We're delighted to have added our first fabrics from Merchant and Mills to our carefully curated collection. We've selected four fabrics from their exclusive Rajasthan Collection which combine traditional hand printed techniques with contemporary designs.

These unique hand block designs are hand printed in Jaipur on 100% summer weight cotton. By virtue of the fact that they are hand made, no two lengths of these fabrics will be exactly the same, making then truly artisan.

First we've Indigo Running Spot with it's irregular rows of cream dots on a dark navy base. This design really does bring hand block printing right up to date and would look fabulous made up as The Dress Shirt or even as a simple tee shape such as The Camber or Scout Tee.

Then there's Daisy Indigo which is made up of lots of tiny dots, this design brings together florals and geometric shapes for a very modern take on the traditional hand block printed designs. This smaller scale design would work well in the tee shapes that we've mentioned above, as well as for dresses, plus we can see this fabric made up in the Lakeside Pajamas by Grainline Studio.

Finally we've two colourways of what is probably the most contemporary of the designs, Delauney. We love how the different stripe widths work and contrast within the square design, giving it a really modern look.

Pictured below is the Indigo colourway, with its uneven print marks which create a mottled effect within the stripes, giving added interest to this design. This fabric has a slightly crisper feel to it, and again would work well for all dressmaking projects, including the Willow Tank.

And below, we've the Charcoal colourway of the Delauney print. The dilemma being which colourway to choose!

We hope that you like these natural hand block printed fabrics as much as we do! We're really looking forward to getting started with some sewing projects using these fabrics.... and don't forget to send in photos of your makes, we love to see what you've been sewing.

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I loved this lengthened version of The Day Dress made by Lisa, the designer and owner of The Avid Seamstress, the moment I first saw it over on Instagram.

It's such an easy adaption, Lisa has simply increased the length of the skirt by 12cm to create a very stylish and contemporary silhouette, and somehow it makes this dress look completely different!

To achieve a similar look why not use one of the Sevenberry fabrics.... Broken Lines cut on the "cross-grain' would work well as would Small Spots.

For a special occasion, or the party season, a lengthened Day Dress in one of the Robert Kaufman Metallic Essex Linens would look stunning. Any one of them would look lovely but this season I'm particularly drawn to the new Storm and Black colourways

We know that the festive period is a busy time for everyone so here's some information and a useful guide to let you know the last dates that you'd need to place your order by to guarantee delivery in time for Christmas!

ASIA & FAR EAST: TUESDAY 6TH DECEMBER

AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND: THURSDAY 8TH DECEMBER

 EUROPE: TUESDAY 13TH DECEMBER

UK STANDARD DELIVERY: TUESDAY 20TH DECEMBER 1PM

UK EXPRESS DELIVERY: WEDNESDAY 21ST DECEMBER 1PM

Please note that from Tuesday 20th customers in the UK will need to select Express Delivery at the checkout for delivery before Christmas.

Thursday 22nd is the last date that we'll be sending out orders, any orders placed after 1pm on Wednesday 21st will be sent out on Tuesday 3rd January.

There's nothing more special than both giving, and receiving, handmade gifts. And with a month to go until Christmas, there's still plenty of time to sew your friends and family a beautiful gift.

Here we've brought together some gift ideas for you to sew which are suitable for both beginner sewists, as well as those of you with more experience too.

The Danish art of "Hygge" is really on-trend this Winter, so what better gift than this beautiful Panelled Cushion Cover! Not only is it easy to make, but it's a great project for using up those fabric scraps. Or, if you're feeling a little more adventurous, why not try our new Patching Cushion Cover Kit, with its metallic prints this makes a great gift, either as is or sewn!

If you fancy making something which is a little more complex, then how about The Lakeside Pajama Set, by Grainline Studio? These cute sleep shorts and cami top make a great gift for a girfriend or female relative. The techniques that you'll need for these include, sewing straight seams, darts, inserting elastic and bias binding.

