Dawn wrote the following:

I was watching your progress with interest, as I too was intrigued by the
dress , and the tops others had made out of this pattern - so I bought the
pattern and made the dress for a party, doing my usual sizing adjustments - 14
to the bust and a 16 from there down. The whole upper part was tight - I had to
scoop out the armholes and even then it was too tight and didn't really fit
well, therefore, from there on down.It seems like you had the same problem.Would it behave better in a size up? Maybe. But it isn't such a great pattern that I
would be going for that. I look better in a V neck, I think, and while the
pleats are cool - they aren't Wow.So I am moving on. The jacket however, I am
going to try.....Thanks for letting us know how it went

I appreciated the comment. I used size 14 for shoulders and upper chest tapering to 16 at bust to dress bottom. I also made a FBA as well. Maybe a drapy fabric would work better. I am not sure I look better in a V neck, scoop necks normally work best for me. But the pleats did not work well for me on this neckline. Like Dawn, I might could have scooped out the armholes and I think the pleats pulling affected that area also. Anyway, thank you Dawn for your comments. I will give the dress to Goodwill and know someone will be able to use it.