We loved making the top version of this so much that we're revisited The Camber Set by Merchant & Mills, this time to make the dress.

As we mentioned in our first blog about making the top, this pattern really lends itself to using a contrasting fabric for some of the pattern pieces. With that in mind, for this make we decided to use Nani Iro for Kokka's Mountain Views in Grey and we've chosen to add some contrasting panels in our 100% Organic Cotton Crossweave in the Dark Grey. As I'm sure you'll have gathered by now we love a bit of grey!

 Initially we were only going to make the front neck binding in the contrasting fabric but when we started to sew the pieces together we decided to contrast the back yoke as well.

This pattern has already become a firm favourite and one which we plan to make again and again. Because of it's simple silhouette and understated panels, it's a style that you can easily make several times in different fabrics, and each time it'll look totally different.

For our next make, we're thinking we'll make it in Robert Kaufman's Washed Indigo Denim, and reverse out the denim for the front neck binding and the sleeves to create a subtle contrast!

This year sees Selvedge Magazine take their Spring Fair on the road for the very first time and we're really excited to be exhibiting at the Stroud event on Saturday 16th May, 2015.

The Fair will be on at The Subscription Rooms, Kendrick Street, GL5 1AE, from 9am to 4pm, and coincides with Stroud International Textile Festival.

We can't bring all our lovely stock but we will have a carefully selected range including our designer and organic Fat Quarters & Fat Quarter Bundles, along with Merchant & Mills beautifully packaged haberdashery and gift items.

We'll also have other gift items including the beautiful Nancy Nicholson Embroidery Stitch Kits, and What Delilah Did Cross Stitch Cushion Kits.

If you live in the Stroud area, do please come along, we'd love to meet you!

For our latest make we've chosen The Dress Shirt by Merchant and Mills. This dress comes with 2 sleeve options, one short sleeved, which we're chosen, and the other a longer half sleeve with rolled up cuffs.

This dress is inspired by the Grandad style of shirt; its classic cut and relaxed style has been designed by Carolyn Denham, founder of Merchant and Mills, to be worn loose but at the same time she's managed to create a flattering silhouette. Carolyn's clever pattern cutting skills mean there's no need for a zip or buttons for this dress, making it suitable for both beginners and experienced sewists alike!

As this dress would work well in so many different fabrics it was hard to decide what to use for our first make of this pattern! However, we finally landed on the Yarn Dyed Essex Linen in Black by Robert Kaufman and chose to line the bib and back yoke in the tonally contrasting Organic Cotton Crossweave in Black. The Essex Linen is a beautiful quality fabric, what we particularly like about the yarn dyed fabrics is how the Black is woven with an Ecru to create a subtle chambray effect, as apposed to a solid colour.

This pattern is a joy to make, the instructions are clear and have helpful illustrations, which we found really easy to follow.

The one point that may be a little tricky for those new to sewing is when the back yoke and lining pieces are attached (Points 11 to 14), if this is a little daunting then check out our blog post on The Camber Set. Other than that it's really straightforward.

We did find that this style came up quite big, so we would recommend that you check the sizing carefully first with a view to possibly making a size smaller.

This is a style we'll be making time and time again, next we're thinking possibly Robert Kaufman's Chambray Union Woven Spot or the Striped Railroad Denim!

Find out what inspired me to set up The Draper's Daughter in the May 2015 edition of ETC Magazine, in the article entitled The Fabric of Life

We've had such an amazing response to the Fat Quarter Bundles we introduced a couple of weeks ago! So to add to the collection we've brought together brighter colours and bold patterns for these two new bundles.

Firstly, we have our Gorgeous Ginghams which are made from 100% Organic Cotton, the beauty of these ginghams is that the checks are woven as apposed to printed. This fabric has a lovely soft hand-feel making it ideal for quilting and small soft furnishing and craft projects.

 The second of our latest bundles is Nani Iro Brights within which we're paired together two of our Nani Iro for Kokka prints, Mountain Views and Pierre Pocho, both in two colourways. This beautiful double gauze fabric has a lovely drapey quality, again making it perfect for quilting and small home furnishing projects.

The colour combinations used by Naomi Ito are lovely, we particularly like the pops of neon and subtle metallics within this collection.

These Fat Quarter Bundles would make an ideal gift for the "crafter" in your life or perhaps a treat for yourself!