FBA AKA Full Bust Adjustment

I am what our beloved Gertie calls "bodacious of bust", and since my Nanna lost her marbles well before I developed this particular attribute I've never really learnt how to do a bust adjustment. I used to just throw together a larger size, pin it in a bit in places and be slightly annoyed that the shoulder seams stuck out so far past my shoulders or so much armpit flesh and side boob gaped. Then I'd go travelling and not give a rats' aluminium nut about it.

Which is what I did with Project 1: The Practice Dress, Take 1. Chop-chop, stitch-stitch. So when I'd pinned  in and placed it on Celia, I went "There's got to be a better way." All these blogs I've been following have convinced me that I really must learn to do these things properly.

  

Enter Gertie's guide to bust adjustment, which lead me to a bunch of how-to's on standard bust adjustments. The tiny little wrinkle being that I completely stuffed up my pattern selection and picked one with princess seams <sigh>. So google "full bust adjustment princess seams" I did. By Hand London's guide for the Elisalex seemed the easiest to pull off. As luck would have it, I'm waiting for an Elisalex pattern to drop into my mailbox. Please by Friday! Please by Friday! Please by Friday!

After several false starts (one looked a bit like Pacman) I found myself with a workable pattern that I whizzed together, taking care to do a little easing-in stitch on the extra bustiness, and slung on. It fit beautifully on me, except for when I attached it to the skirt for Project 1: The Practice Dress, Take 2. Triumph turned to self flagellation as I discovered that I had a inches of extra fabric at the waist. <FACEPALM!> Madame Brilliance had skipped Step 8. Ee-gads!

  

So after a little line drawing, I yield at this particular midnight.  I had hoped to blog the entire finished Practice Dress today. But I shall push on tomorrow instead. For it is a brand new day! And I am on holiday, after all ;-)

Sweet dreams all xo