After several years of making Irish dance dresses, struggling without a proper pattern, drawing and redrawing until finally I had one that worked. I have decided to share the fruits of my labour with other struggling mothers, who cannot pay the price of a dress or just want the joy of creating their own masterpiece. My pattern offers in depth instructions and tips to help you achieve optimal results. This was not the only problem. Where could I get cotton velvet, stiffener and last but not least "Help".

So the Irish Threads Design Company was formed.

2005 update

Over the past seven years trends in Irish dance dress design have continually changed. I have updated the dress pattern to reflect these changes and designed new patterns and added new , hard to find, products to help make the experience easier for all of you.

Patricia MacKinnon