Merchant & Mills Sewing Patterns

There's a reason Merchant & Mills patterns look different to everything else on the shelf. Carolyn Denham and Roderick Field started the company in Rye, East Sussex, in 2010, and built it around utility rather than trend: sturdy shapes borrowed from workwear, generous ease, and instructions written on the assumption that you're serious about what you're making. The patterns arrive as heavy paper in their distinctive plain packaging, and the designs tend to stay in the wardrobe for years rather than a season.

The Factory Dress is probably the best known of them, a relaxed, retro-cut dress with pockets and pre-rolled sleeves that slips over the head. Around it sit the Trapeze Dress, an easy signature shape that works across seasons; the Ellsworth Shirt, boxy with a half placket and dropped back hem; the 101 Trouser and Eve Trouser; the Harlene Dungarees; the Shepherd Skirt; and outerwear including the Landgate hooded jacket, the Denham jacket drawn from a vintage Austrian hiking design, the September Coat and the TN34 parka. There's also the Sidney sweatshirt, Winnie pyjamas, the Miller waistcoat, the Factotum bag and, for good measure, the Barka dog coat.

Sizing

Merchant & Mills typically release a design as two separate patterns, one covering roughly UK 6-18 and another covering UK 18-28, rather than one envelope spanning the whole range. Some of the unisex designs are sized XS to XXL or XS to 3XL instead, and the men's patterns run on chest measurements. Check the size on the individual pattern before you order, and work from the body measurements rather than the size you'd buy ready-made, as the fit is deliberately roomy on many of these designs.

What to make them in

These are patterns drafted with real cloth in mind, and most of them are happiest in something with weight and character: linen, denim, wool, canvas, oilskin, twill and heavier cottons. The September Coat is a good illustration of the range, reading as a proper winter coat in wool or oilskin and as a casual throw-on in linen, from the same pattern. Each pattern lists its own fabric recommendations in the product description, and they're worth following closely, as the shapes rely on the fabric having enough body to hold them.

Where to start

If you haven't sewn one before, the simpler dresses and the Sidney sweatshirt are more forgiving than the tailored outerwear, which assumes a bit of experience. Browse plus size patterns for the larger-size versions of these and other designs, or the full sewing pattern range. For cloth, the linen, denim and wool collections are the natural places to look.