Finished Ikat Alder Shirtdress

Happy Labor Day, I finished my Alder Shirtdress! 

I love love love this pattern. I love love love the way this dress turned out. I hate hate hated sewing this fabric.

I knew when I picked this slippery rayon, I'd have troubles. But the drape! So soft! I just kept imagining the dress it could be, and I decided to go ahead with it anyway. And it's definitely a wearable dress, but it was a bitch to work with. 

(look at my road rash! it's so healed!)

The way the yolk is hanging, the mis-matchy ikat on the front, the slightly rumpled button band - these are all symptoms of working with this fabric. But it hangs nicely on the body so I can ignore most of those problems, and it's light and breezy. I already wore it to work this week and it is the perfect work uniform.

I would definitely categorize this under "wearable muslin." As you can see below - I skipped doing the full bust adjustment and that was a mistake. I cut a size 16, and I should have cut a 14 and done the FBA. I'll never wear this without a tank top underneath, so it's not a huge deal, but I'll go for a better fit with my next Alder. 

I also skipped my planned side seam pockets because the drape-y fabric would not have held up well. I cut the chest pockets, and then ended up skipping them as well because the ikat fabric was already so busy. Like I need to give people another reason to examine my chest...

I did shorten this by about 2" (and I'm 5'8"), because if I am going to wear what looks like a large shirt, it better show off those legs! This makes it the perfect length for wearing with boots and feeling sassy, but it did, however, make it a bit too short to belt. Meh, I guess one cannot show off both legs and waist. 

All in all, I love it and I can't wait to make more. And check out Allyson's version and Laura's version - both turned out so rad! 

Alder Dress Sew-Along: W.I.P.

Our little Alder Shirtdress Sew-along is going strong! Allyson and Laura both posted fun pictures of their WIP dresses last week. They're a bit ahead of me, since my bike accident held me back from starting this as soon as I laid eyes on the pattern. 

This past weekend I was finally able to cut into my fabric. It's a slippery rayon, so I had some trouble cutting it perfectly on the grain. I've been straightening it up as I sew, though, and thus far that's worked out. 

Do you like my cutting table? Yeah... it's the floor. 

How about my scenic sewing room: 

I moved into a tiny, 420 sq ft studio last January, so this "sewing room" is also the kitchen, and the dining room, and sometimes bike storage. It's a challenge to fit everything into such a tiny space, but now that I have all my sewing stuff out of the closet, I'll be knocking out a few projects in one go. You can see my pile on the ottoman in the corner! 

Ok, check with Allyson on Wednesday for her finished Alder, and Laura on Friday! 

Alder Shirtdress Sew-Along Extravaganza

Have you seen the Alder Shirtdress pattern from Grainline Studio? I first saw it on Ginger Makes, where Sonja made two gorgeous versions, and I fell in love. I had to have this dress!

Then I found out that my bff's, Allyson and Laura, were also obsessed with this pattern, and it was official: we had to do a Sew-Along.

Luckily, our mini sew-along is just a week behind the official Grainline Studio Sew-Along, so I've been benefiting from their guidance.

Here are my plans, thus far:

Version 1: A straightforward take on View A. This will hopefully be a wearable muslin, where I work out any fitting issues within the pattern. Since it's designed for a B-cup, I will definitely be doing a Full-Bust Adjustment (following the instructions here). I will also be adding pockets, and possibly tweaking the collar to a Peter Pan style, depending on the fabric.

Version 2: View B, made out of something drape-y, like silk charmeuse. Also adding pockets. Always with the pockets.

Version 3: A v-neck shirt version, a la this post. I think this would be amazing in a chambray.

My plans are ambitious, but after my bike accident last week, they have stalled. Thus far I have....

Just an assembled pattern. But hey! That took a really long time. I really wish I had seen this tutorial from Colette or this one from Sewaholic before I started. But I'll be cutting that fabric in no time, I just know it.

You can catch up with Allyson's progress on Wednesday and Laura's on Friday for all the Alder-goodness you can handle!