As part of my Finish All the Projects 2023 goal I wanted to use up six yards of stretch crushed green velvet that I bought in Sweden sometime in 2000 (yeah, it’s that old). I’d bought a really nice Khaliah Ali Collection pattern from Simplicity (I think it’s been retired but you can still find uncut versions on eBay) for a knit dress with three different sleeves, two different bodices and two skirt lengths. I decided to go with the short puffed sleeves, crossover bodice, and short skirt length. Cut out all the pattern pieces and fabric over the weekend and got started on Tuesday.

Half-finished the dress (I got the bodice and skirt together and sewed one sleeve) and realized that while the dress fit just fine width-wise, the torso section was a good two inches too short for my freakishly long torso which meant that the waist started under my boobs, and because of my bingo wings the sleeve was too tight.

So I had a think. The pattern required around 2.75 yards of fabric, and I still had an additional three yards plus I could cannibalize the skirt from the existing dress. So I cut off the skirt, enlarged the sleeve by an inch, added an inch to the bodice (which meant adding in an extra pleat) and an inch to the midriff, then cut out new pieces.

So far I have the new bodice together and man, it’s amazing the difference an inch makes in making things fit better. If I use this pattern again I think I’ll add a dart to better accommodate the boobage (the material is so stretchy that it doesn’t really affect anything but I’m noticing that the armhole is being tugged out to accomodate the Twins) and cut two inches off the bottom of the skirt to reflect the addition of two inches on the bodice/midriff.

I debated adding pockets to this because hey, pockets, but the skirt is very form-fitting and I didn’t want them to show so I skipped them. May keep it as an option if I use this pattern again—I can always use a color-coordinating cotton.