Yeah, in classes I always really tried to emphasize looking closely at the amount of design ease in the pattern and checking the finished garment measurements before selecting sizes, rather than just trusting the little chart on the back -- but eesh, Simplicity and McCalls in particular always seemed to run particularly oversized, compared to stuff like the advanced Vogue patterns I favor, but it's the sloppy construction techniques they were calling for some of the time that really had me rolling my eyes. But I grew up studying my mom's sewing books from the 1940s and 1950s, so it's not too surprising I'd be inclined to a more classicist funky approach. (Now, if you want scary, I have a bunch of vintage patterns from the 30s and 40s -- not reproductions, actual vintage tissue; instead of the painfully-detailed instructions on so many modern patterns, these are just insanely terse, because they assume you already know all the terms and basic techniques so they don't have to go into much detail at all!)
Folkwear are pretty good on detailed instructions, since so much of their line consists of historical or ethnic styles that are likely to be unfamiliar to the basic home stitcher who doesn't have a primary focus on costuming. They sometimes tweak things to be a little friendlier to modern street wear and construction techniques, but often give alternate instructions for doing things more traditionally; I haven't yet tried Alter Years, but while the complexity of the patterns varies, the thoroughness of the instructions is way, way beyond the totally un-beginner-friendly approach of stuff like the historical costumes from Richard the Thread (http://www.richardthethread.com/index.php?submenu=Patterns&src=gendocs&link=patterns), which I have used -- those do very much assume that you mostly know what you're doing and don't need much hand-holding at all.
Red, you should probably talk with your mom or grandma, whoever's going to be your primary go-to helper here, and see if they have a particular favorite pattern line to work with, too -- PZB would steer you towards Simplicity and I'd go for Vogue or Folkwear, but if they really prefer, say, McCalls, it can't hurt to stick with what they know and like.
Aside from the speciality historicals that you're not gonna find on the shelves at Jo-Ann or Hancock anyway, the one major brand I would steer a relative beginner away from is Burda; unlike the American pattern lines, they don't include seam allowances on their pattern pieces, so you have to mark and add those on yourself -- extra work, and a bit confusing if you're not used to it. And the instructions are all translated from the German -- they're generally not terribly awkward at least, but that may add just another layer of unfamiliarity to the whole process.
I'd also recommend getting a good, basic, heavily illustrated guide like Vogue Sewing (http://www.amazon.com/Vogue-Sewing-Revised-Knitting-Magazine/dp/1933027002) or Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Sewing (http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Guide-Sewing-Readers-Digest/dp/0762104201) -- no matter how friendly and hand-holdy the pattern instructions are, they still might not always be as clear and detailed as a book with actual color photographs along with the diagrams; and if the pattern confuses you, the books may explain the parts you're stuck on better. You can pick up older used copies of either of those fairly cheaply if you hunt online or check used bookshops -- if you can overlook the dated styles and colors shown on some of the finished projects, the basic information on construction techniques and terminology will all be the same; the only thing that might be lacking from really old copies is a section on working with overlock machines, and if you don't have one available to you anyway you hardly need to brush up on that! :)
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Folkwear are pretty good on detailed instructions, since so much of their line consists of historical or ethnic styles that are likely to be unfamiliar to the basic home stitcher who doesn't have a primary focus on costuming. They sometimes tweak things to be a little friendlier to modern street wear and construction techniques, but often give alternate instructions for doing things more traditionally; I haven't yet tried Alter Years, but while the complexity of the patterns varies, the thoroughness of the instructions is way, way beyond the totally un-beginner-friendly approach of stuff like the historical costumes from Richard the Thread (http://www.richardthethread.com/index.php?submenu=Patterns&src=gendocs&link=patterns), which I have used -- those do very much assume that you mostly know what you're doing and don't need much hand-holding at all.
Red, you should probably talk with your mom or grandma, whoever's going to be your primary go-to helper here, and see if they have a particular favorite pattern line to work with, too -- PZB would steer you towards Simplicity and I'd go for Vogue or Folkwear, but if they really prefer, say, McCalls, it can't hurt to stick with what they know and like.
Aside from the speciality historicals that you're not gonna find on the shelves at Jo-Ann or Hancock anyway, the one major brand I would steer a relative beginner away from is Burda; unlike the American pattern lines, they don't include seam allowances on their pattern pieces, so you have to mark and add those on yourself -- extra work, and a bit confusing if you're not used to it. And the instructions are all translated from the German -- they're generally not terribly awkward at least, but that may add just another layer of unfamiliarity to the whole process.
I'd also recommend getting a good, basic, heavily illustrated guide like Vogue Sewing (http://www.amazon.com/Vogue-Sewing-Revised-Knitting-Magazine/dp/1933027002) or Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Sewing (http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Guide-Sewing-Readers-Digest/dp/0762104201) -- no matter how friendly and hand-holdy the pattern instructions are, they still might not always be as clear and detailed as a book with actual color photographs along with the diagrams; and if the pattern confuses you, the books may explain the parts you're stuck on better. You can pick up older used copies of either of those fairly cheaply if you hunt online or check used bookshops -- if you can overlook the dated styles and colors shown on some of the finished projects, the basic information on construction techniques and terminology will all be the same; the only thing that might be lacking from really old copies is a section on working with overlock machines, and if you don't have one available to you anyway you hardly need to brush up on that! :)