Japanese Stylish Dress Book - Patten C

I saw this pattern made up sometime ago and it had been on my "To Do" list for summer and I recently bought this Liberty lawn especially for this pattern. Time to get sewing.

Liberty - Becci Navy/Red Tana Lawn

Being a fairly simple pattern, I decided to practise my new found dressmaking techniques. So.....

1. I traced the pattern. I always find this part a little tedious.

2. I made some pattern adjustments. Firstly I assumed the pattern did not include seam allowances - I'm never really sure but as the sizes are generally on the small side, I included seam allowances anyway. I also did a full bust adjustment (FBA).

3. I made a muslin to check fit and sizing.

No calico at the time so I improvised

4. I hand basted everything - yep everything...here's the proof...

Voila!

So what did I learn:-

• The FBA was probably a good idea. This was my first attempt at the adjustment, and I'm not sure I have this entirely right yet. Something a bit strange happens with the armscye. It seems so get shorter. The final top gaped under the arm a little. 
• My bias technique is improving but still needs work. All the basting helped a lot. I read something recently about stretching the bias, I'll try this next time. 
• Liberty lawn is a delight to work with.
• I would definitely make this pattern again. 

Does anyone have any tips on the full bust adjustment? What method do you use? How do you keep the armscye under control? If you have a fuller bust do you do a FBA for every pattern?