Merchant & Mills Camber Dress in Nani Iro Double Gauze

September sun, when it actually emerges, gives the best light!  These photos were taken by my daughter this morning, no adjustments needed as the colours are singing and dancing.  I made this Camber dress (by Merchant & Mills) at the start of the month with some Nani Iro double gauze in a gorgeous blue from Eternal Maker that has been waiting for its destiny for over a year! I didn't have sufficient for a standard layout with the pattern piece grainlines following the selvedges so I had to go rogue; the back below the bodice was placed perpendicular to the selvedge with no ill effects and I used all of the 1.5m length, only tiny scraps remained.

Making Notes:

I made a size 8 and a toile first so this dress was made with the following alterations based on 33" bust, 27" waist, 36" hip:

• Lengthened the bust dart to be the equivalent of size 6 and altered the sides accordingly so the point meets the size 8 dart markings at the side seam.
• Reduced the front and back bodice pieces and back yoke at the centre fold mark by 1/2" on each piece- the width was too wide for me and my apex to apex measurement is narrow at 7". I adjusted the neckline so it remained the same, so the shoulder seam width is reduced a little at the neckline front and back. This is a significant reduction of 2" around the garment so creates a more fitted look than the original style.
• I reduced the side seams from below the armhole to a maximum of 3/4" at the waist and blended into the hip line (hipline reduced by 1/4")
• I reduced the A-line side seams from hip to hem so they were a straight diagonal rather than curving outward.

The neckline and back yoke construction is particularly neat. Bias binding finishes the front neckline and a clever bit of seam work over the shoulders means everything is covered and stabilised by the back bodice.  The neckline is quite high but that's fine by me and it would be easy to lower, just allow a longer piece of bias binding, I used a scrap of Liberty lawn.

It's a great pattern to showcase a beautiful print with minimal interruptions.  The dress is fitted enough to feel flattering and loose enough for comfort. The photos below show the moment where Lottie, our dog, joined in on the photo shoot, hence the facial expressions!

I found the same Nani Iro double gauze Fuccra: Rakuen print here  with more options here and in the UK, here.

Soft Sole clogs are from Lotta from Stockholm, these sometimes come up as seconds too.

Camber Set - top and dress pattern is available at The Draper's Daughter and Village Haberdashery.

I'm really happy with the finished dress and it's a great basis for tops too - it's going to be a much used pattern!

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Merchant and Mills Rugby Dress in Linen and Liberty

Each summer I seem to find a dress that I make multiple times.  Last year is was Named Clothing's Kielo dress, I made three- see here, here and here.  This year, the weather was cooler and so I ended up choosing a cross-seasonal choice, the Merchant and Mills Ruby Dress.  This came about by chance.  Merchant and Mills started a small ready-to-wear line, Label, and the Rugby Dress was heavily discounted in their sale. I bought a size 8 and I loved it and wore it a lot and so promptly bought the pattern from Village Haberdashery with some glorious Lady McCelroy linen in Marinee and sewed up this version.

Making Notes:

I made a size 8 with the following alternations:

• Lengthening the bust dart to size 6 point" 
• Narrowing the side seam from underarms to pockets by 1/4"
• Hem reduced by 1"

I find Merchant & Mills patterns seem to differ from each other little in their presentation and instruction style.  The Rugby dress has size 6 cutting lines, the other styles (I have the Factory Dress,  and the Camber) do not.  The Rugby has smoothly drawn digital style diagrams, the others have hand drawn sketchy pictures.  There was a minor error and there are amended extra instructions to cover this (it's to do with the order of sewing in the collar). Check each pattern for seam allowances as they can vary too.  Merchant & Mills designs look simple but there's always a very neat technique or finishing method and the pattern drafting is beautiful, even though I always make alterations, they are simple.  Every pattern I've made involved narrowing the centre in some way: either lengthening the bust darts and shaving down the side seams, or reducing the centre width at the centre fold line (did this on the Camber, more to come on that when I get photos!).  I especially like the closer fit on the shoulders combined with lots of room to move in the skirt section, plus the pockets are placed perfectly for me and disappear into the side seams. I faced mine with Liberty lawn in a blue cross stitch print.  The visible Liberty lawn on the collar, placket and cuffs is a Grayson Perry print (long out-of-print) that I have scraps of from a dress from years back.  It is one of my all-time favourite fabrics.  The Lady McCelroy linen is a lovely weight for this style, it definitely needs a prewash and colour catcher too!

