Merchant & Mills Trapeze Dress

by Cameron

As the weather heats up, I’m madly trying to put together a summer wardrobe. The Trapeze Dress, by Merchant & Mills, was my first priority, and with the weather heating up the way it has the past few days I’m grateful to have this easy dress in my closet.

This was a really enjoyable project. There are only five pattern pieces, no closures, no shaping - quick and easy. The instructions are straightforward and perfect for beginners, but if you have a few dresses under your belt you could probably put this together without any instructions at all. The pattern includes a long sleeved and sleeveless option in addition to the short sleeved version that I went with.

I used one of our staple fabrics - Robert Kaufman’s Essex Yarn-Dyed cotton/linen blends. It’s perfect for this dress and many of the Merchant & Mills patterns.

I like the shape and proportion of this design so much that I decided to try it as a top, too. I’m really happy with what I ended up with. If you’ve come into the shop in the past week or so, you’ve probably seen me wearing one of these two pieces.

If you want to give this modification a try, I would lay a top that you like over the front and back pattern pieces, mark the length of your top on the pattern piece, and add about 1” for your hem. I just fold the bottom of the dress up along my new line when cutting rather than tracing and cutting a new pattern piece. Easy peasy.

I used some of our lovely indigo ikat. It softens up once you wash it, and it’s the perfect weight for hot days. We have some other designs in the store right now that I’ve got my eye on for more summer tops and skirts.

If you have go to summer patterns or fabric, I’d love to hear all about them!