This summer I sewed the Alder Shirtdress from Grainline Studio in a soft chambray cotton with white contrast stitching. It ended up being my favorite dress of the summer. Now I am beginning to think of my wardrobe for a trip down south, and it was the first thing I pulled out of my closet. (I live in the northeast of the United States where it is pretty cold right now.)
The pattern sews together very nicely and the directions are very easy to follow.
I made several pattern adjustments. I shortened the bodice in the armhole area, as the armhole was too deep for my short stature frame. I also needed to do a full bust adjustment which was pretty easy to do in the View B version because of the waistline seam.
I added pockets in the side seams.
The pattern is easy to adjust to your body shape – adjust the ease for personal taste, lengthen or shorten in both the bodice and skirt, and as mentioned above a FBA or SBA is easy to do in View B.
I also think this design would be pretty in a more translucent or sheer fabric with a slip dress underneath. It works for any cotton or linen for summer.
The design is flowy and easy to wear. I definitely recommend this pattern and look forward to sewing it again soon in another fabric. If you are interested in buying the pattern simply go to http://shop.grainlinestudio.com/collections/all/products/alder-shirtdress to find out more.
Happy Sewing!
It looks perfect! I have considered trying this pattern but have not sewn buttonholes in quite awhile.
Hi Maureen
I think it would be a great project to try. The trickiest part is the collar stand and collar but if you follow Jen’s instructions I don’t think you’ll have any trouble. I had to move the button placement after shortening the bodice. You could also do some practice buttonholes before tackling the actual garment. I am happy to walk you through if you get stuck. Happy sewing!
Ann
I have this dress on my sewing table just now in the que 🙂 Shirtdresses are high in my plans for this coming summer and I love Grainline patterns – I haven’t made one I didn’t like and wear a LOT. Thank you for this direction re FBA – I will definitely be doing one of those and I was curious to see how you did it on this pattern. Love our fabric! I agree that a nice soft linen would be nice – I have some pretty silk burning a hole in my stash pocket 🙂
I finally bought this pattern and plan to cut it out next week! I bought a gray chambray with red polka dots a few years back that would be so cute for this… red buttons and top stitching to top it all off! Thanks for your review of the pattern and the FBA – need to add that as well as the pockets.
Hi Ruth,
I hope you love it as much as I do.
Ann