I Won't Let it Beat Me!

McCall 5468, I can't let it defeat me!!

So I tried to make this dress, and let's just say it didn't work out. It may have had something to do with the pattern drafting...it may have had something to do with my "frankendressing" it. I suspect that because I only retraced pattern pieces that already existed in the envelope that the problems had to do with the draft to begin with because:

a. It was drafted for someone much shorter-waisted than I am, because if you look at the drawing and the pattern envelope artwork, the dress clearly hits at the waist. Now, part of this has to do with how large chested I am, but even on the back this dress does NOT hit at my natural waist.

b. The dress, like most "Big 4" patterns, is drafted for A and B cups. It doesn't even have darts, just gathers around the waist. This is part of the reason that the front of the dress is short, because it is pulling to fit over my chest.

I believe that the solution to these problems is two-fold. One, to add a a full-bust adjustment; the second is to lengthen the bodice by two inches, which is pretty standard for me when using Big 4 patterns. I hope that the combination of the two will place the waistband at the natural waist and add the blousing effect that is shown on the pattern image.


To the left you can see the original dress with "waistline" marked.

In the side view you can see how the waistline curves down towards the back.

To add the FBA, I utilized the instructions provided by Debbie Cook on her web page for empire waists, since that was what this one basically started it's life as!

I started with my original pattern piece that I drew by morphing the scoop neck front, with the armscyes from view B:


I then drew in the slash marks indicated by Debbie:


I then cut along those marks and spread the pattern as needed, and used it to redraw a new piece:


Here is the new piece with the completed FBA, with the dart aiming in the appropriate direction, toward the bust point:


But remember, the FBA is only half the fix. I also needed to lengthen the bodice on the front and the back:


You may ask, Michelle, why have you finally succumbed and given in to the FBA, when for so long you have skated along without it? Well, I have finally admitted, even though I did not want to, that I do have...a full bust. I went to Nordstrom's, I was drug into a fitting room by a well-meaning saleswoman who, with the help of a tape measure and many, many, many bras was able to convince me that I was not the 38C (or possibly a D) that I had for so long assumed I was but I am in fact a...are you ready for this? A 34DDD. Now, if I am a C-cup, I can possibly convince myself that I can get by without an FBA but there is no amount of self-delusion that can make a DDD anything but a full bust. I am sure that the only thing that has gotten me by so far is the fact that I am cutting such a large size, since my bust measurement is so much larger than my high bust and my rib cage.

Here the top is already looking better. I'm seriously considering turning the inside and outside waist bands into a foldover band and making a shirt or two like this:


And here is the completed project. I did make a couple additional changes besides the FBA and the lengthening of the bodice. The pattern calls for cutting only two waist ties and then hemming. I cut four instead and then doubled and turned them. I also kept my original raised neckline, and the morphed-on sleeves and armscyes from view B, even though I was using the front from view D.


Look, Ma! No pregnancy bump!! And considering that this is my first FBA, I'm actually pleased that the darts are facing in the right direction:


In the end, I am much, much happier with this version than with the original. I got my "70's dress" even though it was more work than I had anticipated.