Baptism Suit - Part One

So you know the old adage - Measure twice, cut once? Well, it's true for a lot of things, including sewing, and I did get new measurements on myself before I cut  out my suit last week. They were not that different from my measurements before, so I figured no big deal. I'd cut out the jacket per the pattern's instructions and then adjust the skirt as needed (hip width and length). No biggie.

Well, yesterday I had the suit 90% done and deciced to do a test fit and it didn't fit that great around the bust....what?!?! So I had my mom re-measure me and sure enough my bust measurement was differen than what I'd taken.. Hrm. I check the jacket ease and there was 5", so why was it barely fitting? Then mom asks when I stopped breastfeeding H. DOH! I stopped on Sunday. Mom goes - well that's it then. Don't do anything to the jacket until you've dried up or at least until you've shrunk back down to a normal size. My mom is a genius. So luckily there is still 3 weeks before the baptism which is hopefully enough time to return to normal, but if not I have 2 alternatives....scrap the belt and wear a cami underneath the jacket and just leave it open or make a blouse that matches and pair a cute mauve belt with it...I've done some thinking about this. Luckily, like I said, I have some time so hopefully I can go with plan A, but at least there is a B and C in the wings.

So here's a picture of one of the 4 darts in this jacket...purdy, ain't it. Don't forget to knot those threads! We don't like bubbles. For those of you who don't sew or sew but have never sewn a dart, at the tip of the dart you don't want to backstitch to secure the thread. Instead, you should run the needle straight off the fabric and then knot the ends of the thread, then after you just press per the directions (usually towards center back or center front). I've never had a problem with bubbles doing it this way.

The test fit after the outer shell of the pattern went well and I didn't have any problems constructing this phase of the jacket.

Now I did have problems after I had attached the lining (per the directions) to the facing and then stitched the lining to the hem, while leaving an opening in the bottom to turn and access the sleeves/lining. Every time I stitched the sleeve lining to the sleeve it would get twisted. Well I finally got it right and tacked the underarm seams together. Then I talked to my grandmother, and I mentioned the problem I was having, and she told me that next time I do a lining that way then to leave an opening in sleeve seam on the lining so that you can just access what you need without going through the entire jacket out through the opening at the bottom hem. Why didn't I call her when I was having problems, instead of telling her after I got my problem fixed?  Good to know for the next time I do a lining this way.

See the gap there in front...not good....but the back looks good and standing in front of the mirror (w/o the camera) I was very happy with the fit...it's just that gap that's bugging me.

Hopefully, I shrink back to normal size and the jacket fits the way its supposed too, but if not. I really like this pattern from simplicity, 2732. I like view C which is the short sleeve number on the left, and luckily this pattern is one of those with separate front patterns for A, B, C & D cup sizes....even better!