ALDER + ARCHER SHIRTDRESS

Happy February! Big things are happening this month! It's my 30th birthday in less than 2 weeks (eek!) and we've got four new fabrics coming to Threadbare Fabrics!! Things are pretty cold here in California (I'm from the midwest, so I know that's basically a joke) - but we're really not used to below 50F degree temps. Now onto my new favorite dress...

I'm not going to lie - I'm a total Grainline fan girl. I love Jen's style, and basically anything she posts about, or any pattern she releases - I'm going to at least consider it... If not buy it and make it immediately. So when she released instructions for a pattern hack featuring Alder + Archer - I was smitten, and I wanted to make my own.

ALDER + ARCHER DRESS
Pattern: Grainline Studio Alder Dress + Archer Shirt
Size: Alder View B, size 10 + 1.5" FBA (3" total) with Archer sleeve,  size 10 tapered to size 2 at wrist
Modifications: The whole thing is a mod!
Fabric: Floral viscose (rayon) poplin from Blackbird Fabrics (unfortunately sold out)

It took me awhile to perfect my Alder pattern (I still have not posted about this), but basically Jen's pattern measurements don't really match my body - so I end up with an amalgam of sizes and a necessary FBA. However, my Alder and Archer patterns fit perfectly now - so they were ready to be combined!

I found the perfect fabric for my Alder + Archer dress from Caroline's beautiful shop - Blackbird Fabrics. Caroline's viscose poplins are always great for dresses and skirts, because they've got all the benefits of rayon (soft, flowing) with the added bonus of being opaque.

I went to work combining the patterns - using Jen's tutorial (it involves changing the arm hole shape). I also took a page out of Katie's book, and made the front of the skirt gathered all the way across, by hacking off the front "tails" of the View B pattern, and extending the skirt fronts. Additionally, because I was already tracing the pattern off to change the arm holes, I combined the yoke and back piece into one because *laziness.* 

Overall, I'm really in love with this dress. Changing the arm hole shape isn't terribly difficult, but I do have a few changes for next time. I think I may still need to give a bit of room in the front of the armscye....sometimes it seems a bit tight. Also, I think I really need to use the Archer pockets vs. the Alder pockets, because after doing an FBA, they seem almost comically small (luckily they blend right into the fabric enough to not bother me... too much).

These photos were also taken by Jeremy in the Munich Englischer Garten, and you can see more pics from our recent Germany/Austria trip here.