Polka Dot Alder Shirtdress

I'm on a polka dot roll! This is the dress that Me-Made May made. I saw so many adorable versions of the Alder during Me-Made May, that I promptly ordered a pattern and got to work. I wanted to get to work so quickly, in fact, that I skipped over a muslin and went straight to fashion fabric. Adventure!

This dress has such a cute shape to it and is a great summer shirtdress. I thought I would find the flat front paired with the gathers to be a bit silly, but in the end, it makes for a really nice silhouette. It's also distinctive from other shirtdress patterns for that reason, and I appreciate a twist on an old favorite. And pockets!

The fit turned out well, despite my devil-may-care approach to it. I only checked my sloper against the pattern before starting to make sure it'd be big enough and the length would work for my shorty torso. The dart placement even ended up being in the right place! I did noticed a little gaping at the bust, although it feels like I've got enough room there. Might be button placement, though. 

I made one change on the fly - the dress is intended to be a loosely fitted shirtdress, but I found it to be a little too loose. I ended up taking out 2.5" of ease at the back bodice only, at the side seams. I've still got plenty of ease left over. I did notice some pooling at my back in these photos, so I'm wondering if I might also need a small swayback adjustment. Or perhaps taking the ease out at the side seam only, instead of evenly distributed across the back waist, created a problem? What do you think? 

Minus that minor hiccup, there's lots of great little details in the construction of the Alder that you can see when you get up close. 

Oh, so cute! 

I do have three tips for you if you're going to make this pattern: 

• Take care to cut the right front off where indicated on the pattern. I forgot to do this when cutting out the pattern, and it doesn't come up again in the instructions when you do the button band. Consequently, I puzzled over the extra couple of inches on my right front for a few days before I got unstuck. 
• Baste the two yokes at the armhole before you attach the bias binding. This is in the instructions, but I believe it is referred to as basting the "shoulder edges" (step 7B). I missed this step and consequently didn't catch a layer in some spots. It wouldn't have been a problem if I'd have noticed right away, but I clipped and discovered it until I went to understitch. 
• Follow the sew along on the Grainline Studio blog. I found the button bands and the corner where you attach the gathered skirt front to be challenging just following the instructions. 

Happy sewing!