Merchant & Mills Etta Dress

I’ve always loved the minimalist traditional style of Merchant & Mills’s patterns, but hadn’t tried one, so this was my first. The fabric suggestions are for light to medium weight wovens but I wanted to make a winter dress so chose fine Australian merino wool. I chose a regular lining fabric for the bodice and pockets. The skirts are designed to be quite full so I knew that I’d need to reduce the bulk of the skirts because of the thickness of my fabric. I’m 165cm, 32” bust, 37” waist which made me a size 6. I’ve had a brain trauma and I find numbers, distinguishing left from right and wrong side/right side very tricky so I marked up the instructions in different colours. It was my first time making a lined bodice so the detailed instructions and diagrams were invaluable. I found sewing the lining in tricky so I phoned M & M and they were so helpful. The first thing they said to me was “don’t worry, we’ll get through this together and you’ll have a super finished dress”…music to my ears! The seam allowance on the dress is 1.5cm but as I constructed the bodice I was concerned that it would be a bit snug so I reduced it to 1cm around the armholes and the bodice sides.

The skirts…Elwen from M & M worked out the maths for me to ensure that the front and back skirts were in proportion. So I cut the back skirt to 92cm wide, cut on the flat and the front skirts I cut at 72cm wide, each piece cut on the flat. I’m 165cm tall so I reduced the length to 73cm.

The merino wool was a dream to sew with, very stable and it pressed well.

I’m so pleased with the final result, it’s a perfect fit and I love the swishiness of the skirts and the warmth of it. I will definitely make a summer version of the Etta.

I am always on the hunt for pieces that can be worn across the seasons, and when the Merchant and Mills Etta Dress launched, I just knew I had to make it! I started off making a toile of the dress as a peplum blouse to see how the project came together and test the fit.

Fit

I was between sizes and decided to go for the smaller size as I could see from the finished measurements that the ease was quite generous and I was happy I did. I slightly shortened the bodice and lowered the back neck and took a bit out after making my toile, but I think it still needs some tweaking if I make it again. The skirt is very full, which was something that drew me to this pattern, but if you aren't so keen on a full skirt you might want to take some out of the width.

Instructions

I must admit this was my first time actually making a Merchant and Mills pattern (rather than wanting to make one) and I found the instructions were pretty thorough. Some of the terminology was a little different to what I've come across, but it was easy enough to follow. My tip is to make sure you mark your pieces with the wrong side as it can get a little confusing with left and right when making a wrap... something I always struggle with!

Supplies

I visited the Merchant and Mills shop in the summer (and yes, it's every bit as good as you might hope it would be) and picked my fabric out there. I used an Indian checked cotton for the outer and a lovely cotton voile for the lining. I fully lined the garment as the cotton was a tad sheer and I wanted it to be warm enough to wear in the autumn, and I'm so glad I did. You do need quite a lot of fabric for this pattern as the skirt is very full, but in my opinion, it's totally worth it.

I will definitely make Etta again. I think it would be great in denim or plain black cotton to go with lots.