Grainline Studio Farrow Dress

Grainline Studio Farrow Dress

I joined in the MAGAM sew along with @sarahlizsewstyle last month on Instagram, for the first time. The theme for June was 'Sew New Season'. I decided a lovely winter version of the Grainline Studio Farrow Dress would fit the bill.

My MAGAM sewing plans posted on IG

The fabric is a poly cotton jacquard that I bought at Spotlight. It was quite a heavy weight fabric and I thought it would have the ideal structure and drape that would work well for the Farrow Dress. And as it turns out, I was right. Don't you love it when your fabric choice works out? My plan was to top stitch the main seam lines to make them stand out in this busy floral design. Unfortunately, the fabric frayed like crazy when cut, and I had to handle it with a lot of extra care, not to mention the mess it made in my sewing room.

I persuaded hubby to take some photos on our front stairs this morning and I like how these shots emphasise the quite structural design lines of the Farrow.  It's not just another A-line dress, it's a little bit more than that.

The high low hemline is quite dramatic and I love it. The length is quite short in the front and sweeps down to knee length at the back.

I was initially concerned that the dress would be too voluminous and look like a tent dress, but my fears have been dismissed since viewing the photos. My measurements put me between a size 10 and a size 12 and after reading the amount of ease allowed, I decided to go with the smaller size. This may have been a mistake, as the sleeves have turned out uncomfortably tight. In fact, it was difficult to perform normal elbow bending tasks such as cleaning my teeth and applying make up. The fit through the shoulders and bodice, both front and back is spot on so next time I would allow a bit of extra width in the sleeves to make them more comfortable. I probably do have enough fabric left over to cut new sleeves and replace these tight ones. We'll see if that happens...

I don't like high choking necklines and they are not at all flattering on me, so I removed 2.5cm from the entire neckline. This meant that the facing needed redrafting to match the new neckline, so I took the easy route and finished off the neckline with some lovely black satin bias binding.

The hem line was also finished off with the black satin bias binding. All hems were hand stitched so they would be invisible from the right side. I did use the sleeve facings but I found them very fiddly to sew as the wrist openings were quite small and would not fit over the free arm on my machine.

The pockets are quite cleverly designed and are hidden in the angled seam line. The top stitching was done with a triple stitch, using normal sewing thread. I am very happy with the result. The seam lines have been highlighted very effectively. I did follow along with The Farrow Dress Sew Along and it was very helpful.

Very happy with my new Winter dress, apart from the sleeve issue, so I really should make the effort to fit new sleeves.

Happy Sewing

Jean.