Here's a little outtake pic, I'm in mid conversation with the photographer, my daughter.  We usually try and take these photos as fast as possible as it's on the road in front of our house so rather visible!  I'm hoping to squeeze in another of these dresses for a little early Autumn wear, this time in Rustica Chambray which has a lovely drape, fingers crossed...

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Boats at Sea Factory Dress

I've been wearing this dress off and on since June and meaning to share it ever since.  I make most of my clothes with a specific activity or day out in mind.  It doesn't have to be anything fancy, this dress was made for a local weekend away where I knew we'd be doing a fair amount of walking and spending time on the beach.  I wanted something practical and comfortable and the large boatprint needed a relatively simple style.

I returned to the Merchant and Mills Factory dress pattern which has proved more versatile than I thought!  This time, I left off the pointed collar and the pocket from my original style alterations as I thought they would clutter up the print.  I used a scrap of Oakshott cream coloured cotton for the simpler collar and most of my time was spent on balancing the print.

The photos are a little adhoc.  We had just walked along a coastal path and the rain had stopped so I asked my daughter to take some quick pics on my iPhone, the setting was too good to pass up!

The fabric is a very good quality linen, maybe there's a little cotton in there too.  Light to medium weight and sufficiently opaque not to need lining.  I bought it for a song at an outdoor market but Pin It and Stitch have been selling it and so have Patch Fabrics.  For pattern matching, I tended to rely on matching and tracing bits of the design on the pattern paper.  I cut the bodice and the skirt so that the print looked continuous down the centre line.  The placket was the hardest part as although it looks integral, it is added as a separate piece as on my previous Factory dress.  As before, I followed the placket instructions in David Page Coffins Shirtmaking book which has just reappeared online at a normal price so I am guessing it has been through a re-print!  

 Both my altered factory dresses have been summer wardrobe stalwarts: airy and comfortable and a great shape to showcase the fabrics involved.

Last year, the Alder dress was my top choice of pattern - I made two;  this year it has been the Factory dress.  Do you have a top dressmaking pattern for this summer?

I Love Nani Iro Month: En Garden Factory Dress

My heart leapt when I received an email from Frances of Miss Matabi a few weeks ago asking if I would like to take part in her wonderful Nani Iro month of projects and gorgeous fabrics.  I couldn't write my response fast enough and within a short time, my fabric choice, En Garden Ki double gauze arrived.  It is an amazing colour, a green that matches my cutting board.  I am a big fan of green.

I didn't have an immediate idea of what I wanted to make.  I knew it would be a dress and I wanted it to be simple- avoiding zips, buttonholes or fiddly fastenings and making the most of the gorgeous print.   Sewing with double gauze reminds me a little of pastry baking: it needs minimal handling.  Not sure if it needs cold fingers too but you catch my drift.  After some dithering, I settled on the Merchant and Mills Factory Dress pattern but with some changes. The double gauze En Garden fabric definitely needed a prewash; it turned colour catcher jade green.

I sketched out my ideas in a Fashionary- a sketch book with the body 'croquis' already lightly printed on the paper.  I don't usually do this but it did help get my head around a few style variations.  I did my usual internet research to see what others had done with the dress.  Most people make it up in a neutral high quality fabric like a yarn dyed linen chambray or a light denim which looks lovely but for me it is a little like the sewing room with white walls and a single sewing machine on an empty white table- a dream that is never going to happen.  I like pattern, it lifts my spirit in the way plainer fabrics rarely can.     I find the revere collar style of the factory dress a little reminiscent of school uniform and games kit and prefer a collar with stand, so with a library copy of David Paige Coffin's wonderful tome, 'Shirt Making' I set about drafting a two coloured tower placket, a collar stand and a collar.  The benefit of using a placket is that the front piece is cut out of one piece of fabric and maintains the design.  I made a test garment first from some pretty but poor quality cotton found at a car boot sale and I was glad I did, it allowed me to make many mistakes and master the technique!