The nani IRO double gauze fabrics would be perfect for these pajamas, how about Gift Metallic, Birdseye Shinsei, or one of Komorebi designs, such as Shady? For a more understated look, how about Woven Spot by Robert Kaufman, or any one of the Double Gauze Chambray Dobby fabrics.

A really easy sewing project is our tutorial to make a Neckerchief. One of the "must have" items for 2016, this is so easy to make and it's the perfect accessory for any wardrobe. This make is suitable for any lightweight fabrics, such as the double gauzes by nani IRO and Robert Kaufman, examples of which are shown below, and also our Handwoven Indian Printed Cotton.

The Stowe Bag Sewing Pattern, by Grainline Studio, comes in two sizes, and although designed as a project bag, it makes an ideal every day bag as well!

This particular make is best suited to medium weight fabrics such as denim, linen, twill and canvas. Above, this pattern is pictured with one of the Handwoven Ikats, Black Zig Zag which we think would look fantastic, as would any of the fabrics below, choose from Handwoven Stripe in Indigo, or any of Robert Kaufman's yarn Dyed Essex Linens, pictured bottom left is the Metallic Midnight or finally nani IRO's Komorebi Old Film, printed on a mid weight cotton/linen.

For a simpler bag shape, how about a Tote Bag, pictured below. Take a look at our tutorial by clicking here to see just how easy this is to make. As with The Stowe Bag, this would look fabulous made up in any one of the fabrics above.

Alternatively, why not buy one of our fun Knicker Making Kits, you can then make numerous knickers as gifts for your girlfriends by tracing off the pattern for individual sizes. Shown below, are a pair that we need using a fat quarter of some Liberty fabric, with their lovely lace trim they make a lovely handmade gift! Any of the nani IRO double gauze fabrics would work equally well and look really pretty.

If you wanted to make an item of clothing, The Scout Tee, by Grainline Studio is a great choice, designed for woven fabrics, it's a really quick an easy style to make. Why not make it in one of the nani IRO prints that has a touch of metallic within the print or, one of the Metallic Yarn Dyed Essex Linens, we're making it in the Metallic Oyster pictured below.

We really hope we've helped to inspire you to make some of your Christmas gifts for friends and family this year. And don't forget, we always love to see what you've been making, so please do send us photos of your makes via our contact page.

We've been eagerly awaiting the launch of the latest sewing pattern from Merchant and Mills and The Hattie and Ellis certainly lives up to our high expectations!

This two in one pattern, gives you two different silhouettes, enabling you to make quite different looking dresses from the same pattern.

First up there's Ellis, shown above, she has some more feminine styling with the addition of bust darts, is waisted, and has set in sleeves with in-seam side pockets.

Hattie on the other hand, has a lined bodice, is drop waisted and she's also got bold patch pockets.

Both though, feature four delicate neck darts, which makes for an interesting and striking detail around the neckline.

The back of both styles has a single button fastening, the Ellis above, made by Merchant and Mills in an 8oz Denim, has a self fabric covered button. And, as you can see, the patch pockets work equally well on this style too! They give Ellis a more casual look, should you wish to mix things up a little!

In terms of fabrics, we can see Ellis as the perfect dress for the party season, and think she'd look great in one of the Metallic Essex Linens, pictured below, perhaps Midnight, or Ebony. As you can see she also looks great in denim too, so more casual fabrics work equally well.

For Hattie, we love the idea of the Handwoven Stripe in Indigo, this very special fabric is handwoven in Thailand in a small weaving village, the Railroad Denim by Robert Kaufman would look equally good. As would any of our denims, one customer quick off the mark, has already ordered the Indigo Denim in Black, along with this pattern, which we can't wait to see!

For us, our first make has got to be Ellis in the Metallic Ebony, whichever one you decide on, do remember that we love to see your finished sewing projects, so please do send us a photo via the contact page.

Model shots courtesy of Merchant and Mills