Back from the fields (and towns & cities) with Fielder

Hello again. Back from hols , a long weekend here in Aotearoa and I made a dress. We arrived back from an amazing six weeks in the UK last weekend, after jet lag and approx. 400 loads of washing I’m finally back on track, so I thought I’d share the first make from the wee stash of fabric I brought back (yes the suitcase was a tad heavy…)

The fabric is Henri from Merchant & Mills, a gorgeous linen with a subtle green & brown check. I chose a Fielder dress , a pattern I have used before and really like. The rib knit is from Miss Maude , the bronze I used is out of stock but I think the tan would work well also. The bronze does have a slight sparkle which I really like with the more rustic linen.

I sized up with this one as I wanted quite a loose fit for Summer (in case we actually get one this year) , I’m usually an 18-20 in Merchant & Mills but this is a 22. I like the neat fit around the shoulders, often patterns that fits around a larger bust assumes you must have rugby player shoulders to match, reader I do not.

The only adjustment was adding 4cm/2 inches to the length, that’s quite enough lily white leg on show already (my friends Dad called them milk bottles…harsh.)

Annoyingly I stretched the rib unevenly at the front (why does I always make my mistakes at the front?) so it has pulled the linen slightly, honestly, I can live with it.

I’m calling this my Toast dress. We stayed in delightful Marlow for a couple of days (if you want an absolute treat & fancy splashing out I can’t recommend the Gastronomic Escape here highly enough, worth turning 50 for! )

The Toast in Marlow is a lovely store, my sisters & I spent a fabulous hour or so trying on lovely clothes, I may or may not have brought fabulous cords and a denim dress. Toast has a certain “look” which I wanted to channel in my dress, gorgeous fabric , a simple shape with a twist .

Speaking of fabulous, how lucky was I to visit the mothership? Merchant & Mills have their store in Rye on the south coast of England, in the County of Kent. Rye is a gorgeous town, “proper historic” as my husband said. I mean seriously, just look at those streets.

Admittedly a tad hard on the ankles, worth it nonetheless

But the most exciting part?

Show me the linen baby! Yes I do sound a bit excitable, but I’ve loved the Merchant & Mills aesthetic for a long time, the Trapeze was actually one of the first patterns I brought and made.

There is also a microbrewery next door, which was of great interest to my husband and Brother in Law…

The shop itself is a joy. Gorgeous fabric and notions, knowledgeable friendly staff, even the shop dog is a cutie

We stayed at the delightful Fig on the High Street in Rye, the rooms are lovely and the plant based breakfast is a delightful change from the usual full English (which I love, but need a break from now and again)

I can’t resist one last holiday pic (bare with!), the divine Hever Castle, Anne Boleyn’s childhood home. I’ve wanted to go here forever, and it was absolutely worth it. I shall bore you with more pics another time but for now…

There’s even a moat 🙂

Hope you are having a fab week!

Kristina x