A FORMER seamstress who worked for a Royal dressmaker has had a trip down memory lane.

Sheila Thomas, from Dawlish, once worked for fashion designer Sir Norman Hartnell, famous for his work making clothes for women in the Royal family.

Sheila, who is herself famous for making bunting for the town from knickers, was treated to a trip to London to visit an exhibition at Buckingham Palace celebrating the style of the late Queen Elizabeth.

Aged 15, Sheila started working for Hartnell at his studio.

She was among a group of seamstresses who made numerous outfits for members of the Royal family, including the late Queen.

And she made part of the hem of Princess Margaret’s wedding dress for her marriage to Anthony Armstrong Jones in 1960 inside which Sheila sowed a lock of her own hair.

Cathy Robbins, Sheila’s daughter, organised the visit to the palace.

Sheila said: ‘I had a wonderful time. In the palace, everyone was following me round when they knew I had worked for Hartnell, asking about it.

‘We saw a lot of his designs and it all brought back a lot of memories for me.

‘I actually made two day dresses for the Queen for a tour of Australia.

‘She liked bright colours and one of the dresses I made was Japonica fabric green with red flowers on it.’

Neither of the two dresses went in display at the exhibition unfortunately as they were outfits she had worn several times.

Nevertheless, Sheila, who is about to celebrate her 87th birthday, was treated like royalty herself for her London visit.

The late Queen’s Coronation dress, designed by Hartnell and many of his designs were among those in the exhibition.

It brought back many happy memories of her time working for Hartnell and she visited his former premises in Bruton Street, Mayfair where a Blue Plaque has been erected.