Have you ever thought so much about something . . .

That you thought yourself out of the solution that was right in front of you? Well, my recent trip to the bra fitters threw me into a tailspin on what to do about my FBA. It has made for very restless nights when I should have been sleeping so I could wake up early, get through work and classes, and get back to the drawing board and some actual sewing! Instead I find myself dragging through my daily activities and not having the time or energy to sew at the end of it all, only to fall into a fitful sleep full of FBA calculations and R.I.M.M.s (redrafts in my mind). Anyway, I think I've got it now.
a. b.
a. draft based on chest measurement, with pre-bra fitting FBA & additional width added at side.
b. 2nd draft with post-bra fitting FBA, portion of dart rotated to side seam (but the horizontal dart is still humongo -- we'll just have to see how attractive that will be in fabric!).

Whatever the case, I'm tired of RIMMing so I'm going to sew up a second muslin this week. If (b) above doesn't work out, I'll try the Morris & McCann method from Every Sewer's Guide to the Perfect Fit (published in 1997 and republished as "Customize Your Sewing Patterns For A Perfect Fit" in 2001). In this method you do the regular FBA up to 1 inch (per side), then the follow with the second method to add another 1 inch (per side).

I don't know how strict those 1 inch rules are because I need about 2.5 inches to fully accommodate the Girls. Its going to have to be a bit of trial and error at this point. Also, I think I have to RIMM whether opening up the chest area above the bust will work for me, since I don't have much fluff up there, have sloping shoulders, and have already been contemplating adjusting for a hollow chest to get a better fit across the chest and shoulders. I'm not trying to overfit this shirt, but my RTW tops & jackets tend to collapse in that area and I just don't like that look.