The two things I didn't like from my first try were the sleeves and the neck. The neckline was extremely bulky and had unreasonably uneven stitching (probably because of the bulk?) and the sleeves were simply horrid. 

This time around, to avoid bulk in the neck area, I only folded the neck in once and stitched it with a straight stitch. For the rest of the garment I used the special stretch stitch setting on my machine, but avoided it here to achieve a cleaner look. 

The sleeves that come with the pattern are not proportional to the rest of the dress. So, instead of sewing the sleeves and side seams according to the pattern instructions, I left them open but still sewed the sleeves to the dress. Then Miranda pinned my sleeves and sides to fit me, and viola! A perfectly fitting bodice!

The hem that I sewed in this dress is one of the best hems I've sewn in my life. I achieved this flawlessly flat hem by first basting it close to the edge. After ironing the basted hem with A LOT of steam, I went in for the top stitching. The only annoying part of this method is that I had to seam rip an entire row of stitching on a circle skirt, which, if you didn't know, is about a mile long.

In all, I am very happy with the results of this second go. I would honestly make this again because I love wearing this dress. This is a fairly easy and wearable pattern, but beware the sleeves.  

XOXO

Zahira