Sewing Pattern Review - Tailored Shawl, Merchant and Mills Sewing Book

Written and Made by Caroline, Worn by Aimee & Emma

This elegant shawl is from the Merchant and Mills Sewing Book - one of the three Merchant and Mills books that we stock.  This Shawl is a cross between a scarf and a coat, it could be worn open or fastened shut with a belt. 

It's a perfect layering piece for when you need an extra layer without needing a full coat.   It is also great as an indoor coat alternative. 

Pattern  -  Merchant and Mills Sewing Book - Tailored Shawl

Size - One Size

Fabric -  Wool Tweed Coating with Cotton Lawn Lining.  (we no longer have this wool fabric, but have plenty of other beautiful wool fabrics available)

You will need 1.75m each of the main fabric and lining fabric - at 140cm wide.

Notions -  Thread, Mid-weight knit interfacing - 1m

Skill Level - Advanced Beginner

Maker - Caroline

Skills Used - 

• Pattern matching patch pockets

Special Note - The pattern needs to be photocopied and enlarged.  We recommend you take it to a professional copy shop as the easiest option.  Warehouse Stationery or somewhere similar could be a good option for you.

Review - 

The Merchant and Mills Sewing Book is in two parts - the first is The Foundations and takes you through everything you need to know to start sewing.  It covers sewing equipment, tools, haberdashery, fabrics, how to read a pattern, cloth, pressing and basic sewing techniques.  These foundation skills and knowledge are then put into practice in part two, The Tasks, as you are guided through 15 sewing projects that gradually build your skills.  

This book is a great reference book as well as an inspiring and simple starting point for those just getting into (or back into…) the art of sewing. It would be a great gift for someone who has expressed an interest in learning to sew, but doesn't quite know where to start. 

Merchant and Mills have some great sewing books, I have now sewn from two of their books and their third is a reference book. 

The sewing projects include a variety of bags, a tailors ham, ironing board cover, apron and the project I made, the Tailored Shawl. 

The whole team has tried on the Tailored Shawl and it looks great on everyone, it's a cross between a winter coat and a really large scarf.  It's an elevated scarf which is perfect for layering for the cooler months, it could be worn casually over jeans and a jumper and belted or worn open over a dress. 

The shawl is shaped so that it sits on the shoulders, embracing you in a beautiful warm hug.   It also has a two piece shawl collar for an elevated look and of course extra warmth! 

On the whole it was a fairly simple make, I took my time cutting out the pattern and making sure that the check pattern of the fabric matched on the patch pockets and where the facing was sewn to the front piece. 

We chose a really fun lining which complimented the main fabric.  The lining really pulls out the subtle pink of the check of the main fabric, I really love it when I see how unexpected fabrics work together and make the other shine. 

Both fabrics were great to work with.  The wool was very thick and I couldn’t have done it without a tailor's clapper to really get the seams crisp and flat.  It also meant that I was able to avoid scorching any of the seams

Conclusion

I think this pattern is a great first step to making winter coats and blazers.  Learning to work with the wool fabric, attaching a lining, pockets and sewing a collar with collar stand.

Although this was made for the shop, I want to make one for myself, I really feel the cold and I think that it would be great for those days that I need something over my shoulders.  I really like it belted up to make it a really workable garment that keeps it in place. 

SAVE IT FOR LATER....

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