McCall's 2401 - spotty version

McCall's 2401 - take two!

Personally I think this version is quite different from my first blurry version, in terms of the fabric, the fit, the silhouette  the sleeve lengths, etc etc... but when my hubby (yep!) saw this, he said something on the line of "the dresses you make are very similar, aren't they?" Needless to say, that burst my little bubble about how different I though my two version of M2401! 

But without further ado, here it is - my spotty version of the same dress. I'll let you decide for yourself whether it is similar to my first version. 

By the way we are planning on finally painting the hallway next weekend (had been putting it off for over a year... "I don't have time, as I need to work on my wedding dress" no longer works!) so this may well be the last project that is photographed in front of this (boring) magnolia wall. 

The fabric is a lovely polyester crepe from my local Fabricland. I had to buy this as I have always, since when I was a little girl, had a soft spot for red fabrics with white polka dots. It's just the cutest thing! I bought 3.5 metres of this as I was originally planning on making Buttericks 5708, but having read the reviews on PR, I decided against having a go at that pattern. After my first version of M2401, the drapy quality of this crepe came to mind, and I was really glad it did, as I think it was perfect for this pattern - look at how it hugs my (rather limited) curves!

I made a view E again, size 6 petite, without shortening the sleeves as I wanted them to go just under the elbows. As this crepe had no stretch at all, I incorporated more ease than I did in my previous version. I still did a SBA, widened all darts by 1cm on each side, and shortened the skirt even further than last time so I didn't need to have a very wide hem. 

Another change I made was that because the fabric was quite soft, I omitted the facing and used single fold self-fabric bias tape (I ought to buy a bias tape maker - ironing it bit by bit is needlessly frustrating) as facing. Once again, I used the tutorial here. 

Here's a photo of the inside of the neckline:

I was really happy with how my spotty version has turned out. I just love the bataeu neckline and the simplicity of it all. Now I am confident that this version is not "too disco" and can therefore be worn to our dress-down Fridays :D 

Now I just need to stop myself from making another version of this pattern for a little while, and experiment with other things. After all, my sewing list for before my little blog turns 2 is already quite long (I know that it only turned one yesterday, but it literally takes me no time to come up with a list...), for example, I'm going to try sewing with lace (Vogue 8766, anyone?), making a bolero to go with my mother-in-law's wedding dress next Feb, making myself a bridesmaid dress (and probably a matching bolero), and also focusing on my work wear wardrobe...