Consequences

I've been working on my bodice patterns the last two days. Given my weight always fluctuates wildly I knew I would have to leave this as late as I could to be fairly sure of a good fit, and yes I was expecting some fitting issues. I started by making up a test garment of a pattern I've used before and is customised to my shape. It wasn't too bad except for the hulk feature at the back and shoulders and upper arms. OK I would have to start over.

Taking my measurements told I am now bigger in the back than I have ever been. Whups. So I redrew the pattern and tested the revised version. Hmm, now it's way too big in the waist and bust?! Just before I went for the third attempt a thought hit me. Could it be I have only bulked up in the shoulders and upper arms? Well I now understand why tailors just grab seams and rip them. At this stage it saves a lot of time and works fine. I quickly extracted the front of the first bodice and attached it to the new (huge) back. Bingo, it fits. I can only assume all this heavy lifting and hand guided quilting has had an effect. When a leg of mutton sleeve is tight you know things are going strange. Still I have a solution now here's hoping I can stay roughly the same size for nearly a month. Any bets?