Working my plan

I did cut out the knit top yesterday morning. I have enough left over to make up another top as long as it is short sleeved or a tank style.

I then taped together the printed out pattern pieces from PMB version of the McCall dress pattern. After I do this I like to trace over the pattern using Swedish Tracing paper.
I took the McCall's pattern pieces and overlaid it onto the PMB pieces for the front and back bodice. The neckline for McCall's is about two inches or more lower than the PMB draft. I expected that because of the limited neckline draft on PMB. Once I pinned the dart on PMB piece and tucks on McCall's, I found that the bodice through the shoulders and armscye were off some but not extremely so. The bust point on the McCall's was about 1/2 inch higher than mine. There was some variance in the waistline area and the bust width was off about 1 1/2 inches which is about the usual FBA I have to make with most pattern pieces.

The skirt pieces were overlaid onto PMB pattern pieces. Interestingly but not surprisingly the hip measurement for me and the finished hip measurement on the pattern were at odds. If I used what was printed on the McCall's pattern piece I may have run into a fitting issue as I would have gone with the smaller size but overlaying on my PMB piece with new hip measurement, the largest size in the McCall pattern would have been more appropriate. That measurement was noted to be 46 inches. I am 39.????????? There is not much difference between my waist and hip measurement-only 5 inches so waist line on McCall's would have been snug as well.

PMB has some limitations with style. For example, the McCall's dress has several neckline tucks. My choice with PM is one neckline dart. You can go into the editor function and move darts around and adjust their size. I could not get the tutorial part of the program to work yesterday so I kept messing up on this function.

Having traced the front bodice, I then overlaid this onto another piece of tracing paper. Using my Helen Armstrong Pattern Drafting book, I redrafted the neckline so I could have a cluster of darts, tucks or pleats. I wanted to do this because the neckline dart with PMB was just one and it was rather large; and I wanted to simulate the neckline from McCalls.

That is where I stopped yesterday. I want to move forward with morphing the patterns so I can out the dress pattern. I will also line the fabric I plan to use as it is wool and do not want wool against my skin. It definitely makes me itch.