The Ellsworth

Jill came to our Social Club event with her family last September. We instantly loved her energy, her style and her warmth. She is a keen maker and a joyful dresser, favouring easy shapes and bright, primary colours.Her mother made all her clothes until she was 13 after which she was given the tools to make her own and, in Jill’s own words: “I was away”. She has sewn on and off for her whole life. Now, in her 80’s, she is as playful as ever.We gave Jill free rein to put together outfits, pairing her own makes with samples from the shop. Below are the outfits she chose. Watch the video on Instagram here 

 

From left to right Jill is wearing a Sanda Jacket in Cumin Dry Oilskin that’s been quilted (no longer available), an Ellis dress in Calamity Blue Gingham Linen. A Miller waistcoat in 9oz Utility Navy, the Arbor Shirt in Warm White 160 Linen (no longer available), 101 Trousers in Indigo Moon and Jill’s own Pom Pom Scarf made in Indigo Moon 

  From left to right Jill is wearing the Ellis dress in Forager Stripe linen with a Sanda Jacket in corduroy,  the Rugby dress is in Sugar Cookie Linen and 101 Trousers in Forager Stripe linen with an Ellsworth shirt in a navy linen and the September coat in Navy Dry Oilskin.

We have two new colours of our popular Tencel/linen range for the autumn/winter season. Flint Green is a beautiful sage green with a hint of yellow. Flint Green was actually the shade of one of our Double Gauze cottons which has now sold out but we really loved that shade. It looks especially good with navy and is a bit more of a punchy green compared to something like Mori. Josephine is an update of London Town, which was more of a brick red, Josephine is knocked back and more chalky, very similar to Appolina in our 8oz sanded twill range. We hope you love these two new shades as much as us, we spend a lot of time getting our colours just right working with the mills usually on several rounds of tests.

Tencel/linen is a good choice for patterns that require some drape, but is certainly easier to work with than 100% Tencel. It’s 6oz, perhaps the golden weight for dressmaking projects – a good amount of body to keep fullness and shape within a garment. Below are some suggestions on patterns which are ideal for our Tencel/linen range.

From left to right – Florence Dress in Mori, Swing Top (lengthened into a dress)  in Voyage Navy, Box Box in Voyage Navy, Ellsworth shirt in Euphoria.

We used the lengthen line on the Ellsworth pattern to make it into a dress and we are so in love with the result. It’s the perfect transitional dress into Autumn, ideal with tights and brogues. We chose our Paper Cotton for this sample, which is very much a summer weight. Our Organic Cotton Poplins would be ideal for making a more opaque version, colours are below, along with instructions, but it’s a very easy adjustment.

The Ellsworth pattern is available in sizes 6 – 28, Elwen made a size 14 here, which is a size or two up from her normal size for an oversized fit. For reference Elwen is 5.8. We used an extra metre on top of the noted fabric requirements, how much you need will depend on how much you intend to lengthen.

From left to right | Diesel, Black, Little Creek and Valencia. All organic cotton poplins, 150cm wide and £12/m.

Nancy, age 25, wears the Ellsworth shirt in Tumbled Linen Warm White 160 linen, and the Shepherd skirt in Portland Indian cotton. Brenda is 81, and wearing the same outfit.

Clothes don’t judge or discriminate. The same outfit works on Brenda and Nancy because well-made classics are immune to trends.

Our web assistant Pia made these great wide leg Eve trousers, with just a few simple adjustments using the 101 trousers. To make this version you will need the wide leg version of the 101.

Pia used our 12oz Organic Twill in Stanley Tan. The shirt is the Ellsworth pattern, and has been made using the Tumbled Linen Warm White 160 linen. You can find the 101 pattern here, and the Eve pattern here.

These illustrations are not to scale, Pia used a size 8 pattern.

Our Tumbled Warm White 160 linen is similar to a handkerchief linen, it has a fine weave and a soft slubby texture. It would make the perfect white shirt!

Claire is wearing the Edie top, and Pia is wearing the Ellsworth shirt which is an upcoming pattern.

This linen is 160gsm or 4.7oz. It is ever so slightly sheer so if you were making a dress you’d want to pick a pattern with some fullness, or line it. It’s also perfect for tops, pyjamas, and lightweight breezy curtains.

For us it is the perfect shade of white – not creamy, but not optical white which can be a bit harsh on the skin.

If you like the weight of this linen we have several other colours in the range.