Vogue 8972 - Dress Front Pattern Alterations

You should know this before I write it...I used my TNT dress pattern as the basis to make the pattern alterations to the dress. Now one good thing about this pattern having so many pieces is that there are plenty of opportunities to fit the garment to me. However, that also means that there are a lot of pieces that need to be altered.

And as an aside, I understand why if you're plus sized, you sew a lot of knit garments, or garments that don't need as much pattern work. Because honestly, even though this Vogue pattern goes up to a size 22, it is not a plus size pattern.

Since the pattern has a custom fit bodice, I'm using the pattern pieces for the D cup size.

Let's start with a picture or two of the size 22 pattern pieces pinned to my TNT dress front pattern:

Full length TNT pattern with Vogue pattern pieces pieced to it

Waist and skirt bottom pattern pieces pinned to the TNT pattern

Top and waist pattern pieces pinned together
There's quite a bit of changes that need to be made. I started with the easiest piece first the yoke. This piece I sliced in half and added 3" to make it fit my dress front.

For the top bodice pieces, I made two changes. I lengthened the side bodice piece by one inch.

The center front bodice piece was widened by one inch at the bottom notch and two inches at the bottom seam.

I'm making one big change with these pattern alterations for the skirt portion of the dress...instead of using a 5/8" seam allowance, I'm using an inch seam allowance. I've just found in my last couple of garments that I've needed to sew the seams really tight as in 1/2" to 3/8" seam allowances...so this will just give me a little more room to adjust the fit for me.

Then I added 2" to the center skirt front piece...

...1" was added to the side piece. All of these additions were done at the inside seam allowances so that I wouldn't affect the basic shape of the dress.

Then I started the process all over again on the back pieces...but since there are just as many changes to the back...I'm going to give it a separate post because this many pattern alterations has got to make your eyes glaze over. Hey they would make mine go blurry! However, there are some sewists that appreciate seeing the changes made to patterns and how to make them work for a body that isn't the standard. If that's not you, I totally understand! Come back when the title post says "Vogue 8972 - Final" then you know that you'll get to see all the pretty pictures "hopefully" of the finished dress.

...as always more later!