Miracle Worker or Magician?! Thanks, Allison!

Okay, you know that I've been going to classes @ Bits of Thread in DC.  Although I've been sewing for years (40?!), I still have a lot to learn & have only just recently been proud of my zipper installations, rather than thinking, "Hope no one notices that." (Again, thanks Allison!).  


So a while back I booked a private one-hour lesson to have Allison help me with Simplicity 7501 (which all started when I mixed it up with Scruffy's 7051).  You can read all that blather, which started here.   I had a few problems with that hasty ebay purchase!  First, it wasn't the right size, so I had to make it bigger and move darts around like crazy.  Second, I wanted that collar, so had to change the neckline & design & draw a collar.  It all finally worked out, sort of.  This photo doesn't show the gapping at the front & back waist, which I partly covered up w/ the belt.  

Corduroy for 2 more 7501 dresses;
leaning a bit to the purple side!

But it didn't (work out, that is).  I really wanted to make a bunch of corduroy dresses because they are so perfect for winter & look great with boots, and are so different from what you see in stores.  But it really did not fit too well and there was no way I was making up my other corduroy fabric until I had a pattern that was worth making at least twice more.

Taking off the blue at the top
made such a big difference!

So I went to see Allison, and within about 5 minutes of my arrival, she had figured out that the best fix would be to whack off about an inch from the shoulder (more at the neckline, less at the armscye).  The pattern (which I re-drew from the dress after I'd made the change) is laying on a 1" grid so you can see that the lopping off was rather dramatic.  


I had done SOOO much fiddling with darts and the waistline, but never even thought that the shoulder seam needed adjusting.  Having had other similar fitting issues with patterns & clothing I've bought, I will definitely keep an eye on this area in future.  


This dress is a UFO, which may not be finished until we're back from Spain.  I still need to re-draft the neckline facing & a collar as the first one I did won't fit anymore because of the neckline change.  Stay tuned...