I used the Deer and Doe Bleuet collar and stand pattern pieces as a stating point and adapted the size to fit the existing neckline of the factory dress.  The front placket with point was in the book and I changed the length of the placket and kept everything else the same.   My contrasting fabric was some Oakshott cotton; the colour is discontinued but you can find similar here.  I added Perfect Fuse sheer tricot fusible interfacing to the placket, mainly to keep the edges stable on the double gauze section.  

Here are the other making stats.

• Cut size 8 Factory Dress pattern and on reduced the bodice sides and waist by a total of 4"-an average of 1" on each side edge.   Repeated on the skirt pieces.  On the front skirt I took the inch from the centre top of the waist and kept the bottom half the same, grading the outside seam line.
• Pattern used 2.5 metres of 110cm fabric.
• Contrast fabric for stand up collar, part of the placket and the pockets.
• Moved the bust dart points upwards by ¾" inch on each point.
• Top stitched the shoulder seams and sleeve seams.

• Changed the pocket construction so that the top of the pocket was caught in the waist seam rather than having pocket bags flapping around.  I used Christine Haynes Emery Dress pocket pieces and her construction method.
• I added bias binding to the inside of the waist seam to neaten it up and have it smooth against the skin.  It looks a little uneven on the inside but on the outside there is a ¼" topstitching line to keep it in place.

• The collar and stand were interfaced with prepared for dyeing bleach white Kona cotton following a suggestion in 'Shirtmaking'. The interfacing pieces is cut minus the seam allowances and glue basted to the wrong side of the collar and stand.  It is held in place temporarily by the glue and permanently by the top stitching.
• The seams are sewn with Gutermann sew all poly thread but the top stitching was all done with Aurifil 50wt and a very small stitch.  Again a suggestion from 'Shirtmaking'.
• I used a 75 ballpoint needle throughout.  I find ballpoint needles are brilliant for the thin threads and loose weave of double gauze. 
• I added waist ties (pattern pieces from Darling Ranges dress pattern) placed 5" either side of the centre back as even after allowing for loose fit, the back was still baggy.  

• I used seam tape for the hem.

As a finished garment, it is wonderfully comfortable.  Great for hot days and cooler days with a camisole underneath and maybe a hoodie.  A practical pretty dress that can take a day's sewing, a dog walk and time at the beach.  I am wearing it with this year's Saltwater sandals.  I buy a pair each year  and they are another pretty practical part of my wardrobe. The Merchant and Mills pattern is based on 1930s utilitarian factory wear for women of the time but my version has a more 1950s feel.   It reminds me of something my Grandmother used to wear.  Thank you Frances for sending such amazing material, it was an utter pleasure to sew.

Here are links to the other Nani Iro month contributors taking part this month.  If you join in and make anything from Nani Iro, or want to share pictured of your Nani Iro fabric stash, be sure to use the #ilovenaniro hashtag.

Straightgrain   ∆   noodlehead   ∆   Ute

verykerryberry   ∆   Make It Perfect   ∆   Groovy Baby and Mama

A Little Goodness   ∆   SKIRT AS TOP   ∆   Cashmerette

Sew Little   ∆   imagine gnats   ∆   you & mie

SANAE ISHIDA   ∆   Miss Matatabi

And there is a frankly AMAZING giveaway with a big parcel of Nani Iro goodies worth $400 waiting for some extremely lucky person to win. It includes 20 metres of Nani Iro fabric, 6 rolls of bias tape, two signed books by Naomi Ito, sewing patterns and an extra surprise gift from Naomi Ito herself!   I know, my jaw dropped too.  Headover to France's blog and get your entry in, it is too good to miss!