Merchant & Mills The Top #64

For Christmas a couple of years back my daughter bought me this Merchant & Mills pattern, in the past when I have bought their patterns online they have arrived in a cardboard tube and the pattern pieces are made of card, you can read of my previous M & M patterns here http://finelinenandpurple.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=Merchant+%26+mills

The designs are beautiful and their shop and website sell fantastic fabrics and haberdashery items. 

For Mother's Day my daughter gave me a voucher for Cloth House, a really quaint fabric shop in London, where I bought this spotty Indian fabric to make the top. 

I know I have made a mistake around the neck as my interfacing was too short so I added a bit in and although the neck is wider than it should be, it looks ok and I'm really pleased with the result. 

Next time I will buy some thicker fabric and make a shirt for the winter, hopefully I will get it right then!

 I have found a really helpful blog on www.raystitch.co.uk they have made this same pattern and have written a review on it and now I know I have to figure out the sleeve part of the pattern correctly to get the neck right :)

                    

summer dress

Last year I bought a pattern for a Merchant & Mills Panel Dress, I was really pleased with it and also bought a pattern for a smock style dress and made a shirt length one in the Spring. Earlier in the week I drove to Watford (I hate Watford) to visit John Lewis for some dress fabric only to find they have stopped stocking dress fabric....Ridiculous! So I looked online to see if there are any fabric shops in St Albans, we drove over there yesterday to find the shop is no longer a fabric shop....bother! I did however find another fabric shop and bought this lovely blue and white striped seer sucker. 

So today I made my dress :) it didn't take too long as I also managed to fit in a pile of ironing and a walk to town. The pattern is quite easy, I decided to used French seams throughout as the cotton is quite fine and looked like even with zig zagging the edges it would probably still fray. I am very pleased with the result and will look out for some more fabric for another Summer dress. 

            

                             

               

                                                 

  

shirt

I finished the shirt from the Merchant & Mills pattern, I am really pleased with it but the photo's don't do it justice. The organic fabric was lovely to cut and sew, the pattern easy to follow and I am happy with the end result so I will probably buy some lighter fabric and make a summer shirt too. It looks good as it is or with a thin black polo neck under.