I have narrow shoulders, so if making a fitted dress or jacket I have to make the shoulder seam about 1/2" narrower. Also as I have very little flesh on my upper chest I have to pinch out a small dart on the pattern piece to make the neckline or lapels lie flat. I agree with @BrendaP that a toile will save a world of pain. I always make one for a new pattern that will use expensive fabric or require a lot of detailed work, i.e jackets, coats, fitted dresses.

Once you have a toile done, a new pattern will take much less time to alter. I also agree that going by upper bust size and then doing an FBA is the correct way.

I'm in. I had a 6 PAC planned for last winter, but a chest infection and family illness meant I never got round to it.
I've already got the fabric for 5 pieces.
1. Skirt in maroon/black check wool
2. Roll neck top in offwhite rib viscose jersey
3. Wrap Cardigan in burgundy wool jersey
4. Coat in offwhite boucle wool
5. Trousers in black jacquard wool.
All I need is a sweater in pink or offwhite to finish it off. Maybe a bought one if I can't find the right quality wool jersey.

That's a nice board. I use a similar one on the floor, as there is no space for a cutting table in my sewing room. I'm on my second one, as the first one got tatty. I kept the old one to block knitting.

@Lilian , ask Manuela next year! maybe she will oblige. Do you have lots of green fabric in stash?

My DH has a 3D printer, and the largest piece he can print is about 8 inches square. I would not like to think what he would say if I asked him to print mine!

Who would wear something like the pattern envelope horrors? It never ceases to amaze me that they sew up such terrible samples.

There is a photo of me aged about 13 in a green print shift dress with a white ruffle collar and cuffs. That must be the first pattern I bought. It didn't fit, but I was extremely thin then.