totchipanda

Yesterday J and I went out to do advance voting and then got something to eat. M was out for a bit and I could not have been bothered to cook anything anyway, so it worked out. Then he was watching a Harry Potter movie so I took the opportunity to head downstairs and start stitching buttons and facings and other things on the dress. Then M came home and we went out for ice cream. All in all, A+ evening.

Today I am wearing my BRAND NEW DRESS THAT I MADE MYSELF AND ALSO IT HAS POCKETS. I guess the weather isn't supposed to be super great today but whatever. It's done and I wanted to wear it!

Dress thoughts: I used the pattern I had worked out in 2021 (according to my notes) which I think is a EU 44, graded to 50 at the waist. D&D works with a C-cup block (difference between high bust and full bust; I'm actually more of a D-cup with a 4" difference. Most companies use a B/2") At that time I traced off a copy and did an FBA which I probably should have done again, but didn't. Instead, I removed 1/2" of height in the upper chest area on front, back and sleeves. I just picked a spot and sliced across. For the front, I also moved the piece over so that the cut lines lined up again, rather than taping in paper behind and blending lines. It seems to have worked, but I think I'll remove a bit more next time (and by next time I mean on the next pattern). The shirt I made with the same pattern is FAR too high over the chest. I knew this, but one thing I never twigged to was removing height at the back, too! this is more than a bust adjustment or allowing for the various sizes of my body. I've noticed a LOT of patterns are happier and fitting better if I let them sit where they like - bust apex to belly seems to be pretty "normal", but shoulder to bust apex is petite. Why does no one teach this stuff!

I put on another bra that I haven't worn in several months. It's a sister size to the one I was talking about the other day, and I stopped wearing it because it was pinchy under the arm whenever I reached for something. It pinched a little this morning (when I put on my jacket, i think?) but it's been fine ever since. My other one is a US 38DDD and this is a US 36G and even though the cup is bigger, the center doesn't fully sit against my chest between the boobs. It also revealed that I need to remove a bit more height in the chest because... everyone and their dog can see that my bra is neon pink. It's not exactly a deeply cut dress. I've pinned it closed for now.

So next shirt/blouse/dress bodice, remove 3/4-1" height; 1/2" on the back seemed to work well. Add some of it back beneath the bust on the front only. Maybe an FBA depending on the pattern (it's so weird to think of my chest as a size and shape that requires an FBA but here we are)

Now that the dress is done, I have one minor fitting issue to figure out on the pants, and it's time for more stuff.