Merchant & Mills Whittaker Dress

I had been wanting to make the Whittaker for quite some time and after I was gifted the pattern for Christmas I decided this would be my final make of 2023. I really enjoyed the process and loved how neat the facings and top stitching came out. I was a little frustrated when I got to the side seams as the instruction to finish the edges of the button stand was not in the same place as all of the other instructions, it was added to the picture rather than the written list of steps and so I had not seen it. This meant I had to do a rather messy finish as it had already been sewn in. The pockets were a little taxing, I think the instructions could be clearer here but after some thought I figured it out. I left the sewing of the button holes until the dress was finished to be sure I had them where I wanted them. I only had 6 buttons so spaced them out a bit more than the pattern guide suggests and it worked fine. I am 5ft 5" a UK size 12 and I made the size 12 in the short version of the pattern. It is intended to be quite an oversized garment but I think I may size down at the bust and hips if I make this again, just so it's not quite so roomy. The shoulders were fine at this size though. Overall, I am very happy with the dress, I made it in a chunky corduroy with some Liberty for the lining and pocket bags. I only did one row of topstitching throughout due to it being fairly invisible in my fabric so 2 rows would have been pointless.

I picked up this fabric in charity shop - what a find! its really lovely quality, and i still have enough for a skirt.

I really like this pattern but I made it hard for myself by lining it - it doesn't really lend itself to lining!

Overall I am pleased with the result, but next time I would make a size smaller.

I bought this pattern because it was on sale and because I like a pinafore dress. Where to start ?  first take your measurements..which put me at a size 14. Then look at the finished garment measurements.. which had so much ease it was almost unbelievable. I decided on the basis of the finished garment measurements to size down to a size 8 and I am very glad I did because the size 8 is a very good fit. This is one of those patterns where all the bits just fit together absolutely perfectly which made its very satisfying and enjoyable make. There is a lot of feature topstitching and I did mine in red.

This is a lovely classic denim pinafore dress. I bought some amazing Japanese dip dyed fabric from RayStitch rather than classic denim, but all the styling, including the huge amounts of topstitching have a strong jeans vibe.

I would have liked to make it the full maxi length but I didn't have enough fabric so went for something between the 2 lengths given in the pattern.

I made my usual FBA (and thus added a dart) but came out bigger than I was anticipating! Plus the stiffness of the fabric makes it stand out from the body so I actually took it in from the size 14 to make it more like a size 12.

The instructions are fantastic - very clear and with great diagrams so you can't go wrong. Definitely feel a winter version would work!