Before I get started, let’s call out the elephant in the room – my awful pattern matching! Which, let’s face it, was pretty much non existent in this make. I didn’t realise just how off the grain I was until after I’d cut everything out! This is definitely a big reminder for me to true the grain in my fabric after washing it…

Anyway, here’s my version of the Alder shirtdress from Grainline Studios which is this month’s offering for the Minerva Crafts Blogger Network.

It’s my first pattern from Grainline that I’ve used (I’ve got the Cascade Duffle coat but haven’t actually used it yet) but I’ve had my eye on it for a while. I liked the two views available and it seemed like a good fit with the silhouettes I like. Also it’s a shirtdress and I love all shirtdresses…

I opted to make the plain skirted version for this one in a lovely wine red plaid fabric.

I couldn’t just leave it plain though!

I thought what better way to make this dress more interesting than adding a frill cap sleeve and collar?

And here it is!

You can read more about how I hacked this pattern on the Minerva Crafts blog here!