The Landgate from Merchant and Mills

Well it has been a while hasn't it?  It's not that I have not been sewing, it is more that I have done so much sewing I just couldn't keep up with writing about it.  I was so pleased with how the Landgate from Merchant and Mills has turned out I felt I should share it with you.

I decided to make this showerproof smock as I am planning to be walking up Mount Snowdon soon.  I wanted something I could stuff into a backpack but would be useful on a day when rain was not due but might happen anyway.  The fabric is from Flamingo Fabrics who have a fantastic range of 100% polyester waterproof plastics.  I decided I wanted to go bright and this fabric was perfect.

The fabric cuts and sews really well.  I was very pleased with how it behaved.  The pattern itself was for me quite challenging in the first steps when making the hood which I have to admit surprised me.  Not that I think I am so clever I never make mistakes, but I have made a few Merchant and Mills patterns over the years and find them straightfoward and always give me a pleasing result.  I think I was trying to preempt the pattern rather than sitting and reading it properly - always a mistake.  Thankfully the fabric allowed me to unpick stitches.  Some waterproof fabrics will be left with visible (and rain allowing) holes in them if you unpick, but the woven nature of this fabric seemed more forgiving.  Once I had got the hood attached I stopped the constant expletives (mainly at myself rather than the pattern)_and  the rest of the make settled down to be quite straight forward.

The sleeves needed trimming back as they were quite long, but that is better than being too short and it is always good to check all measurements before you cut!  I know this is obvious so maybe I am only reminding myself, but patterns sometimes surprise you where you don't expect it.

I really enjoyed making this smock.  I have been making quite a few simple jersey tops recently (more of that soon) and whilst I love simple makes, it was nice to get myself back into the headspace of something more challenging and structured.  

I will not leave it so long before posting again - promise!

until then, stay safe and be kind.

The paisley blouse

Isn't paisley a lovely word?  I have always liked the word and I have a real fondness for the pattern too.  This next sewing project was driven by the fabric first and then by the pattern.  I had fallen in love with some paisley fabric from Merchant and Mills and I was determined that I would make a blouse from it.  A bit of hunting and I found the perfect pattern from Butterick: B5538.  I liked this pattern as it has several different adaptations you can make from it.  The sleeves and collars are all interchangeable so you can mix and match to make the blouse you want.

It is also quite a straight forward pattern.  At first when I cut it out I thought it had a lot of pieces.  A lot of pieces to me meant it was probably going to be tricky, but they went together quite well.  I find I have to look at a pattern almost from a distance at first to work out what it is trying to do and then see how it makes it happen.

There are things I like very much about this blouse.  I like the interfaced front very much.  It makes it feel sturdy and also means that it is not scarily see-through.

The cuffs are also things of wonder.  I had not made a blouse with cuffs before and I worried that I might find them difficult.  They did take me a bit of fiddling around with, but nothing serious and they look really good.

I chose some vintage buttons to finish the blouse off.  I am very pleased with the buttons.  I am becoming completely convinced that a good button can be the make or fail of a project.  I have worn this blouse a few times now, for leisure and for work and people have commented on how nice it looks.

Mid-sewing this blouse I bought a new sewing machine (as you do).  I decided however to finish off this project on the old machine, partly as a courtesy to the old machine rather than just shelve it, and partly so I could have a play on the new machine and get used to it before committing to starting a new project.   I shall introduce you to the new machine in the next post.

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.

The pink trousers of happiness

Fairly recently I had to throw away my favourite stripy linen trousers.  I had had these trousers for many years and they finally decided that enough was enough and they wore thin.  They were brilliant trousers as they had a very forgiving tie-waist that meant that as my weight fluctuates, (a polite way of saying I sometimes get quite big and then if I am lucky I get smaller again),  I was still able to wear them comfortably.  I was therefore sorry to say goodbye to them but decided that I ought to be able to make some replacements.  A very brief scouting about on the internet and I found the pattern that was almost identical to the trousers I had just discarded.

The 101 Trousers from Merchant and Mills were quickly purchased.  I have fallen in love with their patterns as they have great style and are so straightforward and easy to use.  It was really pleasant to feel fairly confident that this project was doable before I had started the make.

The fabric I chose also came from Merchant and Mills, it is a rather delightful red chambray.  It cut out nicely and is quite a well behaved fabric.  It is not too slippy and whilst it does fray a bit at the edges, it was straightforward to sew.

The pattern made up quite quickly and I love the finished trousers.

The fabric is quite light so I think these are very much for warmer days.

I still need some stripy linen trousers to replace the lost loved pair so you can be fairly certain I will be making this pattern again.

The Rugby Dress - my confidence takes another step forward

One of the greatest things about an ecletic group of twitter friends is that they make you aware of companies you might otherwise not have found.  I cannot remember who first alerted me to Merchant and Mills, but I thank you even if my bank account does not.  I first started looking at their patterns, The Ellis and Hattie caught my eye and it still remains there as a thought not followed........ yet.......

What started off this particular thought-chain was a wish to make a denim dress.  I had seen a couple for sale that were that nice casual but smart mix, but sadly also rather expensive.  I had that 'I reckon I could make one of those' moments and so started searching for the perfect denim fabric. This search took longer than I had expected.  I could find lots of denim, but which one was the right one.  I needed to be certain of weight and the aspect of colour also was perplexing me.  I saw some nice red denims and they are also stored in that little 'maybe later' corner of my mind.  In the end I found exactly what I wanted at Sherwoods Fabrics, this rather lovely red-backed denim.  But then, of course, I needed the right pattern.

There was more searching, I kept going back to the Merchant and Mills website and eventually I decided it was The Rugby that was worth a try.

I love the quality of this pattern.  The pattern itself is on thicker paper than the usual tissue paper from the large manufacturers.  I bought the fabric and waited for it to arrive.  It is quite a heavy denim and very good quality.  I read through the instructions carefully and set to work.

Gosh denim is a delight to sew!  It behaved itself and the pattern came together very well.  I was very pleased with the results.  I used the red reverse to make the contrasting collar and cuffs.   I took my time with the collar and I think I did a good job with it.  I did, however, hit a snag.  My sewing machine did not enjoy sewing this denim.  I broke three needles (yes three), it was a bit of a scrum and I started to wonder whether the machine I have was the right one for where I wanted to go with my sewing.  Anyhoo, the machine did complete the dress, it was a good conversion and I felt that I achieved my goal.

I have worn the dress a couple of times and I truly love it.  It is comfy and perfect for these mild autumn days we are having at the moment.  I think in terms of my sewing journey I definitely advanced over the gain line.

I also at this point, bought a new addition for the sewing room, a little bin.

This little bin slips into the top of the fabric stash cupboard and is incredibly useful.  It cost very little and is just a wonderful thing.  Sometimes it is the little things that make all the difference.

and so it was on to the next project......