The hunt for the Union Dress

I have mentioned previously that I have become quite a fan of Merchant and Mills patterns and fabric.  Whilst wandering around the internet I found the Union Dress but not on the Merchant and Mills website.  It became apparent that it was an old pattern that they no longer produced.  I really liked the design so tried to track down a copy.  In the end in mild desperation I emailed Merchant and Mills and asked if they maybe had an old one at the back of a drawer.  Sadly they did not have one but they knew someone who had one left, just one last paper pattern, so I quickly ordered it and waited for it to arrive.

I already knew which fabric I wanted to make this from.  I had seen the most wondering smouldering mustard coloured cotton fabric on the Merchant and Mills website and I knew it was destined to be made into this dress.

The dress was very straightforward to make up.  It did not take too long and I was really pleased with it.

It has many pockets, two at the sides and two 'pouch' pockets at the front.  I like the pouch pockets and if I make (who am I kidding, when I make) this pattern again I shall have a go at edge stitching the pockets.  This time I decided against and I am happy with this decision.

I chose these rather wonderful metal flower buttons for the dress.  They work with it very well I think.

This dress is the perfect comfy wandering about dress.  I have already worn it quite a lot and every time I wear it someone says what a lovely colour/style it is.  This makes me very happy.

A massive thank you to Michelle at Merchant and Mills for helping me track down the pattern.

A massive thank you to Cool Crafting for having the last paper pattern.

and there is a happy postscript to this story as it was going to be called the 'last Union Dress' but it turns out it is not.  Merchant and Mills have made the pattern available again by PDF only.  I feel I played a small part in bringing it back from retirement.