Moroccan tiles Long-sleeved dress

I made this dress from some flowy polyester fabric I have had in my stash for a long time, it kind of almost feels like windbreaker material ha. It has a ceramic tile type pattern that makes me think of Moroccan tiles, and has a bit of an ombre across the width of the fabric. Originally I was going to make a maxi length spaghetti strap dress with it, maybe with some kind of lacing up the back, very "summer music festival" vibe. But then I realised I never wear maxi dresses because they always feel too formal and I never go to music festivals! So I decided to make view B from McCall's M7381 as a bit of a test/wearable muslin since I had very limited amounts of the other fabric I wanted to make a version C from and wasn't sure how the fit would be.

Turns out the fit was pretty good! A little big in the bust, but it kind of goes with the flowy style I think! Now I have a good Spring/Summer wedding guest dress, if anyone is looking to invite me to their wedding I am ready! haha.

Back view McCall's M7381 dress - Kate Sews

In some of the reviews online people didn't like the amount of fabric that was in the upper back above the elastic waist but I didn't find that to be a problem.

For this dress I cut a Medium based on my measurements and everything fit pretty well and the length is good, right above the knee on me (I am 5'5"). The sleeves are a little long so there is pooling around the wrist, and the fit is slightly close around the bicep compared to the rest of the sleeve, but not too tight that I can't wear it.

The instructions were mostly easy to follow - though I did end up cutting out the wrong lining piece, since there is a facing and lining for views D and C but just a lining for views A and B. In the end I am glad I cut the wrong ones since I was using a different fabric for the lining and by cutting a facing out of the self fabric I was able to avoid the potential of the un-matched lining peeking up at the neck line! I also drafted a lining for the skirt since my fabric was super staticy!

Slightly closer look at McCall's M7381 dress - Kate Sews

The shoulder and waist pleats are sewn down from the outside which is a cool effect (slightly lost in this busy print) and the waistline comes up significantly in the front which I think looks better in the versions with the tie.