Simplicity 2939

First of all I'm having really awful computer problems.

Seriously.

While I type wildly away (in my usual crazy manner), my computer can't seem to keep up, therefor the letters I type plod across my screen in a very slow, soldier-like way.

I've googled myself sick but I can't figure it out. That's not all of the problems it's giving me but I don't have the patience to try to tell you about it now.

So I'll show you my latest dress/fitting issue.

First of all this dress went together very quickly.

It's not something I would have picked out on my own but Christy, at Sew Much Fabric, has made like four versions of this dress and I loved all of them!

That girl can sew the cutest things! Like the McCalls trapeze dress ,that she added horse hair to the hem of, to keep it from looking like a sack.

Brilliant.

But after I finished this dress I found myself in the exact same boat, I was in before, with this dress.

Big Butt Syndrome!

Obviously it's me, not the pattern.

I paid $1.99 for the pattern and used polished cotton (free from a friend) for my muslin.

I was wearing it tonight, and except for the big butt issue, I thought it was pretty darn cute.

And then Vet Tech Girl (who's dyed her hair red, black, and orange thus making her look just like a torty cat) came up to borrow a cup of food for her cat, Evy Diva (who lives up to her name and won't eat the gourmet food my daughter prepares for her), and said, "You look like you're wearing a table cloth."

Not because of the size mind you, but the fabric, because polished cotton was a huge home dec fabric thing of the 90's.

Needless to say I won't be wearing my latest endeavor this weekend when we go to the boat. And yes I really was planning to wear it.

Now I won't.

But I'm truly baffled.

What am I doing wrong?

Here are the facts:

My measurements are a perfect size 12 in the Big 4 patterns.

Usually if I make a 12 it swims on me.

So I generally start with a 10 and work down to an 8.

But after looking this pattern over, I opted for a 10.

The bodice and front of the dress fit just fine.

And then I turn around.

Vet Tech Girl says there's just not enough fabric in the back to support the pleats. In other words there's more of me than there is of the dress.

Aha!

So, do I just cut the skirt portion of the dress a lot wider right below the bodice?

Or should I add a center back seam and add a sway back adjustment?

But does a sway back adjustment work with this type of skirt?

I'm going to try for the more fabric part first.

I can see some pulling in the back.

Actually this looks pretty good (if you ignore the look of panic on my face), believe me it sticks out much more in the back.

Anyway, if someone an give me some guidance, I'd really appreciate it.