Simplicity 3673: 1950's Retro Jumper

Here I am, finally getting a post up of my newest project, a gray jumper made from Simplicity's 3673 retro jumper pattern. This is the second garment I've made from a very large piece of gray fabric that was given to me by a friend at my church. And there's still plenty of it left! I found the pattern to be very easy to put together, and I especially love how the bodice is completely enclosed! The petite instructions also worked perfectly as I didn't have to worry about fighting with the pattern to get it just right.

Anyway, here it is:

Because I have very narrow shoulders, and also because of the shape of the jumper's neckline, I decided to make a mock-up of the bodice first to see if it would be too big. And sure enough, it was looking like it wanted to gap in the front and lay too far to the edge of my shoulders.
My mom told me that the easiest way to fix this was to take in the front by a half inch, and add the same amount to the sides. I did that, and it worked wonderfully! However, the next task was to make sure the rest of it fit right. Based on my measurements, and the finished size of the pattern, it looked like I needed to make the bust a size 10, the waist a 12, and the hips on down a 14! So that took some thought to decide just how I wanted to angle everything. But then, after all that work, when I tried it on before hemming it, the hips turned out to be way, WAY too big. >_< So I took it back in to a 12, but it still seems a little big. I'm thinking that next time I make this pattern I'll just stick with a size 10 all the way, and see it that works better.

Naturally of course, my dear sewing kitty, Guinivere wanted to help me hem it!!