Frances - it does fit because that's how it's going to fit when it's finally done. I guess it depends upon whether 'fitting' includes the concept of 'removal'!
Hraefn - that woosh was the sound of your post going straight over my head!

Do you mean by the 'bag' method, finishing each panel and then whipping them all together? The only method I know is making up the lining, make up the outer, then sew together, then turn out the right way and then do the hem. Though I am really starting to prefer slip stitching the whole lot together, seems so much easier than the hassle of turning out around dodgy corners...
The lady who purchased the silk for me gave me some notes which (if I interpreted them correctly

) favoured the whippy method, so I might try that. But... am still confused by it... I mean.. finishing each panel?
Putting it over my head/hips is a problem because, unlike say, 15th C kirtles, the lacing only *appears* to reach to just below the waist, rather than to the widest point of the hips. Therefore, the gown can't open up wide enough to pass my shoulders/hips through.