Feh.

[gem]

Grumble.  I'm working on my Italian overgown, and I did a test fit tonight with the mocked up skirts.  The skirts look fine; the problem is the bodice.  I don't know what I was thinking when I made the pattern for it--but the straps of the undergown show (it's much more pronounced on me).  I've just gone through every image I can find for this kind of ensemble, and *nobody's* undergown straps show (Why don't I think of these things beforehand?!).

I'm not sure what to do.  I could just go ahead and finish and wear it and grumble about it the whole time.  If I have enough fabric, I could make another bodice (maybe), but I'm not sure I could ever get the angle of the V-opening right so that it's deep enough in front but still covers the undergown straps.  I really don't want to mess with the undergown, because fitting that bodice took *forever.*

I have remade the bodice on every single gown I've ever made; I don't know why this one should be any different.

Grumblegrumblegrumble.  Sigh.

[isabelladangelo]

The bodice looks a bit loose for the dress so you might be able to pin it back and re-sew it so it falls right on you.   

If all else fails, you can do the modern technique of adding a small snap and a bit of ribbon on the underside of the overbodice.  When you are wearing the ensemble, just place the ribbon under the straps of the underdress as well and then snap it back to the overbodice.  This way, it won't shift on you and the straps stay hidden.   

[sealion]

How frustrating! {{{HUG}}}
I agree with Isabella- try tightening up the shoulder straps (assuming they fit you the same as the dress form) or just snap or pin them together.

[Adriana Rose]

It looks fantastic though! ( gotta see the bright side here! )

Is there any way that you could tweak the under gown's straps in any way? If not you could try to schooch the bodice straps up a touch to cover the under dress?

I donno just throwing ideas out there..

[gem]

Thanks, all.  Sorry--forgot to mention that that mannequin is like a size 2 (and I am... not. LOL), which is why everything's loose.  The overgown straps are actually narrower than the undergown's, so I don't think there's any way that fiddling will get them to cover properly.  Conceivably, I might be able to take the overgown bodice apart and push the straps out into the S/As, but that actually seems like it would take more work than starting from scratch.

I've skipped ahead to work on the skirts and sleeves to see how much fabric is left.  At the moment I'm leaning toward just doing it over.  (On the bright side, if I do it over, I can try the technique of staggering the shoulder seams, which I was already wishing I'd thought of....)

[mollymishap]

"Feh" is a good word for the problem, but I think it's somewhat fixable.

My first thought was (like you did) to let out the allowances as far as possible & see if that will work.

My second thought was to let out the seam, cut an extra couple of fairly wide strips from remnants you may have, and join those carefully to the offending edges, lining up the pattern and hopefully being able to disguise the joins. 

You can then put the underbodice on and after this the over-bodice and THEN be able to see where the edge of those straps needs to end up  (I know you've figured this part out already, I just had to rub it in a bit ).

I'm cheap, so I usually try to fix/patch rather than re-cut a new bodice since I'm usually pushing it REALLY close to not having enough fabric.  But if the patch would bug you, and you have enough fabric left over, just make a new one. 

[Meagan]

Could you add a wide layer of trim that actually sticks out over the edge of the bodice? I had to do that when I shrunk an under gown and it became too short in the bust.

[Marietta Graziella]

Or, you could leave it as is.  Gasp!    The brown color is so beautiful and having it edge out at the bodice neckline just frames your face like a protrait. 

I'm just not into perfection, it takes up too much energy.  Ultimately, you have to be happy with.  Good luck Gem, I know it'll look amazing, whatever you decide.

[lollergirl]

make the straps on the undergown narrower.  and if there's enough seam allowance, make the straps on the overgown a wee bit wider.  if you can at least get both sets of straps to the exact same width, you can cheat and use hidden snaps at the shoulders to keep them aligned.