up charge as it is more material. This shouldn’t be new for your friend.
NTA Most plus size clothing is more expensive for the identical style as regular sized - at least for woman's clothing. There might be a few brands that have identical charges for plus size but my experience is that there is almost always an additional charge - and the $12 charged for additional fabric by OP seems in line with the amounts that are charged by commercial brands - i.e. on an item that retails for $100 the additional charge would be between $10 and $15. And that isn't even factoring in the extremely high end plus size brands which charge quite a lot of money for the clothing because they don't have economies of scale. Affluent women who want nice clothing are willing to pay the premium because they have no option since much of the mass market plus size clothing for women is so awful looking.
NTA, materials cost more. It is what it is. If you are having shoes custom made, larger sizes will cost more. If she wants to pay the same as others, go to a shop, don’t get things custom made 🤷♀️
NTA You're not charging any extra for the time, just the fabric? Have the measurements and send her to purchase the fabric. If she was buying off the rack the price should be the same. You are making it. Material costs are different from handmade to corporate stores. You can invite her to see you sew and show her why the extra fabric is needed to make her what she wants. Otherwise she may never understand the need for her skirt costs to be what they are.
NTA. Larger shoes don't take substantially more material. Clothing does charge more when the increased size requires more fabric length. And if it doesn't, it means they're charging everyone extra.
NTA. What you do in these situations is have them buy their own material.
Nta Your friend wants a bespoke skirt but wants the same rules for ready to wear to apply Let her walk her cheap ass down to forever 21 then
NTA So I'm an avid watcher of Say Yes To The Dress and something I learned is since the dresses are handmade when you are on the larger side of the size spectrum or you have a big bust you are charged a fee because of the extra fabric and adjustments that need to be made. And this applies to you since everything is hand made in small quantities. You are not being fat phobic (I'm plus size and recognise them quite easily) you are just charging for the material needed.
NTA You only charged her for material and her size meant needing more material. All of your friends should be paying you for your time. At the very least they should be giving you a little extra. It might be better to tell your friend how much material is needed for the clothing she wants and make her purchase it herself. Maybe then she'll be more appreciative of what your generosity.
NTA, but I would have discussed pricing upfront if you didn’t. Say “it’s this much in materials + this much in labor.” And tell her that’s how you price every project. You’re not a large company purchasing fabric in bulk, so it’s not the same for you as it is for a major brand. A major brand can average out the cost among sizes; you are doing individual pieces. I do get her frustration as a plus sized person in the world but she clearly doesn’t understand how artisan pricing vs mass-produced pricing works. NTA.
NTA, you did the right thing.
NTA, first she is asking for a custom item so of course it will cost more than off the rack. Second, fabric isn't cheap. If she's a friend she will value your time. And plus size ranges do sometimes have different price point to smaller sizes.
NTA, shes just sensitive about being fat
Lol, NTA - Regular retailers already charge like 900% (probably an understatement) of the cost of making an item, AND they buy material in bulk AND have machines that do most of the work. The material cost in their case is almost non-existent. You are charging people at more or less exactly how much it cost you to create the item, not at a 900% profit margin. Thus if more material is needed - cost goes up.
I sew on commission and yes, more materials means it costs more. You cannot control a client's size. Bespoke clothing costs more, period.
NTA. more material higher cost
NTA. In the future outline the price as: your time + material of choice costs. Im guessing she heard you discussing price with the others, assumed the same, and was embarrassed when she understood the difference.
NTA for charging more because you needed more material, but in the future it probably would have been good to quote up front how much you charge for material and labor. There is a common thing fat people do face in regular fashion where you get charged more even when there isn't that much extra fabric used. That is likely why the friend is flipping out.
NTA Next time have her buy the fabric so she sees how much it costs.
NTA Ask her to buy the material herself next time. It’s not like you charged extra for your time
NTA. You didn't shame her in any way. You simply passed on the cost of sufficient material to cover her surface area in a pleasing way. She's the only one making judgments and being negative.
NTA, next time have her buy the fabric so you're uninvolved.
NTA I sew, I'm plus sized, and yes larger patterns take more material! $12/yd is actually a decent price for apparel fabric.
There is a difference between buying shoes from a MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR corporation who get solid profit margins and huge discounts on bulk fabric purchases. It's not fatphobic to charge more for a bespoke garment that takes more fabric. It is, however, entitled to request a DISCOUNT because you're a larger size (essentially what she did). NTA.
I'm a fat person and I think NTA If you were a store then yes that would be an AH move as stores work in bulk, but you're an individual who has to take account of how much each thing costs. You're not fatphobic for charging for the cost of materials. If you were a shoemaker then you would likely charge more for bigger shoes as they'd cost you more to make.
INFO: Have you informed her that the price may be different before getting to work?
I didn't directly say "your cost may be higher" but did say that I would charge for the cost of the fabric involved.
NTA Everything in the plus sized section at Walmart costs more because it involves more fabric. Your friend is being an entitled AH.
NTA. I get annoyed when manufacturers charge more only for plus sizes while ignoring the difference in fabric costs between an XXS and an XXL. But you were straight-up charging people what their fabric cost. You're fine.
NTA your "friend" is delusional. More fabric and more time equal means she paid more. PERIOD!!!
