leaveharmony:

I don’ know what to do because the size chart and measuring tape agree that my waist should make the dress should be a size 16, not a ten (my dresses tend to be either 10s, 12s or occasionally 8s).  And my hips a ten, and my bust a 14?  But if I cut the pattern out one way I can’t un-cut it later if that’s wrong and i’m just sitting here staring at it and trying not to cry.  I’m so tired and nothing is ever just simple enough for my useless fat ass to figure it out

Is the pattern from one of the big-name sewing-pattern companies (MCall’s, etc)? Have you measured the pattern pieces and added them up to see if the waist measurement is actually the same size as it says for a 16 on the back of the envelope? Sorry that I’m not putting this very well — basically, the modern commercial patterns tend to include “design ease” which means they come out a couple of sizes bigger than claimed — that’s supposed to be your wiggle room for making adjustments. So you may end up having to go for the size ten, regardless of what it claims you need. Do you have any old sheets or something you can use to do a test version before you cut into the good fabric?