The name Myrtle makes me think of florals and gentle colours.  Not animal print.  Especially not shiny animal print.

This was a second sew of the Colette Myrtle dress. Last time I sewed size Large, and was intending to sew the Medium this time. But I forgot. Oh well. It’s still quite wearable! I did make one substantial change,however. I cut the back bodice piece twice and lined the bodice completely, rather than just at the front. This meant that I didn’t need to bind the back neckline or armholes.  I did take around an inch out of the neckline when I cut the back bodice pieces by shifting the pattern piece across the fold at the neckline edge.

(Oh my, that double chin! Eek!) I altered the construction by sewing the back bodice outer and lining together at the back neckline. Then I sewed the front and back together at the shoulder seams, outers together and inners together. The next thing was to finish the armhole seams. I laid the top down with the right sides out then rolled one armhole back around to meet its counterpart right sides together – the burrito method that is often used for yokes. I sewed around the armhole, pulled everything back around the right way, then repeated the process on the other side. After that it was a simple matter of sewing up the side seams with the front and back outers right sides together up to the armhole and the front and back linings right sides together as well. Oh, I should have photographed the process, but many of you will get the general gist of things. I should have stabilised the armholes and the back neck with fusible tape before sewing, but I didn’t and they grew a little bit. I was rushing and being lazy. Live and learn.

The front neckline drapes beautifully in this fabric. I love the way that the cowl falls in a V shape. I took a fairly deep hem and sewed it to just above the knee. The elastic in the waistline casing is very soft and quite wide, which makes it very comfortable to wear. It sits fairly high up, even on my short torso.

So there she is, my animal print Myrtle! The fabric is a very soft and stretchy knit and came from Darn Cheap Fabrics. A very satisfying sew.