*Here’s a post I wrote back in the day and never posted. I find it quite funny, maybe you won’t. It features photos taken recently and also from 2014. I’ve also made some amendments here and there and added new information where appropriate, although hopefully it isn’t too confusing to read.
Allders. Do they still exist? Do I still exist? Someone (doubt it) may have asked, and it seems that yes, I am actually alive after all this time. Lots has been happening and to be honest, I just haven’t really sewn much. I finally moved out and into a better sewing place, and then just didn’t feel like it. For months and months. Sporadically I’d make something, but I was never really enjoying myself. Until now. So here I am.
Alders, I’ve made three in the last year. One test version which I’ve grown quite fond of, one winter version which I am incredibly fond of, and one summer version which has yet to be worn out, but I’m fond of it on my dressform. I’ll tell you about all three.
Alder one
Test Alder was made last summer, shortly after the pattern was released. I had this pink cotton/linen fabric that wasn’t doing much. I hadn’t put it in storage for some reason, but I wasn’t all that keen on it. I like pink, but I always feel a bit awkward wearing it. I’m not the girliest of women, so I feel like wearing pink unnecessarily screams I AM A FEMALE at passers by. So I used it to try out Alder.
For the under collar I used a scrap of floral cotton. Turns out this wasn’t the most sensible idea as the colour changed after a few washes.
I jumped the gun a bit and moved the bust darts down a bit (a centimetre?) as I had to do on the Tiny Tank, but it turns out I had no need. Minor. I still like it a lot. The buttons were bought from the excellent William Gee shop in Dalston.
Photo from September 2014! Moody sad face, this was a difficult time for me. Fun dress though!
Alder two – excuse the weird colour, not sure what my camera was up to.
Winter Alder has been my favourite thing to wear this year. I made it in February (2015?) and wore it consistently until it became too warm to do so. It’s an Alder/Archer mash up, and I must say I much prefer this sleeved Alder than the sleeveless version.I followed the tutorial on the blog to do this.
The fabric is amazing, I got it from Dalston Mill Fabrics and the lovely man there told me it was originally for Hobbs. I got the last few metres and felt very smug. It’s the perfect dark denim colour, and the inside is brushed and fuzzy and warm. The buttons are from the same shop. I wanted metal bronze coloured buttons, but they only had these strange coppery ones. I wasn’t keen on them at all (beggars can’t be choosers), but they have grown on me.
Photo taken on May 13th 2020. Turns out I did wear a me-made.
Alder three
Summer Alder was sewn this week, in a couple of days. (When this week was, I really don’t remember. Sometime in 2015). Another mash up, I think this looks a bit 80s. I’ve had this fabric for a couple of years now, it’s a chambray-ish cotton. Saying that, I’m not entirely sure what makes chambray chambray, does anyone know? Yellow topstitching and wooden buttons for the finish. Not sure about the buttons, I think it hammers home the 80s vibe somehow. I’m well aware of being too lazy to change them at this stage though.
The only slight modification here, other than the Archer sleeves, is that I smoothed out the hem, rather than have the original shape. I plan to take this on holiday, where I will be dancing, which involves lots of silly arm movements, so having a straighter hem is useful for not flashing my knickers when my arms inevitably flail above my head.
So this is where the old post ends.
As you can see, this Alder/Archer became regular shirt length. It did indeed come on holiday with me (to Cuba! What nice memories!) and it was all the walking, sitting and dancing that made me realise just how inappropriately short the hem was. At some point I cut my losses and hemmed it even shorter to become a regular shirt. Luckily I still had some of the topstitching thread that I could use on the hem.
So to finish, these are my Alders. I still wear all three. At first the pink Alder seemed like a waste – living in London, there was never enough summer to wear a sleeveless minidress made of linen. However having lived in Hungary and now France, I actually wear it a lot during summer and have grown to really like it, even if it is a little girlish.
Alder two is still my favourite. It’s quite faded and worn now, but still going strong. Not sure what else to say about it really.
Alder shirt doesn’t get worn as much as it could. The fabric is slightly heavier than the rest of my shirts, so it’s not the easiest to wear on warmer days. I still like it a lot, and this Me-Made-May discovered a new way to wear it.
So there you have it. A weird run down of things I made a long time ago, back when I used to make a lot of my clothes from Grainline Studio patterns. I found this an enjoyable trip down memory lane. Ahh sweet, sweet, painful nostalgia.
But do tell if these old garment posts are actually interesting or not. Personally it sent me on a deep-dive about Allders Croydon, but perhaps that isn’t what people read sewing blogs for anymore?
