I have had questions about the way the strap on this gown is applied. Essentially, the strap is smocked with three lines of shirring before the back bodice strap portion is twisted, brought under the top shoulder edge of A, and stitched as a lapped seam. This is not exactly something that contemporary sewers are used to doing, so I worked a quick muslin version showing the steps:
Shows A, the Bodice Front with top edge turned under 3/8". The pen marks indicate where the first two rows of running stitches will be made:
Wrong side of A with top edge turned under 3/8":
I modified this example a bit by running the first row of long stitches very close to fold of turned edge. Then I ran subsequent lines of long stitches 3/8" apart. The large O is the match point '2' between the front and back strap.
Example shows size 40 bust, so the lines of gathers are drawn to 1-7/8" per chart given in the instructions. A third row of gathering stitched is then sewn in.
Gathered shoulder edge of B, Bodice Back. Flat bias finishes both neck and armseye edges of B and as for A:
The shoulder strap of B is twisted two times toward the neck and the turned edge of 'A' laps over 'B' with match points in place. Top-stitch through all layers. Shows full shirred effect in 3 rows of stitching the pattern originally calls for:
Additionally, this pattern was originally made for the petite figure (note half sizes given in yardage chart) and labeled as a 'half size' pattern. Regular pattern sizes were made for women of a standard height of 5'7" to 5'8" whereas half size patterns were for those 5'3" to 5'4" tall. The difference between this and the women's regular size is, according to The McCall Pattern Co. in that 3-4" difference as follows:
1" shorter in the waist
2-3" shorter in the skirt
1" shorter in a full-length sleeve
1-2" larger around the hip
1" larger around the waistline
