The Fielder – Merchant & Mills

A review of Merchant & Mills Fielder Dress and Top

Reviewed by rosiejane on 23rd July, 2016

I love the way this pattern makes a dress from a casual sweatshirt style, with the raglan sleeves and cuff ribbing, and I’m pleased with the finished dress.
Pattern: I personally felt the instructions were slightly brief, and if I had tried to make it a couple of years ago, I might have found it quite tricky. I stay stitched around the neck front and back before I started, to stop the neck stretching when I put the ribbing on, and I do think this is worth doing. I also thought it was not quite clear in the part about sewing seam tape in at the shoulders – the whole of the seam tape needs to be kept in the seam allowance.
Fabric: I used a piece of linen from my stash which was a total bargain from Abakhan, and I’m not sure if it has any viscose or cotton in it too. The ribbing came from Backstitch and is lovely quality.
Size: I sized down, as I have found Merchant & Mills can be on the large size, but wished I hadn’t! I also found it too long: I had taken 1″ off the length before the photo was taken, and I’ve since taken another couple of inches off.
Next time (and the next one is being planned already):
– make the size corresponding to my bust measurements
– take a bit more care to sew a smooth line at the shoulder darts
– shorten by 3″