The Queen of Princess Seams

I've been trying to get a good fit from Butterick 3784 princess seam shirt:


Based on some threads at the Pattern Review message board I decided to start with a size 16W so the neck/back/shoulders would fit better, then alter up for everything else (swayback, bust, waist, hips). After some hard work, basting, fitting, ripping, re-altering, etc., it's getting there. The back looks great. But (and here's where it gets weird) I have had to fold out tons of extra fabric in the center chest above the bust. FFRP says this alteration is usually only 1/8 to 1/4 inch--more than that and you're in the wrong size--go smaller. I'm talking way more than 1/4 inch--more like 6 inches all told. I know I added length with the fba, but all this extra is above the bust and the fba adds the length at and below the bust!

Now, what with all those altered alterations, the dang thing needs to be re-traced, and I'm considering going to a Misses 14 to see how it fits in the chest length. This pattern starts at 16W so it won't work for this experiment. I've checked the big-3 websites for a cute princess seam shirt with no luck. But I did find Kwik-Sew 2849:






So tomorrow I'll head to JoJos to peruse the pattern books--maybe I missed something on the websites--then stop at The Place That Sells Sewing Machines for some Perfect Pattern paper. I'd also like to pick up this nifty tracing notion if they have it. Then it's back to to the worktable!