Problem solved for once!

No pictures today. Not much to show, but plenty to write!

As I mentioned the other day, I had some trouble with the bodice of my newest dress being too baggy. I posted on the Sew_Hip community on LiveJournal and got a bunch of great advice on how to proceed. I ended up going with a variation of this. (I told Aaron I had to make a small bust adjustment, and he said, "Like a small adjustment in the bust or..." "Nope, small bust." Haha.)

The bodice on my dress is shaped differently than the one in the above example, but I used basically the same technique to change the size. I put on a tight tank top and pinned the actual pattern pieces on my shirt as drafted, taking seam allowances into account. Then I just kind of pinched the tissue paper together close to my skin, to demonstrate how the fabric SHOULD lie. I repinned along this new line while I still had the pieces attached to my top. Then I unpinned it from my top and drew a line along the new pin line. I took seam allowances into account and folded the pieces over at the new cut line. Then I traced the pattern on fresh paper (I didn't want to cut the pattern itself in case it still didn't fit and need more adjustment) and cut out my new pieces. I then made a muslin in a junky fabric to try out the fit. It fit perfectly. First try, like a glove. So awesome.

So then I cut the real fabric down to match the new pattern piece and resewed the top. I also took in the seams a little bit on the back pieces to allow for extra tightening. It is now absolutely perfect! I need to redo the lining, including the casings for the boning and attaching the lining, and also attach the skirt and zipper, but I could get a good part of that done tonight. Tomorrow I should be at the very least to the same point I was before having to back track, but I may even finish it tomorrow. So this is great news. Small bust adjustments from here on out!

Aaaaand, it looks like the wedding is on (!!) for some time in May, although we haven't set the exact date yet because we have a couple people's schedules to verify first. But hopefully my chiffon arrives this week or early next week, and I can bang out a wedding dress in less than a month. I foresee no real problems here. I think we may actually get married!