Dress update

 Finally I'm getting somewhere with my dress! I've had quite a lot of reading to do for uni, but I decided to just squeeze in some sewing time or it would never happen.

I usually have a really hard time buying clothes (especially dresses) since according to the size charts my bust is two to three sizes larger than my waist, and let's not even talk about my hips. For this reason I was pleasantly surprised when I looked at Gertie's sizing chart and found that I was pretty darn close to being a perfect size 8!

However, most sewing patterns (and ready to wear clothes) are made with a B-cupped lady in mind, something I am not, so I toyed with the idea of doing a full bust adjustment (FBA in sewing circles). Gertie suggests that full busted ladies measure above the bust instead of around it, in order to find the size that will fit their shoulders best, and adjust from there.

I did this, ended up with a size 6 and then proceeded to try and get my head around the mechanics of a full bust adjustment. Eventually I came to the sad conclusion that I'm just not clever enough (to be honest, I decided that a pattern with a single waist dart was probably a better starting point for my first one, but it's a very long story that involves a lot of frustration and I'd rather not go into it right now).

I scrapped my horribly cut up and taped together pattern pieces and started over, cutting a size 8 all the way. Finally I can justify saving that old sheet with a big rip down the middle! I sewed my muslin together, tried it on (with some difficulty I must confess, I should have been clever and left a side seam open instead of the back seam but nevermind) and it fit really well! I would post a picture but a: my home is a mess and not very photogenic and b: I don't feel we know each other well enough for you to see me half naked just yet.

As I've said before, the fabric I'm using for the actual dress is an old children's duvet cover. Someone has already used half of one piece for another project at some time so I was a little bit worried about fitting my pattern pieces (I must have enough fabric for the skirt!) but luckily both bodice pieces fit on the smaller of the fabric pieces. In the picture I haven't ironed the fabric yet, but that's finished now and I'm just about to cut out the pieces!