Today, we’re going to see how to simply modify the length of the bodice of the Centaurée dress.
Warning: because the bodice construction of the Centaurée dress is rather complex, it would be easier to completely redraft the bodice than lengthening or shortening it keeping the exact correspondence of its pieces. Therefore, we’re going to use a very simple method to add or remove length by sacrificing a little bit the esthetic of the pieces.
Important : if you’re going to make a FBA or a SBA, it will modify the length of your bodice (a SBA shortens it and a FBA lengthens it), so I recommend doing this modification after the bust adjustment.
If you have less than 1cm (3/8″) to remove or add to your bodice, you can simply increase or decrease the seam allowance when sewing the bodice to the skirt.
To lengthen your bodice, start with piece n°4 (back bodice). Fix it on a piece of paper and retrace the bottom at the distance that you want to add (here, 1cm).
Measure the old and new line of the bodice bottom. Because the side is a slanted line, you will have two different numbers. Measure the difference, subtracting the second measurement from the first measurement (here, 2mm).
Add the difference to the line you traced on the right side of the piece. Retrace the side line, joining the top to this new point. Your back bodice is now ready to be traced.
Now repeat the same with the piece n°3 (front bodice bottom). Retrace the line at the desired distance, and measure the two lines.
Add the difference to the bottom line, and retrace the the left side of the piece parallel to the old side.
Finally, add the same difference to the bottom of piece n°2 (front bodice middle) and join the top of the piece to this point.
Trace your pieces: you’ve just successfully lengthened your bodice!
To shorten your pieces, repeat the same process removing the desired length from your pieces.
