Pattern Drafting Bodice (Attempt 2)

For this week I have been working on my second attempt of pattern drafting a bodice while rectifying the issues I had previously. My main focus was to make the neck line larger to fit your head through. I was able to calculate the measurements that needed taking off by layering on a mannequin an existing garment of sizes and shape I was happy with over my first attempt. From this I could measure the change in size of the neckline. I found it difficult to change the pattern block making process as the shape and size of the armholes and shoulder straps relied on the starting point of the original neckline. After quick evaluation I realized I could keep everything where it was first and change the neckline after drawing the block.

Also on this test I planned to try a larger seam allowance of 2 cm to help me pin and sew the edges over. I found that the after sewing the edges puckered outwards and it wasn't sitting right. I took this problem to Nancy in college to get some guidance on where I was going wrong. She was able to tell me a lot of what I could have found out from just books. she said that I should be fixing the edges before stitching it together. That the seam allowance should be 1 1/2 cm and i could either over-lock and fold over once or fold over twice. This shall be what I try for my next attempt of pattern drafting. As I need to be using a smaller seam allowance I need to find a different method of hold down the fabric while I'm stitching. On my next attempt I will be trying bondaweb as a glue to hold it.

When stitching the piece together I made sure that all the darts were facing inwards. I did some research of darts in a pattern drafting book and it confirmed my theory that the darts are to face inwards on a garment.
I tried stitching in a zip but once I had the zip in place I found that it was a closed zip and that it finished at the smallest point, making it impossible to fit over the body still. I'm unable to get an open ended zip in 7" I will have to extend my bodice into a dress and have a long zip that goes into the skirt.