I am certainly not the only person to swoon for this design, and if you are feeling the love you can still get some here in the cream and blue colour-way! They also have some left at Spool of Thread if you are in Vancouver (last time I checked). I chose this colour-way after seeing Kelli’s amazing Carolyn Pajamas, I love the combination of the soft teal and the bright pink.
Because of my silly fear of messing up (is that FOMU instead of FOMO?), I decided to go with a tried and true pattern to avoid ending up with a garment that did not suit me or fit me quite right. The Alder shirtdress is a perfect work dress for me. It is an appropriate length while still being fun, a relaxed fit at the waist (not cutting off my ability to breathe when sitting at my desk all day), and I love the gathers and high-low swoop on the hem. My first Alder was made in rayon, and it is my favourite me-made item! I feel put together and stylish when I wear it, while still being very comfortable. This version is not as drapey because the cotton lawn has a more crisp look, but it does show off the gathers nicely.
Lawn cloth or lawn is a plain weave textile, originally of linen but now chiefly cotton. Lawn is designed using fine, high count yarns, which results in a silky, untextured feel. The fabric is made using either combed or carded yarns.
I decided to challenge myself with this project by attempting to pattern match across the centre front placket. I would have pattern matched elsewhere had I had enough fabric, but the repeat of this print is large, so the expense would have been quite high. The centre front seam draws a lot of attention so it seemed the best place to prioritize, and I am pretty chuffed with the results. It isn’t quite perfect, but I think I could get it perfect next time, so that is exciting. Pattern matching across a placket is challenging because of all the seam allowances to consider. It helps to be very familiar with placket construction, so you don’t forget about a seam allowance like I did (whoops, sorry little octopi!).
Another thing I decided to do was sew the front placket closed. I did this on my first Alder, after the fact, because it kept popping open at the front (button holes were slightly too large) and it was easy to pull on overhead. I like the ease of it and I hate button holes so... voila, fake buttons! How do you guys feel about this? Does it make you cringe? I sewed the buttons on and then sewed the placket closed, so the buttons are on the side of the placket where the holes would normally be. I left the top two buttons under, on the side the buttons would usually be, because it is open here. I am considering making 2 buttonholes for the top buttons to complete the illusion, but I also don’t know that anyone would ever notice (except you guys of course). I suppose if I did this I could button it to the neck (not a likely scenario though). Not going to lie, I felt like I was cheating on a test when doing this, but also like I was getting away with it, haha.
Special thanks to Laurie Best for taking these lovely photos in my parents back yard! She always encourages me to try new things with angles, lighting and framing, and the results are so fun!
