McCalls 6697 increase bust size

[the_professors_assistantKeymaster]

Where and how can I increase this lovely dress pattern to accommodate my size 49 inch bust?

[the_professors_assistantKeymaster]

This one is a little tricky because the front and back are made up of pieces so there are no pattern pieces that have both the full armhole and waistline. If I were you, I would choose the pattern size based on the bustline. Its not meant to be a tight fitting dress so if your waist and hip measurements can fit in that size, I would go for it and see if you can skip alterations. Or at least baste a test and see if the fit is going to work. If you want to still make changes to the patterns, you’ll probably have to pin pieces together just to get pieces you can work with such as pinning 3 and 4 together or 1 and 2. Don’t forget to overlap the seam allowances. The other tough part is that there is no marking for where the waistline is on the pattern. The only way to really figure that out is to pin the pattern to your body and mark where your waistline is. Like I said, I’d just go with your bust measurement and pick your size with that. The dress is super cute though so I hope you make it 🙂

[the_professors_assistantKeymaster]

Thank you for your response.

I bought the largest pattern, but the bust size is 44 inches.

Originally I made the alterations on #1, 3, 4 &5, 7, & 8; one inch on each pattern to allow for ease as well. I made it up on knit fabric in my stash; the fit on the waist & hips was fine. Although the bust fit was okay, the shoulders were pulling off, even though I had also put in the sleeves.

Maybe I should increase pieces 2 & 3 below the seam line (so as not to enlarge the neck), to the notch, thereby allowing extra room in the bust area without disturbing the armhole.

Does this sound reasonable?

Thank you so very much for your help; it is indeed a very lovely dress & I hope to conquer the fit problem!

[the_professors_assistantKeymaster]

I would say that your instinct is correct. I would focus more on increasing the pieces that are part of the side seam area because you don’t want to increase the neckline by so much that it no longer fits. Also, be sure the check out our tutorial on increase sleeve width. In the second part of this tutorial, I go over what to do if you have to increase your bust by more than 4″. Good luck!

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