I have a feeling this dress is gonna get a lot of wear out of it...

Like several others I had some fitting issues with those pesky bodice darts.   I thought I had it all figured out but there was still a little puckering in the boobage area to fix.  A big thank you to Rochelle and Lauren for the very helpful post.  I discovered my dart points didn't exactly match up.  After making those adjustments the dress came together fairly easy.  So lemme break it down for you...

Plaid suiting I picked up from JoAnn's.  The pocket lining is gabardine and matches the green in the plaid perfectly.  Sorry I forgot to take pictures of the pockets and it's kind of hard to see the green stripe in the plaid.

The bodic darts were both moved over closer to the sides by 2 inches and shortened by 1 inch.  The bust darts were also shortened by 1 inch.  I used pleats instead of the gathers on the skirt.  The front and back shoulders were extended by 2 inches and the neckline was made more round in preperation for.....

A peter pan collar drafted using Gertie's fabulous book.  If you don't own this book yet I highly recommend getting it.  Gertie is just the bomb!

I intended on taking pictures outside but it's real windy out as you can see (who am I shitting, it's always windy out here in the country)..and absolutely freezing.

I had to make due with the laundry/sewing room.  It's the best room in the house for pictures as far as lighting goes.

 I'm super duper serial guysss!!

Matching the plaids was a real chore.  I have to say I did a fairly good job considering I totally forgot I was working with plaid when I cut my pattern out. Doh!  The hardest part was trying to match up the plaid while installing the invisible zipper.

I will now be working on the Sewaholic's Thurlow trousers.  Lladybird is having a sew along and I'm a little behind.  I guess shitty days like these are good for something, catching up on sewing projects.

I didn't plan on making a wearable muslin, if a wearable muslin is considered one that you would actually wear out and not be embarrassed to be seen in.  I absolutely hated this fabric and sloppily put my muslin together if for nothing but for the purpose figuring out the fit.  I have to say this fabic has kind of grown on me.  It was in a pile of fabric my hubby's grandma gave to me.  When I started sewing she told me not to buy any fabric because she had plenty for me to get started with.  I was grateful for what she gave me but boy was she asking alot. Not buy any fabric!?! Ha little did she know I had already had a growing stash.  This was one particular piece I didn't plan on wearing so I thought it would work for a muslin.  I mean look at it,  take all of it's red/green tarten plaid goodness in.  And don't overlook the tiny belts mixed in.  Maybe I should buy me some bagpipes and rock it for Halloween.

I barely had enough for the pattern, meaning some of my seams still have the selvage.  I went ahead cut sleeves but I think I'm going to leave them off the final version so I can comfortably wear a cardigan with it. 

Bodice, attempt #1...

Yes nevermind my backward sleeve....let's focus on the akwardness going on in the boobage area.    Hmm, I guess I could rock my inner Madonna (while playing my bagpipes)!? I wondered if this was just my error or if anyone else has had this problem but after alot of research and help from others I determined I wasn't the only one and decided to do what others had, move and shorten the darts.  I moved each of the horizontal darts over two inches closer to the side and shortened each by one inch.  I also shortened the bust darts by one inch. 

  

Nevermind my just rolled out of bed look and unfinished neck, sleeve and hemlines.  Sloppy Sunday is what I call today.  I rarely get out of my pj's and just prefer to be a slob.  I thought you all might be interested in my progress and what it took to get there.  After seeing myself in the dress I thought this fabric's not so bad after all.  I may just finish it and actually wear it.  What do you think?   I got some ideas brewing in my head for the final version so stay tuned.

Hope you all had a great weekend and may all your Sundays be sloppy.