Grainline Studio - the Alder Shirtdress!

Alert, Grainline Studio fans - a dress! And it comes in two beautiful sleeveless versions - one with unadorned shirt styling, and one (which caught my eye) with a partially gathered skirt.

Both have classic shirtdress styling: a button-band front, yoked upper back with a dropped front shoulder, front bodice pockets, and shirt-tail hemlines. And yes, bust darts.

I love the gathered skirt. It just adds so much comfort and ease to the dress. 

And it's so good-looking!

You might notice that my dress does not have a collar...I just don't do collars :-) So here are the changes and adjustments I made to the pattern:

• I drafted from a size 14.

• Once the shoulder seams were sewn, I reshaped the front to a V-Neck and dropped the center back neckline about 1/2".  And drafted a facing for the neckline.

Fabric: Cotton calico from Holly Lobby

• The right bodice front has an attached button band, while the left front is has a cut-on facing. I used the left front pattern for both sides, eliminating the attached band. Topstitching gives the appearance of a banded edge.

• I used broadcloth interlining in both front facings, instead of fusible interfacing. Often I find that fusible interfacing locks and stiffens a facing too much - I wanted to be sure that the front bands were fluid given their length.

• I added side seam pockets 3.5" below the waistline.

• I also redrafted the front skirt to be same length and shape as the back skirt. And flattened and lengthened the curve at the side seam so it would be a bit more forgiving to hem! My reasoning for changing the front length - well, I'm 66 and just don't wear mini's anymore! 

• The pattern calls for faced armholes. I trimmed the armholes instead and used self-fabric bias binding to finish them. This is a comfort thing for me.

• The bust dart is placed as expected with a Big 5 pattern - I moved it down 1.5".

• Another adjustment I typically make, I narrowed the side seam at the armhole by 5/8" and cured it down to the waist.

• The bodice length was spot on! And I'm 5'7". 

• I added 5/8" to the hem allowance, just so I could be more generous in my hem turn. 

Seems like a lot! But it really wasn't. I generally spend a lot of time with a pattern before I draft my tissue, it's part of what I enjoy most about sewing.

A few more views on Emile...

About the pattern: Beautifully drafted and includes 1/2" seam allowances, my favorite since I like to cut/serge my seam allowances. The instruction booklet is so well done, it should make this dress approachable for many levels of sewists. I've seen a couple versions of this dress on Kollabora and in the blogosphere. I'm smitten.

Ciao! Coco