Sunday Undies... Shifty Business

The second piece of my Sunday Undies was the "shift" portion of my undies.  Shifts were usually made from basic cloth, like linen or wool and were meant for the sole purpose of keeping sweat and body oils away from your outer-garments.  My shift is not made out of a basic cloth (please see earlier confessions of enjoying outrageous fabrics), but it will serve the purpose of keeping my sweat contained, I am sure.

I have no shame in saying that I used a pattern.
(A) I have always wanted to test run this pattern.
(B) I am working on a tight schedule, and I don't have time for draping.

So here's the front of the chemise.
You'll note that the neckline seems a bit rumpled and strange.

It seems strange because it is strange.  Perhaps the problem came in when the pattern company sized the base pattern up to a size 24 (my size for this pattern), but the neckline came out to be about twice the width of my shoulders.  I ended up doing some pleating in the front and the back and then putting a drawstring in, all in an attempt to keep the shoulders in place.  The end effect isn't terrible, but less than what I was hoping for.

Side View

Arm pit view!
This view is important so that I might show the arm-pit gussets!

For all of my complaints about the neckline, I have to admit that the rest of this pattern is really smooth.  My gussets went in easy-peasy, which isn't something I can usually say, and the sleeves needed only a minor adjustment for my Slavic-Peasant arms.  Even better, the 13.5" ease (yes, you read that right) allows *plenty* of room for my child-bearing hips.

Back View

I don't have any "in progress" pictures, because I honestly just followed the pattern instructions, and until I figure out what went wrong with the neckline I don't have any particularly interesting hints or tips.  I also had a "brilliant" idea to flat-fell all of my seams, only to realize (somewhere around the gussets) that flat-felling gussets is pretty well a useless pursuit.  The inside is pretty heinous (by my standards) as a result.

Regardless, I'm happy with the end result and I can't wait to trot this one out for my class!