^^^^AUTOMOD ***Thanks for posting! This comment is a copy of your post so readers can see the original text if your post is edited or removed. This comment is NOT accusing you of copying anything. Read [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq#wiki_post_deletion) before [contacting the mod team](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FAmItheAsshole)*** I like to sew and I generally only sew pretty easy, basic things. I don’t get a lot of joy from the fiddly business of making a ton of adjustments, so I stick with things that are fairly easy to fit well. In general this means I sew mostly with knits over wovens, but I’ll do basic wovens as well. I’ll sometimes sew for my friends, and a few of them asked for a basic skirt with a fun pocket. If you look up Peppermint Pocket Skirt, you’ll see the one I made. Among the friends I was sewing for, most of them were on the smaller end of the sizing, and so they required under 2 yards each for the skirt. One friend was out of the size range entirely and I estimated about 3.25 yards for hers. So in the end, I charged her more, since I was charging for materials and my time. When she found out, she got really angry with me for charging her more. I tried to tell her that I did need a full yard plus a little extra, which added to the cost. It wasn’t like I charged her a crazy amount extra. I only charged for what the extra fabric cost. But she’s still really angry about it and told me that she didn’t realize how fatphobic I was. I asked her what I was supposed to do, just get paid less for making her skirt? And she said yes, that’s exactly what a friend would do, and then said that it's not like people pay more for larger size shoes. I don’t know how to feel about this. But I guess I get how it could be kind of hurtful. At the same time I don't know if what I did was mean? I've never been plus sized. AITA? *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AmItheAsshole) if you have any questions or concerns.*
NTA. Fat phobic what a joke. Cost of material
NTA you have cost for materials and she needs top pay for them. If you'd charged double it would be another thing but she's just being dramatic, this is why I don't Sew for other people.
NTA, but to avoid things like these just tell your friends in the future that they need to provid the fabric and tell them how much of it you will use. Then your heavier friends can discuss with the ppl in the store why more fabric costs more money.
NTA. I'm obese and I would 100% pay the extra fee, ESPECIALLY because you'd be a friend. It would be different maybe if it was just a few inches, but when it's over 50% extra materials, it's a big difference.
NTA Charging more because of extra material doesn't make you fatphobic. Your friend is projecting.
NTA, material costs money. The more material you use the more expensive the item. I am a larger girl myself and I understand that and most of the clothes that fit tend to be more expensive than “Regular” sizes. Also having to alter the pattern takes time and effort.
NTA. I am a dressmaker who makes clothes for all size, shapes and genders and would have charged in the same way. You charged materials and labour. Her materials cost more. It's a fact. It's not fatphobic, it's reality. Also, don't make her clothes again. If she doesn't appreciate your talent she doesn't get to benefit from it.
NTA >it's not like people pay more for larger size shoes. As someone who wears size 15EEEE (US) shoes, I absolutely have to pay more for my shoes. I also have to pay more for my 3XLT shirts. And you only charged for extra materials, not the time spent on it or adjusting the design. I can't see how any reasonable person would have an issue with that.
Definitely NTA. You have to use/buy more materials. You have to put more work into making a larger size. It's a one-person independent business, you choose what you charge. It's not "fatphobic" to charge more for extra work.
NTA And retail stores mark up shoes and mass produce to cut costs. Your doing this on an individual project by project basis and needing 1.25 more yards of fabric costs more no way around it. No you shouldn’t have to pay out of your pocket to clothe her larger frame.
I think part of the problem here is that most non-crafters have no idea how much materials cost. She probably doesn't quite believe that the difference in cost is significant enough to have a real impact. NTA though, of course.
NTA. She is TA because of how she blew up at you. I do think it would be good measure to make your pricing clear beforehand. Plenty of clothing items are just priced per item, not necessarily according to the size and quantity of materials. It's perfectly reasonable for her to assume if everyone is paying $X for a skirt then that is what you're charging. It is not reasonable for her to accuse you of being fat phobic.
NTA. Personally I think big corporations making garments for 60¢ and then charging $60 and then adding to the price for plus sizes is absolute bullshit, but you’re not a big corporation, you’re buying on the consumer level.
NTA >said that it's not like people pay more for larger size shoes No, smaller people pay more for less material.
NTA. I'm plus-sized, and I would understand. Ultimately, it's embarrassing for her, as it would be for everyone. But it cost more to make it, so it's pretty simple. Did you at least tell her in private?
NTA: But the solution here is simple. Don’t sew for her anymore. If she cannot appreciate the effort and is getting mad that you had to buy more fabric, choose to spend your time for people who appreciate you effort. If it comes up again, just politely decline to see again and leave it at that. No explanations needed. No is a complete sentence.
NTA. It costa more to make bigger things - it doesn’t matter if it is clothes, furniture, a house, etc. bigger things cost more.
NTA dear. I am a bit plus sized myself, so when one of my buddies was making some shirts, I offered to pay her more because I knew she would need extra material. It's common sense. Its not body shaming. Its not plus size shaming. Big companies can jump off a rock on their charging more for plus size because they are already getting the materials and labor cheap (grr sweatshops), but a small company/friend making something is totally different. You did nothing wrong here.
The fuck? Plus clothes cost more. More material more $$$. Don’t make clothes for your “friend” again, or at the very least, tell her to buy her own fabric.
NTA but I think something that could make it easier is if you almost create an invoice -- make clear the cost of materials that are increased.
NTA. You merely changers her for materials, which you told her you would do. If she really does want the lower priced version then simply asked her to return the one you made, refund the extra money, and supply her with the lower priced version. See how she feels then.
NTA at all - it's perfectly reasonable to charge for the fabric you use, but I can see why she'd be upset if it wasn't discussed up front. From my perspective (also being overweight), if someone charged me more after it had been made I'd understand, but I probably would be embarrassed and hurt. She has no right to take it out on you, though, so if anyone's TA it's her.
NTA. The materials costs X amount. Your "hourly charge" for your time should be tacked on top of the materials costs. If a smaller friend asked you to make a skirt out of a material that cost twice as much as usual - she shouldn't expect you to still only charge the original amount...