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I know that was too curved... I was trying to understand how tiffers said to do it..

That's why I said that you'll need to play with the angle of the curve later in the post...

I PM'd you again... did you get it?

[Heather]

Costumer, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say your drawing/idea was wrong. Actually, it is perfect if you want a wide collar that starts right at the neckline, without a stand. Great idea, but slightly wrong application.

The bodice is sewn together sans sleeves, and I spent today adjusting the darts (letting them out) so the waist will fit. I need to take in the shoulder a tad, as in the other bodice.

Unfortunately, the overlap area parallel to the tip of the dart is very small. I seriously won't be able to do buttons and buttonholes there unless I can somehow find a seam to let out (and I think letting out the side seam would mess everything else up). The top, bottom, and waist areas overlap ok. Perhaps if I rip off the serging line and use a TINY (1/8 inch to 1/4 inch) seam allowance for the center facings I can squeak by.

So I'm unsure what to do. I could do hooks and eyes, but it would take forever and a day to sew them all on properly, and I don't have hook and eye tape. Plus because of the uneven edge sewing on the tape would probably not work too well anyway.

Then, too, all the buttons I have are covered shank buttons. I would need shankless buttons that I could sew flush over the hook and eye stitching, and I don't want ones with visible holes or shiny black plastic.

Sigh....and I need to have this, the apron, and cap done by next Wednesday, so I'll actually be able to get some sleep Thursday night before we leave the next morning. Oy.

I did realize that I can use the buttons on the sleeve closure to hold on the cuffs, with the buttonholes in the cuffs. I'll sew an additional one on the opposite side of my wrists to hold them down evenly.

Edit: Another issue. The length of the bodice....let's just say I was a little aggressive when I was trimming the pattern pieces, especially the back. The front and sides are fine, but the back is literally just over the bottom edge of the waistband. Can I finish the bottom edge like a corset binding, rather than facing, to keep that length? Then I can sew some hooks on the bodice and eyes on the waistband to hook the two together and make sure the bodice doesn't ride up and the skirt doesn't slip down.

[Heather]

Yes, you can bind the edges at the waist, no problem. It can look quite nice.

I think the best way to fix the bust issue is to let out the side seams a tad. That won't effect the top, and the bottom would be fixed by pulling in the darts again. But you need to have enough room over the bust. Sounds like you are growing as you sew!! (It's normal, we all grow wider skeletal structure through our 20's) You will most likely need to make a bigger size for your next dress.

Thanks, Heather, for the quick reply!

Good, I just hope I have enough fabric left for bias binding (I do, but I'm worrying, what else can I do? ) I didn't want to have to use it, because the dress as illustrated would be done with a faced hem. It won't be a huge deal, though, just to me.

I have the placket on the sleeves figured out; in fact I have the right sleeve sewn together with the lining and placket in. The way I did it left about two inches unsewn above the placket in both the outer sleeve and lining because I couldn't reach that far with the machine, but I can handsew them shut without much trouble. Once I do that then I can get in there with the machine and sew the buttonholes, sew the buttons on and then all that will be left is to sew the sleeves to the bodice.

I don't think I'm still growing (I've been the same height since about 6th grade--5th was awkward because I was about 4 inches taller than everyone else). It's possible, but I think the real problem is that I can never get an accurate bust measure--my temperamental older sister doesn't have much sewing experience and I can't get a correct one on myself. So I think it's just that I'm not measuring along the correct part of the shoulder blades, because I had the same problem with the French Vest Bodice (but I could let out the front vest seams to fix it).

Hopefully that will solve my problem, and I can continue with the covered buttons.

And my computer is refusing to let me open my photos, so I can't upload any until I have the time to use a different computer and see if it will work.

My guinea pig died today; she'd been sick for a few days and that took away a lot of my sewing time. She was nine years old, though, and they usually only live to be six at most, so she had a good long life.

I sewed the mandarin collar in and faced the raw edge with bias binding, and I sewed the front facings on but left their edges loose. I'm going to sew in the buttonholes and then let out the button-side facing if I need to (it seemed like it would work okay when I tried it on to check the fit).

I plan to get the sleeves sewn in as well, and work on the cuffs/collar tonight. Then I can finish fitting the bodice tomorrow, and work on the apron/mob cap.

Sorry about your guinea pig. MY excuse for not sewing lately is that the heat went out so I've been locked in the bedroom with a space heater for a week (the rest of the house got down to 35 degrees!)

When do you need this outfit done by?

Love,
Lidia

Our sincere condolences on the loss of your dear guinea pig. She must have had a wonderful life.